Garmin Nuvi 260W

Discussion in 'Garmin GPS' started by northerner777, Nov 8, 2017.

  1. northerner777

    northerner777

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    Yes our Garmin is old, got it refirbed in 2010 for a trip back East. It's been awesome all these years. This past weekend going South into New Mexico I noticed that the vehicle symbol had turned at a 45 degree angle and the map seemed to stop moving though the time to destination and speed updated. In a short while the screen suddenly showed a full window with the message that no maps were found and no navigation was possible without them. I pulled the power cord which immediately shut it down as I've known the battery is old and doesn't hold a charge. I waited a few minutes and repowered it. Same message. I thought it might have been heat affected for the first time. I held it in front of the ac duct to cool it, then plugged it in and placed it in the instrument cluster well out of the sun. It came up and seemed to work for a few miles, then crashed again. It did that several times around Albuquerque and on the trip Sunday back to Colorado. Is it too old to try a battery replacement? Is it just too old period? Connecting it to the Garmin update site says it's all up to date and OK. No indication of any problem internally. Just tried to start it in the office here at home and same message showed up, "No detailed maps found that support routing. The nuvi cannot be used without them". A couple of years ago we installed a 16 gig Sandisk card for more memory. Has it outlived its usefulness? What is the current equivalent Garmin model?
     
    northerner777, Nov 8, 2017
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  2. northerner777

    Nuvi-Nebie Moderator

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    I would start by resetting your unit, the manual doesn't say if this deletes any data so beware

    2017-11-09_09.01.54.jpg
    (Click image to view)

    If the reset doesn't work I would try removing and replacing the memory card, as it may be holding the missing map and could have bad contacts

    If you still have problems I would connect the Nuvi to a computer running Basecamp, this will let you examine both internal and card memory
     
    Nuvi-Nebie, Nov 9, 2017
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  3. northerner777

    northerner777

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    My wife connected it to her laptop which she uses to update its maps. It said it couldn't find the maps even though in "map info" it showed the file and it was checked per the suggestion from Garmin Support. She went to their site and downloaded a map update which it took. Powering it up, it went to map view and looked normal. On the way to Colorado Springs yesterday, it got "lost" after behaving normally most of the way there. It got "lost" couldn't see the I-25 roadway map image or updating the streets and interchanges about Fountain. It finally gave the screen error message of no maps available. I'm thinking it all started when I connected it in our car to one of those dual USB adapters using the USB cable to the GPS instead of the regular charging/power supply cord from the cig lighter socket. Immediately the GPS showed the image of being connected to a computer and then gave the msg downloading maps which of course was in error. I thought maybe it corrupted the map file hence having my wife reload the maps which looked like it fixed it but not. Apparently, on this older model, you can't use the USB unless you are connecting to a computer. In the car, you must use the old power cord. How do you reset this unit? I'm not sure I've seen the option screen for that. BTW, we did pull the SanDisk memory card and reinsert but no change. Thanks for your input.
     
    northerner777, Nov 16, 2017
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  4. northerner777

    Nuvi-Nebie Moderator

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    In my reply to you above, you can see a message that reads "(Click image to view)", above that there should be a thumbnail picture, clicking on it should make it bigger
     
    Nuvi-Nebie, Nov 17, 2017
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  5. northerner777

    northerner777

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    There is no reset button or port that I can see. Only the indentation at the bottom for the mount clip. On the left is the card port. Top left is the power button. On the lower right front is a small rectangular hole I'm assuming is a mic port or the sound emitting port for the audio voice commands. Sliding the power button to the left and holding it when it's on just turns it off. Holding it after it turns off for 8+ seconds sometimes causes it to turn back on, sometimes not. Sliding it left when it's off and holding it turns it on with no change. Each time it comes back on with the same maps not found error message. Starting it with the card in or out seems to make no difference. I'm at a loss what to do to try and recover this GPS. I appreciate your input and your effort offering help.
     
    northerner777, Nov 21, 2017
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  6. northerner777

    Nuvi-Nebie Moderator

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    I was a bit surprised that in the user guide, even Garmin wasn't sure how to reset this unit, here is another suggestion I found that may reset your Nuvi 260W :-
    1. Start with the device OFF and unplugged from power
    2. Touch and hold the lower right corner of the screen with an index finger or the eraser end of a pencil
    3. Continue touching and holding the lower right hand corner of the screen then power the device ON
    4. Release the power button when the device powers ON
    5. You will see a new message: "Do you really want to erase all user data?"
    6. Remove your finger from the touch screen when this message displays
    7. Touch Yes
     
    Nuvi-Nebie, Nov 21, 2017
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  7. northerner777

    northerner777

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    Thanks, I discovered that also on a You Tube tech vid. It did work, I lost all my personal info but also the maps. I downloaded Garmin Express and installed it on this PC. I plugged in my GPS and it refused to recognize it even after several scan attempts. It wasn't until I removed the microSD card that it immediately acknowledged it. I downloaded the manual for it and chose the option to install a map update on the GPS only without the card installed. As it was downloading and installing the maps I used another adapter for a microSD card and read the card files on my laptop. It showed 4 garmin files and no sign of any corruption. I did not reformat the card at that time. After the maps were done I reset my prefs for the GPS and saved my current location in Where Am I. I then chose a close by fuel station and selected GO. Strangely, it wouldn't acknowlege any maps until I reinstalled the microSD then it was fine even though the maps were on the GPS. It then showed me my local map location. I shut it off. The next day I had several errands around town so I installed the nuvi in my truck and went about my errands. It did well for a couple of hours or more but on my way home it looked over at it and it had frozen, failing to show a turn off from a major arterial. I reached over and held the power button to restart and it came up with the missing map error message. I held the screen to get rid of that but it still didn't know where it was. Fiddling with it it winked out and came up to my current mobile location and was fine the 5 miles to home. I had messaged Garmin support a few days ago and answering several questions back and forth and relating the above experience from Monday, this morning they said: "Going forward you are going to run into issues with this device due to its age, hardware limitations of the device, limited storage capacity, improvements in mapping technology and no longer having parts in stock to repair or replace items for this series devices." I thanked them for their support. They offered me a device upgrade and a trade in policy if I would call their customer service North America office. I'm about to the point to take them up on it. I will think on it over our country's holiday weekend and possibly give them a call in the next week or so and see what they recommend as an equivalent to my 260W. Nuvi-Nebie, I appreciate all of your patience and input. It seems that this faithful nuvi may be at the end of its trail. Many thanks, sir!
     
    northerner777, Nov 23, 2017
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  8. northerner777

    Nuvi-Nebie Moderator

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    I have seen this kind of problem caused by a dead battery, for $10 US or so it may be worth a try if don't accept the trade in
     
    Nuvi-Nebie, Nov 23, 2017
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  9. northerner777

    northerner777

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    Back when this started, I suspected the old battery might be a contributing factor. However, most of the time when connected to either the car port or the computer port, it would charge up and when unplugged, there would be at least a full battery indicator or at the least, a one half charge showing after a while. I'm thinking that Garmin Support may be correct in saying that its chip and programming may not be compatible with newer upgrades or there may be simply something wrong internally with its electronics and they claim no parts available or limited parts available to remedy. It probably wouldn't be cost effective to pursue that angle, sadly. Hate to give up on something that may be a simple fix but too far above my "pay grade" to make it happen. Something internal causes it to lose connection with maps that are loaded either on the card or its internal memory. Don't know how to find that cause or if it's even findable. Thanks again for your input.
     
    northerner777, Nov 27, 2017
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