Hi Andrew,Thanks Simon for this re-assuring news which will hopefully be proved correct. I'm still nervous however.Emilis' Garmin 12XL is showing a diagnostic saying something like
'internal battery low' as well. Something like 3-4 years.Sounds like a production issue.
But here's the potentially good news. We just logged a query with
Garmin technical support about the unit, and they got back to us and
told us how to get it replaced free of charge, if feeding the unit
new batteries and leaving it off for a few days didn't cure it.
The manual for my 6 year old Garmin GPS-45 advises that a set of batteries should always be kept in the unit to avoid loss of programming information. With lots of battery powered equipment and a couple of disasters from leaking cells (including alkalines) I have always worried about this.
Information supplied with more recent models like the GPS-12XL and the GPS-II series seem more soothing in that such a warning is no longer present, and the slant seems to be that there should be no serious consequences if the unit is left without batteries for extended period of time.
I actually checked with Garmin on this, as I intended to operate the then new GPS-12XL installed in our Country Fire Service unit in this manner, namely without internal batteries, and only from the 13 volt regulated supply in the truck (24 volt system) which is shut down by an isolation switch for most of the time. The reply (which I've since deleted) suggested that this would be fine, although there were a couple of curious statements which betrayed the disturbing possibility that the author really didn't know all that much about the device anyway.
The real point to this is that I had understood that lithium cells of the kind used in many backup applications are by definition primary cells, and therefore cannot be re-charged. Lithium Ion yes, but not standard lithium cells. I'm quite ready to be corrected on this if someone has information which disproves this observation. Experts please ?
Going on from this, the question/issue would then arise that if the lithium backup battery is tired/exhausted, there wouldn't really appear to be much lasting benefit from installing a new set of batteries and expecting that it (the lithium cell/cells) will somehow be rejuvenated as a consequence. All this would really achieve is the transfer of the current drain to the main battery bank for the duration of their life, leaving the unit again gasping for volts if they ever ran low or were removed for any period of time.
This is all speculation. I raise it because someone in the group will have the authoritative answer. Then we can all know whether our problems are solved or otherwise. Personally I'll be delighted to be proved wrong. I have three Garmin units under my care to worry about :-(
Regards,
Terry
