Fix for Battery life problems on Garmin Zumo 590 and 595 (maybe others?)

Howdy all - found this thread on the zumo forums.

https://www.zumoforums.com/index.php?topic=19321.30

Not sure if you need a membership to read. But to paraphrase: Many people have found the battery life with the device out of the cradle to be shitty for the 590 and 595. This guy found that bending the battery connector pins outward a bit, has successfully gotten these guys 7-8x the "off-charger" life. Over 3 hours.

Personally I find this pretty incredible, and somewhat hard to believe, BUT.. I get my new 595 this week and will be trying it without this "Mod" for a week or two, then with it.

Thought I'd share.

I have applied the "fix" to my 590 and the results are amazing. Before the fix I was lucky to get 20 minutes of on battery use from my 590 after a full charge. I now get well over 2 hours.

I just found that thread a couple of days ago after having problems w/ my 590 again this past weekend. I performed the fix last night. I had already tried a new battery and was having the same problem plus a startup problem. So far so good.

Anyway u can post more info? I was just wandering yesterday why I pulled Garmin off the cradle and it immediately told me low battery.

I guess for $800 bucks, Garmin can't really afford to do field testing.

It's a wonder they can keep the doors open.

Prestone said:

Anyway u can post more info? I was just wandering yesterday why I pulled Garmin off the cradle and it immediately told me low battery.

Click to expand...

Follow the link in the first post.

...if you are a forum member.

RossKean said:

...if you are a forum member.

Click to expand...

Ahh...Did not realize that.

The fix is to slightly bend each of the pins of the connector on the battery so they make better contact when plugged into the Zumo. The pins can be removed from the connector by gently raising a tab on the top of the connector allowing the pins to pop out of the connector. I removed mine, but someone in the thread was able to make the adjustment without removal.

I would recommend joining the Zumo forum to read the entire thread. The thread contains pictures and tips to do the procedure.

Lots of good info on the forum so joining isn't a bad thing. Worst case it becomes other online time sink I was able to use a pick to bend the pins slightly away from the connector. It took some good light and a magnifying glass (old eyes) to accomplish it. Someone in the thread simply used a push-pin to do the same. I wish I had searched better a few weeks back before I spent a fortune on a new Garmin battery pack!

I joined that forum a long time ago, and because my 595LM is showing up shortly I started reading.. reading and reading.. I knew the battery longevity was an issue, but assumed I'd just have to live with it. Till I found this. Great site.

Here's a tidbit I did not know - The 590's can be upgraded to 595's by flashing the firmware over. I can't find instuctions yet, but I dont need them. This would explain why the discontinued 590's are still selling around $600+

Hmmm ... just did a search and found the firmware hack. Looks like I need to join another forum gpspower.net

st4gary said:

Hmmm ... just did a search and found the firmware hack. Looks like I need to join another forum

gpspower.net

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lol, I have literally been looking for days (but only for a few minutes here and there. Thanks for finding it, but I bought the 595..

I just bent the prongs on my battery and it works like a charm. Just don't bend them two much or you won't be able to plug the battery back in

st4gary said:

Hmmm ... just did a search and found the firmware hack. Looks like I need to join another forum

gpspower.net

Click to expand...

I am interested in the hack but the link isn't working on the GPS Power forum. Should it go to the hack?

i joined the forum as well and i cant find the thread and the link is no help either

Perform the search that I did in the image below. In the second item click on the green arrow and then click on the cached button, It'll take you to the topic and display most everything. Since it's cached I have no idea how long it'll be there. If you are a member of the forum and can't find it I don't know what to tell you ...

maybe i do not have enough post to view that thread, when i click on both those links above it goes to the forum and tells me i have followed a invalid link and to contact the forum administrator. i give up . getting off topic anyways. thanks for trying to help

Don't click on the link ... click on the green arrow drop down under the link that allows you to see the cached info.

Bingo!