+1. I leave my Nav V on the bike but pull it off before I do a ride where I want to use the GPS so I can recharge it prior to use. My bike is always on a Battery Tender when in the garage; however, the Nav V is not charged when on the bike unless the bike is running.
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Nav 6 Battery Runs down while on bike
- Thread starter river-runner
- Start date
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- nav-6 nav6 battery
+1. I leave my Nav V on the bike but pull it off before I do a ride where I want to use the GPS so I can recharge it prior to use. My bike is always on a Battery Tender when in the garage; however, the Nav V is not charged when on the bike unless the bike is running.
brownie0486
Well-known member
Anyname
Active member
We have several recent Garmin GPS system including a Nav V. The batteries on all of them discharge in a a couple of weeks if not used. You can pull the battery from a Nav V for storage and that helps. When I first got the Nav V, I asked Garmin about this and they replaced the entire unit. The second device functioned exactly as the first. As far as I can tell, new Garmin systems don't really shut off but rather go into a standby mode. Personally, I'd prefer a complete shut down.
When installed on my 2011 R1200R, and the bike is on a charger connected to the BMW provided port, the Nav V will sometimes charge and sometimes not. I can't figure out what drives this behavior. I have a second mount which I attach to one of the other bikes. On these bikes, the mount is direct wired to the battery and the Nav V always charges.
I have also notice that the Nav V won't charge from a USB port on my computer or from a USB wall plug. Apparently the Nav V only likes Garmin chargers.
When installed on my 2011 R1200R, and the bike is on a charger connected to the BMW provided port, the Nav V will sometimes charge and sometimes not. I can't figure out what drives this behavior. I have a second mount which I attach to one of the other bikes. On these bikes, the mount is direct wired to the battery and the Nav V always charges.
I have also notice that the Nav V won't charge from a USB port on my computer or from a USB wall plug. Apparently the Nav V only likes Garmin chargers.
I also have several Garmins (Nuvi 550, Montana, Nuvi 2739, NAV 5). All charge from the USB port on my Dell, but the NAV 5 requires a Garmin-compatible USB cord to charge from a phone charger. FWIW, I use a Motorola phone charger from one of my previous cell phones as the charger w/a Garmin USB cord plugged into it. My only NAV 5 charging complaint is that there is no progress bar showing while charging. The small battery icon shows up in the upper right corner of the main screen showing that it's charging, but I have to unplug the USB cord from the NAV 5 to see how the charging is progressing. It takes about 4 hours to recharge from a fully-flat condition with my setup.
As always, your setup may be slightly different -- your computer's USB port may not be the latest version, your phone charger may not charge at the same rate as mine, your USB cord may not be the same as mine. (I can't find a number on the USB cord, but IIRC, it came with my NAV 5, which came separately from my '15 RT.)
lee
Debbie's Servant
I forgot to mention I always use the OEM USB cord that came with the Nav V.
crucian
New member
I store my bike in the States at times for as long as three months. After initial issues with Nav VI charge I now open the case and disconnect the battery and so far, after several cycles it holds a charge. (Plug lifts out vertically and cheesy tab is going to break off to no ill effect)
Garmin in general can be frustrating. Their 3rd party map vendor (s) are not always on top of current road configurations and in the case of the Virgin Islands, way behind. Many tourists tote their Garmins here and are left scratching their heads. I've had issues with Garmin Express not connecting to a unit on a specific computer and shame on anyone that would make a USB cable proprietary. There has to be a way to engineer around this. My year old Nav VI failed due to what Garmin called "Ghost Touch" and had to be replaced, on their nickel.
That said, their equipment is generally good. Just be prepared for hiccups.
Garmin in general can be frustrating. Their 3rd party map vendor (s) are not always on top of current road configurations and in the case of the Virgin Islands, way behind. Many tourists tote their Garmins here and are left scratching their heads. I've had issues with Garmin Express not connecting to a unit on a specific computer and shame on anyone that would make a USB cable proprietary. There has to be a way to engineer around this. My year old Nav VI failed due to what Garmin called "Ghost Touch" and had to be replaced, on their nickel.
That said, their equipment is generally good. Just be prepared for hiccups.
brownie0486
Well-known member
What's this ghost touch you speak of?
I just took the garmin Nav4 out of it's case where it sits in one of the panniers unless it's being used. Last time I used it on the bike [ I only use it on the bike ] was 7 weeks ago. The battery still had a full charge being left in the unit but turned off. I don't have a locking unit for the garmin so unless I'm using it to nav I don't leave it on the bike plugged into it's holder.
globalrider
Alps Adventurer
Same on my Nav 5.
In my case it does. Either a battery that self discharges or a drain due to poorly designed electronics.
marcopolo
Active member
I had a Nav V, and now a Nav VI. The battery behaviour described by the original poster is pretty typical from my experience. As pointed out, turning off the bike's ignition doesn't fully turn off the Nav. It's simply in sleep mode. To fully turn off the device, you must remove it from the cradle, and press -- and hold --- the rubber button on the back of the case, in order to get the onscreen prompt. That said, I leave mine in its cradle, if I expect to be using the bike in the next two weeks, or so. If not, I remove it, and bring it in the house. If I need to charge it off the bike, I always use my iPhone plug, together with the Garmin USB cord. Even if you remove the Nav from the bike's cradle, the device's battery will still discharge, unless you fully turn it off using the button on the rear of the case.
happy wanderer
Day Dreaming ...
I can't remember which BMW Nav model was identical to the Garmin Zumo 600 series but I think it was the V model. It was a Garmin in a BMW box. In 2011 when the 660 came out I bought one for my 1100RT. After installing it I noticed a lot of things I thought were strange so I did a study on parasitic loads under all the operating conditions of the Garmin 660 on that bike. I posted the results here again in May this year when someone was having issues deciding how to wire it. This info might shed some light on the questions coming up here on the Nav units which really are just Garmins anyway.
Link to Post number 5 in that thread:
https://forums.bmwmoa.org/showthread.php?91989-Any-parasitic-power-draw-with-a-Garmin-GPS&p=1129246&viewfull=1#post1129246
Link to Post number 5 in that thread:
https://forums.bmwmoa.org/showthread.php?91989-Any-parasitic-power-draw-with-a-Garmin-GPS&p=1129246&viewfull=1#post1129246
globalrider
Alps Adventurer
Like this pic. This should fully turn it OFF.
The other test is to fully remove the battery out of the unit after it has been fully charged and let it sit for weeks or even months. If it does not self-discharge then the issue is in the unit itself. I have old cell phones that are turned off and months later (as in 4 or more months), the batteries are still fully charged.
Just found this out yesterday after riding for an hour with no working Nav. As soon as I stopped for a coffee and hit the kill switch the Nav. came on. I had charged the unit and stored it in the house for about a month. Put it on the bike and nothing until I shut bike off. And then it worked the rest of the day.
globalrider
Alps Adventurer
Well the Nav 5 is no better. In fact, I just updated my Nav 5 on the Garmin site and the battery was totally dead (off the bike).
My Garmin nüvi 40 LM and Nav 5 were both charged months ago and parked on the shelf. The Garmin nüvi 40 LM still had plenty of battery power yet the Nav 5 was totally dead. Maybe because it has BMW silk screened on the Garmin unit. lol
If I have the time, I'll run a mA meter to see if it draws anything while shut down. It shouldn't if it is designed smart.
I turn mine off every time this way; on or off the bike. The battery still dies unless I ride more often or charge it via usb. A couple weeks of no usage and it's dead.
crucian
New member
Garmin will be Garmin
I garage my '17 GSA in the States during the winter and have found the best solution with a NAV VI is to remove it from the bike fully charged and disconnect the battery. There is a tab which holds plug in place which WILL break off when you disconnect but the fitment is such that without the clip the plug stays connected just fine. I have gone six months this way, replug the battery, slap the unit on the bike and everything good.
Garmin is like your brilliant but very odd uncle.
I garage my '17 GSA in the States during the winter and have found the best solution with a NAV VI is to remove it from the bike fully charged and disconnect the battery. There is a tab which holds plug in place which WILL break off when you disconnect but the fitment is such that without the clip the plug stays connected just fine. I have gone six months this way, replug the battery, slap the unit on the bike and everything good.
Garmin is like your brilliant but very odd uncle.
globalrider
Alps Adventurer
I just fully charged it last night and the battery indicator was fully green on my Nav 5. Of course that only means the battery is fully charged voltage-wise but it does not indicate the capacity of the battery.
I'll check it in a month to see where the battery indicator sits. Its it off the GSA.
globalrider
Alps Adventurer
That to me indicates piss poor electronic design.
