Go600 keeps shutting down every few seconds

[Taity]

My Go600 wont stay on for more than a few seconds. When its plugged into the car or plugged into a home USB socket. (I dont have a mount as that broke & I cant seem to get a new one) it tells me the battery is empty & is shutting down but may then suddenly come back to life. At first I thought it was the power lead but it did the same with another lead. If the battery has had it will this cause a problem. The connection feels & looks ok. Any help appreciated.

 

[Willy875]

The mini plug on the cable may no longer make permanent contact with the plug on your GPS, causing the battery to not charge properly.

 

[Taity]

I have stripped it down & the battery looks a bit swollen. If the battery is shot. Should the unit still work on power alone or does it need the battery to be working?

 

[Willy875]

Normally yes, if you plug it into a mains charger, your GPS should turn on.

Hold the power button until the white writing appears on a black background.

You should be able to see the capacity of the charged battery.

 

[canderson]

Normally yes, if you plug it into a mains charger, your GPS should turn on.

Hold the power button until the white writing appears on a black background.

You should be able to see the capacity of the charged battery.

All that really shows accurately is the voltage. It doesn't indicate how well the battery will function under load.

 

[Willy875]

It should indicate if the battery is charged at 10%, 50% or 100% for example.

 

[canderson]

It should indicate if the battery is charged at 10%, 50% or 100% for example.

Yes, it does that. But... a battery nearing its end of life with regard to capacity will show 100% as long as it's been able to charge to ~4.2V.

100% of a remaining 10% capacity is still 10% capacity.

The only way for a device to know its real battery capacity status is to do a full discharge/charge/discharge once in a while, as one might do with a notebook computer a few times during the life of a battery.