Garmin Zumo Touch Screen problems?

On our recent week long trip down south to EOM my Garmin Zumo 550 started acting up. I first noticed it because when going to the "overhead view" screen, (by that I mean the one you get if you just touch anywhere on the map background) if I tried to pan around by doing the old "touch and drag" the screen would get all jittery, and continue to jitter even when released, or if I tried to touch it again (to exit) it would ignore my touches.

At first I thought I had a bogus firmware update (as I had foolishly just updated the GPS's software version before the trip), but after downgrading to the prior version one night the problem returned (eventually). As the problem worsened it would sometimes look like there was a "ghost in the machine" and I would get some phantom button pushes showing up occasionally causing the GPS to switch screens, etc.

Having some familiarity with touch screen mechanisms (from work), I tried cleaning around the edges of the touch screen with a folded piece of paper. That reduced the phantom button pushes enough to allow me to use the GPS well enough to get home.

Once home, I researched the problem on the intarwebs. This is a fairly common complaint with these units and there are replacement touch screen digitizers available on eBay. I purchased one from eBay seller mingxing200808 for only $19.18 including shipping from Hong Kong. In the auction he instructs buyers to be sure to mention that you need the installation tools and he will include them free. If you fail to mention it, no free tools.

The free shipping took almost two weeks, but the digitizer and tools arrived yesterday.

Using this detailed screen replacement post on the ADV forum as a reference, I dug into the Zumo this morning to see what I could do to fix it. As stated in the linked post, the Torx driver needed to open the Zumo's cases is a T-7.

The "free tools" that were provided were pretty cheesy and both were the wrong size. The Phillips screwdriver is too small for the inside screws and pretty much useless, and the Torx driver is something even smaller than a "T-7".



But, before I ran out and bought a new T-7 driver, I noticed that the Torx tip on the little free tool was tapered, so figured what the hell, and just filed down the tip a little bit until it fit the T-7 screws.



I then jammed a 1/4" inch drive 9/32" socket onto the hex shaped end to make it a little easier to break the screws loose with a 1/4" ratchet handle while firmly pressing the tip of the tool into the screws.



My modified tool worked perfectly. :yahoo:

I followed the first few steps in the linked ADV post, but have a few things to add to those instructions.

Once you get the cases of the Zumo split and it's time to disconnect the two ribbon cables from the PC board, the ADV procedure doesn't make it clear how the cables clip in. In the below picture (stolen from the ADV post) you can see the two ribbon cables clipped into place as you will find them. To release them you need to fold the small white and brown flaps over the top of the cables towards you on the wide and narrow ribbon cables respectively. They flip open towards the connector with the hinge side being closest to the connector.



Here's a view of the connectors with the flaps flipped open and two ribbons removed



Once I had the cables off, I removed the four Phillips screws and removed the touchscreen assembly from the front half of the clam-shell cover, per the ADV procedure. But then rather than diving in and separating the touch digitizer from the LCD display screen (per the procedure) in preparation for installing the new one, I decided to just clean up the entire touch screen surface with some mild glass cleaner (Stoners Invisible Glass - good stuff BTW) and also clean up the rubber profile gasket that forms the watertight seal between the front of the touch screen and the front cover.

Sorry, I forgot to get a picture of that gasket, but it is like many profile gaskets in that it has a ridge that fits into a corresponding groove in the cover, and squishes against the flat touch screen on the other side.

I didn't really think that this was going to solve my problems, but after the cleaning and reassembling it appears my touch screen is behaving itself once again. For how long is to be seen. :huh: But if it does start acting up again I have the replacement screen at the ready and know where to find the procedure to do it.

A couple of notes about re-assembly:

You have to place the front cover upside down on the work bench and be careful to get the rubber profile gasket aligned and seated in the cover's grooves before then placing the flat screen down on top of it. You will not want to slide the screen around as you may dislodge the gasket, so try to drop the screen straight down correctly.

Also, when connecting the ribbon cables be sure that they are pushed as far down into the connectors (towards you)as possible before flipping the flaps that secures them. It's a little bit fiddly, especially if you have fat fingers like mine.

Just thought I would pass along this info in case anyone else comes across the apparently all too common problem of the ghost in the Zumo.

Thansk for posting. While I don't have a Zumo, I am sure the procedure can be adapted to all Garmin GPS's. Why I bring out my 2720 only for special trips and rely heavily on my Nuvi (purchased very cheap at Woot.Com) for everyday use.

Willie

And then of course, since I openly declared victory, my Zumo gave me a jimmy kick and started whacking out again.

So, naturally, I opened it back up and replaced the touch screen digitizer as originally planned.

A couple of comments on the replacement portion of the ADV site procedure:

When it came time to separate the touch screen from the rest of the LCD display, my unit did not have any sort of a black metal frame around it like they talked about. The LCD is contained in a silver metal frame and the touch screen was stuck to that with double sided tape around the perimeter.

I just used a small utility knife around the perimeter to spilt them, being careful not to stick the knife blade in more than ~1/4" so as not to scratch the LCD display.



Here they are after splitting. LCD display on bottom, touch screen on the top.



Then all that was required was to clean the old sticky stuff off and stick the new digitizer back in the same place and reassemble.

When you first power it up, hold the power button down for 1 full minute and it will put the Zumo right into the touch screen calibration routine.

Well, now I can report that it really is fixed. And the new touch screen is way more sensitive than the old one was. I barely have to touch it to register.

In retrospect, I wonder if the old digitizer was damaged by carrying the Zumo around not in it's special little case? In the past, when I've taken the GPS off of the bike I've either stuck it into a jacket pocket (not so bad) or thrown it into my Tank bag for ease of carrying into a hotel room, etc. But have not been in the habit of using the carrying case. I think I may change that and start carrying and using the Zumo case and see if I can extend the time between $19 touch screen replacements.

The whole procedure was pretty painless, and at $19 per copy touch screen replacements are not such a big deal. The alternative, which many, many owners have taken, is to send the Zumo back to Garmin for refurbishment. The cost for that is far more substantial at $150 plus shipping, and you are without your GPS for a while.

In retrospect, I wonder if the old digitizer was damaged by carrying the Zumo around not in it's special little case? In the past, when I've taken the GPS off of the bike I've either stuck it into a jacket pocket (not so bad) or thrown it into my Tank bag for ease of carrying into a hotel room, etc. But have not been in the habit of using the carrying case. I think I may change that and start carrying and using the Zumo case and see if I can extend the time between $19 touch screen replacements.

Click to expand...

I put my 550 into the glove I just took off. Padded, soft, warm, a happy Zumo.

Fred - Tx for posting - good stuff, as always.

Thanks for the write up Fred.

My Zumo failed not long after I bought the Maps for Life offer.

The touch screen was playing up and tried everything the people at the Zumo Forum suggested.

Garmin here in Australia said they could fix it but didn't have the parts, be a few months on the repair, strange.

They ended up offering me a new Zumo, not a service exchaned unit, then transfered the Maps for Life to the new unit.

There is another writeup a member of this Forum did, https://www.fjrforum.com/forum//index.php?showtopic=133280&pid=796816&st=0entry796816

I've saved both links.

Cheers

dcarver said:

In retrospect, I wonder if the old digitizer was damaged by carrying the Zumo around not in it's special little case? In the past, when I've taken the GPS off of the bike I've either stuck it into a jacket pocket (not so bad) or thrown it into my Tank bag for ease of carrying into a hotel room, etc. But have not been in the habit of using the carrying case. I think I may change that and start carrying and using the Zumo case and see if I can extend the time between $19 touch screen replacements.

Click to expand...

I put my 550 into the glove I just took off. Padded, soft, warm, a happy Zumo.

Fred - Tx for posting - good stuff, as always.

Click to expand...

Thanks, Don.

Looking at the groovy case that you get with the Zumo, it has a piece of hard-ish rubber (looks like a tire tread) that goes right over the touch screen, I'd assume that this is to provide protection against too much pressure being applied to the digitizer?? So a soft case may not be the best choice. But it's certainly better than the nothing that I had been using before

Queensland Ken said:

There is another writeup a member of this Forum did, https://www.fjrforum....=0

Click to expand...

Ooops. I actually did search for such a prior post, but my GoogleFoo is apparently lacking.

If one of the admins stumbles onto this thread and wants to merge them together I'm all for that. Or not is OK too.

Just glad that it may be useful.

Fred

It's a small world. Mine started randomly going all over, like the screen was being touch. This started just before my EOM trip, so I also did the business card trick between the screen and housing to clean out the dirt.It worked great until I got to KY when it started acting up again, so I decided to use a credit card to clean it and CRACK! The screen cracked and was unusable. I went to Wal-Mart and bought a $7.00 tool kit, took it apart during lunch at the Sonic, cleaned and left the gasket out so as to not push on the cracked screen, and it worked good enough to get me home.

Once home I also ordered one from ebay merchant and put it in last night. I got the screen and digitizer for $36.00. It works better than new. like you said it is much more sensitive than the original ever was.

Very nice info for a cheap fix

I was wondering if we could fill the void between the screen and housing with clear silicone to keep out dirt, or if that would screw with the screen ?

Great post.

I too have been bitten by the Zumo Ghost touches.

So now I shall go out to EBayland and purchase a new screen.

Thanks.

I have replaced several digitizers for various individuals, including my own. I was also responsible for a little campaign with the Chinese vendors (via some help from my ST colleagues) as at one time there were a whole bunch of digitizers for sale that were too small (gasket would not seal). Anyway, I recommend buying the whole digitizer/LCD assembly as it saves messing around with prying that piece of glass off, etc.

They are resistive digitizers and are basically a gel sandwich that you can see through. When you press, the gel creates a certain resistance at that spot. They fail from age (about 3 years maybe), simple as that, but I have seen some idjiots do some awful things to them. Don't put a screen saver on them, makes it too thick and less sensitive.

I've heard now that 550's are not being supported by Garmin, so if you need a replacement they're going to be hard to find. Shame really, I like the 550 better than anything else including the 660 series.

Oh, Fred, those are T6 screws, not T7........

road runner said:

I was wondering if we could fill the void between the screen and housing with clear silicone to keep out dirt, or if that would screw with the screen ?

Click to expand...

In the ADV post that I linked to, the guy had a digitizer that was slightly too small (as per Ray's post above). He did use silicone sealer to make up the gap, to maintain water integrity.

But I think if you get the right sized screen, and get the rubber profile gaskets installed correctly, you'll have all the water-and-dirt-tight-ness you need.

I don't think that it was a matter of dirt ingress that bothers them, at least not in my case. Probably age related as Ray said, but it also seems that the pressure of the cases on the edges is what initiates the phantom button pushes on the aging screens.

So that's my long winded way of saying I wouldn't bother with silicone sealer.

RaYzerman19 said:

Anyway, I recommend buying the whole digitizer/LCD assembly as it saves messing around with prying that piece of glass off, etc.

Click to expand...

The digitizer that I got was exactly the correct size with the right cables, and was cheaper than buying the whole screen sandwich assembly. Comparing the old and new they appeared to be identical. Separating them was really no problem at all just using a craft knife. I removed it without cracking the old one like in the reference post.

RaYzerman19 said:

I've heard now that 550's are not being supported by Garmin, so if you need a replacement they're going to be hard to find. Shame really, I like the 550 better than anything else including the 660 series.

Click to expand...

Yeah +1 to that. I like my 550 more than my 660 too, just from an ease of use standpoint.

So as long as the Chinese guys keep making those digitizers, I'll keep running my 550 on one of the bikes.

RaYzerman19 said:

Oh, Fred, those are T6 screws, not T7........

Click to expand...

Hmmm... I wonder if they all are?

That may have been a T-6 screwdriver that they sent me that didn't fit. Maybe some have T-6's and some T-7's .

Update:

So, here it is less than a week after replacing my touch screen digitizer panel with the eBay bargain. The GPS has been just sitting on my desk in its case since then. When I went to turn the GPS on this morning to load up some routes onto it the touch screen is completely whacked out again. Phantom button pushes galore, more than I ever had with the original one. Mostly they are concentrated down in the lower right corner of the screen.

I pulled the screen sandwich completely out of the GPS (to rule out the case being too tight or the rubber gasket being the culprit) and hooked up the two ribbon cables and it still does the same thing. Arrrrggghhh!! :angry:

Just sent the eBay seller a note. We'll see how well he stands behind his products.

Might be a screen calibration issue... Hold power button on for 30 seconds until it boots up into the calibration screen and follow the prompts. If that doesn't work, do a hard reset, press and hold bottom right corner of screen while powering on. It will prompt you if you want to reset all user data, say yes and you will have to go back in later and reset all your preferences. You will lose trip log data.

Already tried the screen calibration. That just goes haywire as the GPS thinks the touch screen is being pushed each time.

I also tried a hard reset and it makes no difference.

If I look really closely I can see a little strip of "rainbow" on the right side of the touch screen. I think I just got a bum screen.

See what mingxing has to say.

edit - Here's the little rainbow I'm talking about

My Zumo is a glitchy thing. It usually works fine, but in the car, the navigation volume goes from high to low, and every now and then it does something weird. The other day, my wife's Nuvi had no idea where we were.

I think Garmin's software is cheaper and shittier than we would like to believe.

Fred, what made you decide not to contact Garmin Support for a replacement? I have done this with Nuvi units out of warranty for like $99 and gotten back warranted refurbished units. What is the exchange cost for a Zumo 550?

TomInCA said:

Fred, what made you decide not to contact Garmin Support for a replacement? I have done this with Nuvi units out of warranty for like $99 and gotten back warranted refurbished units. What is the exchange cost for a Zumo 550?

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$150 plus shipping in both directions.

vs. $20 for these Chinese touch screens. In my research it seems that I am lucky enough to be the first to receive a defective unit. Even if I have to buy another one I'm still $110 (plus shipping) ahead.

Just like going to the Dr. I ordered the Screen from the Far East, and now

the 550 is working like it's old self. So I'll just keep it on hand for now--when it arrives.

Don't worry Rem, It'll fail sooner or later. They all seem to.

I used to think it was due to rough handling, but now I think it's just age related (the GPS not the operator! )

Are there any issues with the "ghosting screen" on the Zumo 660? I'm still running the Garmin Quest 2 that Ive had for 5yrs and it works, but its really slow to calculate. I've been wanting to upgrade to either the Zumo 550 or 660. Does anyone of a picture of a 660 mounted on their bike that they wouldnt mind posting so I can get an idea on what it will look like on mine?

Thanks