Dropped my GPS and now it is DEAD, I think.....

Posted: Thu Jun 24, 2010 7:28 am

So not good! I was going over to show a friend my GPS (Garmin GPSMap 60CX) because they want to start caching themselves. I dropped my GPS on the floor in the garage. Yes, it has a case on it - so a little extra padding. Well, I get over there for "show and tell" and it does nothing but BEEP! It "appears" to be working but the display is blank.

Any helpful advice? I leave for a trip in 3 weeks and absolutely have to have a working GPS.

Can it be fixed? Has anyone had this happen? I have dropped it before and have never had this problem. Do I buy one just like it if I need to purchase or do I upgrade to another model? I have the City Navigator chip and hopefully that is still working.

HELP!!!!

Posted: Thu Jun 24, 2010 8:09 am

Give a call to Garmin support. Even if your unit is out of warranty, they will probably do a swap for a refurbished unit. Just don't forget to remove your Map chip before you send it in.

Posted: Thu Jun 24, 2010 8:10 am

Once when I could hardly see anything on my screen, I found I had to readjust the brightness level. Maybe that got out of whack when you dropped it. Hope it's something that simple. Sick (or dead) receivers: not good. Sad

Posted: Thu Jun 24, 2010 8:10 am

YIKES!!!

Not good! I don't know if it's fixable, but the chip "should" be ok I think. If you have to replace the unit, replace it with what your cormfortable with. You should be able to find one (60 CX) at a pretty good price on line.

Posted: Thu Jun 24, 2010 8:49 am

Make sure the MicroSD card is seated properly in the card tray in the battery compartment. Mine was loose a couple weeks back and the unit would turn on for 1 second and then go dark. Everything was fine once I made sure the chip was slid forward into the lock position.

WGA Member Joined: 2007-04-27 Posts: 331 Location: Muskego

One other thing to try is changing the batteries. I dropped a couple on our tile floor and it was like it wiped the charge out of them. I dont know if there is any difference with rechargeables, but that little drop did them in. Just a thought.

WGA Member Joined: 2004-07-15 Posts: 86 Location: Sussex

I just dropped that same unit at Ledge Park about 20' on to the rock ground and except for a few nicks it still works great.

Posted: Fri Jun 25, 2010 11:08 am

I have a bit of an update to post.

With the geo-cation starting 3 weeks from today on a MAJOR 4 state tour, I decided to buy an upgrade. Too chancy any other way, I see it. I am now the proud owner of a Oregon 450! Thanks to advice from Marie (Lacknothing) and Andy (Neonride93) - I made a quick decision and pulled the trigger on the new one.

Garmin did get back to me on how to reset it and download software on it to see if I can fix it. If not, I can send it in for repair and the flat rate would be $110. Seeing as new GPSMAP60CX is $350, I think I will have it fixed and keep it as my "back up". If I am lucky and work quick, I might even have it back when I leave in 3 weeks, but only time will tell.

Oh, and when I did use my brand new Scheel's credit card to purchase it, the warranty was automatically extended another year. So if I am going to drop that one, it better be in the first 2 years I have it. And I will have to fall on top of it, since I think I will need to keep it tightly clipped to my belt loop! wink