I bought the TomTom Rider back when it was first released for North America :yahoo:
and, as an early adopter, paid twice the price they're going for now. :glare: But to date, I've been pretty pleased with the unit's performance.
The Problem
The unit is hardwired to the bike's 12v power from an ignition-switched circuit, which powers the unit and also recharges its onboard battery (good for 5 hours off the bike). But on the way home from WFO, the TomTom started resetting and rebooting and acting generally squirrelly toward the end of the first day of riding. Its battery was depleted and it was failing to get power from the bike! I could get the unit to work only by holding my hand against the unit, pressing it harder into its mounting cradle. Very annoying, but it got me to that night's hotel.
After a bit of investigation and a few chats with TomTom support, it's apparent that the design of the product's mounting cradle isn't really adequate for the rigors of vibration it can face in life on a motorcycle. (TomTom addresses this issue and others in the recently revised edition of the Rider, btw). The problem occurs where the electrical contact pads at the back of the Rider mate with the contact pins of the cradle. Over time vibration can cause the pins to abrade little pits into the contact pads. When the pits grow deep enough, the pins can no longer make good electrical contact and so power is lost.
The photo below shows the pitting after about 20K miles of riding. While all pads show wear marks, the two outer pads have pits that have worn to failure.
These are the mating pins on the mounting cradle.
This is a silver epoxy adhesive that comes in a 14 gram, 2 part system. It's chiefly used in the electronics industry in cases where hot soldering is impractical. I mixed up a 1:1 ratio of the stuff and used a toothpick to dab the adhesive into the pits and smooth it around the pads that were worn.
The TomTom Rider now properly charges in its cradle. What remains to be seen is the actual longevity of this fix. But I suspect that, being an polymer, the epoxy will have some elasticity that the original copper material lacked. In a vibration environment, this may make for a more resilient connection. I'll update this post over time as I see how the material holds up.
Alternatives
The adhesive I used was from M.E. Taylor Engineering. It is an epoxy that cures at room temperatures, but at $38 for 14 grams, shipped, is a bit on the pricey side. Especially when you only need a fraction of a gram!
Another possibility, instead of epoxy, might be to use the electrically conductive adhesive you find at the local auto\
parts store to repair rear window defogger grids.
There are also copper, aluminum or carbon adhesive tapes that might be suitable for this application, but I haven't sourced or priced these.
and, as an early adopter, paid twice the price they're going for now. :glare: But to date, I've been pretty pleased with the unit's performance.
The Problem
The unit is hardwired to the bike's 12v power from an ignition-switched circuit, which powers the unit and also recharges its onboard battery (good for 5 hours off the bike). But on the way home from WFO, the TomTom started resetting and rebooting and acting generally squirrelly toward the end of the first day of riding. Its battery was depleted and it was failing to get power from the bike! I could get the unit to work only by holding my hand against the unit, pressing it harder into its mounting cradle. Very annoying, but it got me to that night's hotel.
After a bit of investigation and a few chats with TomTom support, it's apparent that the design of the product's mounting cradle isn't really adequate for the rigors of vibration it can face in life on a motorcycle. (TomTom addresses this issue and others in the recently revised edition of the Rider, btw). The problem occurs where the electrical contact pads at the back of the Rider mate with the contact pins of the cradle. Over time vibration can cause the pins to abrade little pits into the contact pads. When the pits grow deep enough, the pins can no longer make good electrical contact and so power is lost.
The photo below shows the pitting after about 20K miles of riding. While all pads show wear marks, the two outer pads have pits that have worn to failure.
These are the mating pins on the mounting cradle.
This is a silver epoxy adhesive that comes in a 14 gram, 2 part system. It's chiefly used in the electronics industry in cases where hot soldering is impractical. I mixed up a 1:1 ratio of the stuff and used a toothpick to dab the adhesive into the pits and smooth it around the pads that were worn.
The TomTom Rider now properly charges in its cradle. What remains to be seen is the actual longevity of this fix. But I suspect that, being an polymer, the epoxy will have some elasticity that the original copper material lacked. In a vibration environment, this may make for a more resilient connection. I'll update this post over time as I see how the material holds up.
Alternatives
The adhesive I used was from M.E. Taylor Engineering. It is an epoxy that cures at room temperatures, but at $38 for 14 grams, shipped, is a bit on the pricey side. Especially when you only need a fraction of a gram!
Another possibility, instead of epoxy, might be to use the electrically conductive adhesive you find at the local auto\
parts store to repair rear window defogger grids.
There are also copper, aluminum or carbon adhesive tapes that might be suitable for this application, but I haven't sourced or priced these.
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