Go 520 Battery not holding charge

[Jenny Taylor]

My GO 520 is about 21 months old and has a continuing battery issue. Approx.10 months ago I returned it under guarantee as the battery was loosing its ability to hold the charge and was only good for about 2 hours at best. When new It would last a maximum of 3 hours, even though I read some where it should last up to 5 hours. I appreciate it depends on how many facilities are switched on, but I only run the bear minimum. They returned it saying a new battery had been fitted, but it was no better and the battery will now drain in less than an hour and is getting worse. The battery appears to charge normally but the green bar never quite makes it to the other side. In short, its only good for use in the car when permanently connected to the charger.

I have read how some people have fitted a new battery them selves and still not solved the problem. I have also read here and on other forums how poor battery life is a common problem with TomTom satnavs and wonder if anyone has any advice on tackling this issue.

 

[mikealder]

5 hours is very unrealistic, in reality you should get 2 to 2,5 hours from a fully charged battery, this will vary though depending upon whats switched on (FM Tx, Bluetooth, volume, backlight etc).

A new battery will help as will running the device in the car with the charger lead attached, there isn't much extra you can do with a dead battery other than change it - Mike

 

[canderson]

My GO 520 is about 21 months old and has a continuing battery issue. Approx.10 months ago I returned it under guarantee as the battery was loosing its ability to hold the charge and was only good for about 2 hours at best. When new It would last a maximum of 3 hours, even though I read some where it should last up to 5 hours.

2 hours at that age is about typical. 3 meant that you weren't leaving things like the BT turned on, and probably had the screen at a good bit less than max brightness. I've never seen a x20 unit go 5 hours under the best of circumstances.

The battery appears to charge normally but the green bar never quite makes it to the other side. In short, its only good for use in the car when permanently connected to the charger.

The latest levels of firmware never do display the unit as fully charged -- that last little bit to the left is always white. We don't know why -- just the way it is.

I have read how some people have fitted a new battery them selves and still not solved the problem. I have also read here and on other forums how poor battery life is a common problem with TomTom satnavs and wonder if anyone has any advice on tackling this issue.

These things are NOT meant as handheld portable GPS devices. If you really want the battery life, functionality, hand fit and weatherproof abilities of a handheld GPS, I'd recommend a good Garmin. I can get 8 hours out of my Dakota 20 on a set of NiMH or NiZn, and closer to 10 hours out of my eTrex Summit HC with everything turned on and screen set to max brightness. The TomTom 520 was designed around use in a vehicle, connected to power. Trying to use a vehicle unit as a handheld, or a handheld as a vehicle unit -- well, the compromises are well understood.

The closest thing you'll find to a vehicle GPS with "portable" functionality, a little better battery life (and you can swap the lithium battery pack on the fly, if you don't mind paying to have extras in your pack - much like a digital camera) is the Garmin Nuvi 500/550 model. Out of their entire range, that's the only unit that tries to be most things to most people. Their flagship automotive units don't fare any better in this regard than the TomTom units.