GO 720 screen flickers

[TR7Driver]

I just inherited a GO 720 (it was my father in law's). The unit appears to function except that the screen is dark or flickers dimly. It connected via Home and I was able to do an update on it and get it registered to me. It operated fine ("Operate My GO") on the Home screen.

The unit is maybe 6 years old and the battery has never been replaced. My FIL reported that battery life was very short in recent times, but he didn't care since he always connected it via the wire. I'm wondering if the screen flickering could be due to a severely dead battery, or is it something else?

If something else, is this something that could be repaired fairly easily by someone competent with DIY repairs? A battery is cheap and easy to replace; I've done it on my GO 730. Is a screen also easy to replace? Is it cost effective, or should I reserve this one for parts only?

Thanks in advance.

 

[canderson]

It could very well be the battery, and the procedure is the same as was the case for your 730 (same battery, too). If, for whatever reason, you have to replace the LCD, you'll replace it as a unit with the digitizer on the face, and it's a simple matter of carefully releasing a single flex cable connection and sliding in the new one. You may have recalled seeing that during your battery change. As I'm not too clumsy with the connector, I actually go ahead and release the entire screen when doing a battery job so that I don't risk damaging the flex cable during the process.

 

[TR7Driver]

Thanks for the reply. I know where to get the battery, but where do I get the screen if it comes to that?

 

[dhn]

Try ebay

 

[TR7Driver]

Well, the battery arrived today but it didn't solve the flickering problem. Screens are available (from China but hey, that's where they were made originally) on eBay for $25-30. Guess I'll order one.

I did some searching on YouTube and found a couple of how-to videos on changing the screen. With that for guidance, I took mine apart to convince myself I could do it. It really is quite easy.

So is it worth $40 to resurrect this old unit? Itinerary planning, instructions over FM transmitter, spoken input... Yes, I think so.

 

[TR7Driver]

Final report on this. The screen arrived today and I installed it without any problems. The unit now works fine. Total cost of the repair, with the new battery, was about $40. Everything sourced from eBay.

The only tricky bits for me were figuring out how to disconnect the ribbon cable and getting the screen out of the bezel. The ribbon connector on my unit was covered with a black insulating tape. Remove this and you see two levers at either end of the ribbon. Lift these and the ribbon is released.

As for the screen, there are three lugs across the top of the bezel. Gently pry the lug and bezel apart with a jewelers screwdriver, just enough to disengage the lug, and they come free. Start on one side and work to the other. Easy!

That's another one back on the road...