Charging the Garmin GPS12XL low memory battery

[dredgerat55]

I have a Garmin GPS 12XL with a low memory battery and was wondering if when attempting to charge it with a power cord do you need to have the AA battery's in or out of the unit?

 

[Nuvi-Nebie]

Units that have re-chargable internal battries can charge from the power cord supply without the AA batteries being present, however your GPS12XL may be fitted with a BR2032, this is a non re-chargable battery, there is a post here :-

https://www.gps-forums.com/threads/garmin-gps-12-battery-usage-power-consumption.46179/

That talks about the internal batteries in these units and there is also a link to a video that details how to change the battery, if your GPS12XL is fitted with a non re-chargable battery then it won't have any charging circuitry either, so replacing the existing battery with a re-chargable VL1220 would not last very long, the only way to prolong the life of the internal battery is to keep a good set of AA batteries in the unit at all times

 

[dredgerat55]

Thanks, my unit does have a BR2032 and when I took it apart I discovered the black lead had came loose from the circuit board now my problem is to try to determine where it goes.

 

[Nuvi-Nebie]

I would follow the other wire to the printed circuit board and look for any lettering, eg :- if you found 'Batt +' then the black wire would go to 'Batt -', It might be worth fitting a new BR2032 while you have the unit apart. If you can take a clear photograph of the board it may be possible to make some suggestions

 

[dredgerat55]

I couldn't see any markings of batt. or any other for that matter. I'm assuming the black lead is somewhere to the left of the red lead but don't know for sure. Here is a picture I took but don't know if it will help.

 

[Nuvi-Nebie]

I would be looking for broken multi-strand wire like this :-

It's hard to say from the photo, but are these broken wire fragments ? :-

 

[dredgerat55]

Well thanks for the information and suggestions as to replacing the black lead. I attached the black lead to the spot you had mentioned and also replaced the BR2032 battery and it came online without the (low memory battery) message). I guess the only other question I might have is what would you recommend to reseal the GPS case? I have thought about some type of silicon or maybe super glue. Thanks again for the help & suggestions.

 

[Nuvi-Nebie]

Definitely not super glue, you'll never get it apart again, that semi-transparent silicon bath / shower sealant is what you need