Intermittently not charging

[itsonelouder]

Occasionally my TT will stop charging. Any ideas what's going on? Nothing wrong with the car lighter because I've checked it with a Garmin.

 

[dhn]

How about the car charger to the TT? Is it the one that came with the unit? When attached to the computer with the provided cable, does it appear to be charging?

 

[redrock3]

How can you tell it stops charging? I know if the unit gets too hot inside a car, the battery will not charge above a certain temp. There are safety concerns involved.

 

[dhn]

Well, the power light on the unit just indicates that power is getting to the unit, not that the battery is charging. If you do leave it connected for a few hours and then disconnect, does the battery status indicator on the unit seem to show a fuller amount than prior to the connection?

 

[itsonelouder]

How can you tell it stops charging? I know if the unit gets too hot inside a car, the battery will not charge above a certain temp. There are safety concerns involved.

The battery indicator doesn't show it's charging. The device is very new. It could be like you say, because of the temp. Being a delivery driver I'm using it for hours and it has been hot lately. Will it drain completely if it doesn't cool down?

 

[itsonelouder]

How about the car charger to the TT? Is it the one that came with the unit? When attached to the computer with the provided cable, does it appear to be charging?

It came with the unit. It charges with the computer fine. It's just when I've been using it for a while it stops charging and then after a while it starts again.

 

[redrock3]

This very issue drove me batty when I used to have it mounted to the windshield on hot days. As yes, as long as the unit stays above a certain temp, a thermal limiter cuts off charging to prevent a possible fire or damage to the unit. It also is possible for the unit to run down if it stays too hot. Tomtom does not clearly tell you this beyonda general advisory about hot vehicles. I purchased a vent mount and problem solved. Not saying this is your problem, but it could be.

 

[canderson]

All battery packs these days must have thermal cut-off devices embedded in order to get the UL or CE safety 'seal of a approval'. Most of these cells shouldn't ever be charged when their temperature is > 60ºC (>140ºF) no matter what device you might find them in. Having had to do studies on the interior temperature of vehicles in some very ugly climates in the American Southwest, I can tell you that anything on a windshield or dash in some climates (especially with closed windows) well be exposed to WELL over 140ºF.

Lithium ion charging that goes awry can lead to some serious thermal runaway conditions, so they have to protect against that as well.

So it's not just your TomTom -- it's just about anything with a battery in the interior of your car.

As for the manuals, I don't know how much clearer they could be. Check page 61 of your XXL's manual, for example:

This product uses a Lithium-Polymer battery. Do not use it in a humid, wet
and/or corrosive environment. Do not put, store or leave your product in or
near a heat source, in a high temperature location, in strong direct sunlight, in
a microwave oven or in a pressurized container, and do not expose it to
temperatures over 60 C (140 F).

and specific to your point:

For safety reasons, and to prolong the lifetime of the battery, charging will not occur at low (below 0 C/32 F) or high (over 45 C/113 F) temperatures.

If you think for a second that a typical vehicle south of Anchorage, AK doesn't get up to 113ºF easily on a day a lot cooler than that ...

 

[redrock3]

Tomtom tech support did not know, or had not read about this issue when they replaced two xl units of mine about 24 months ago for this very problem. I was obviously clueless also. My guess is a large percentage of owners do not keep manuals around after a few months. The basic problem is that people by nature leave GPS units in their vehicles, whether they should or not. There is very little use for one away from a vehicle. I would shudder to guess how many have been returned or exchanged because of a thermal limit question In the south and southwest, and during the summer everywhere, cars get and stay blazing hot. Tomtom provides a mount to affix the unit to the windshield, which is the hottest area of the car in the summer. I guess you could pay more for a beanbag, but it is hard to get it out of the sun and heat if it's on the dash. It's a bit of a reach to learn the vehicle GPS you paid for may not fully function in a vehicle without air conditioning.

 

[canderson]

This problem will be a bother to anyone using just about any device with a battery that is being charged in the vehicle. Garmin and all the others are no exception to this, and it's in their manuals, too. Apart from putting a great big skull and crossbones on a sheet in the box warning of the dire consequences, I'm not sure what else they can do.

FWIW, I've never stuck any of my units in the windshield apart from my 740 (and typically not even that one), but the 740 unclips from the mount with a simple thumb press, and is therefore never left up there when parked in the summer. Any of my units that tend to mount more 'permanently' find a home on some other surface in the vehicle, down out of the sun. They're where they are for that reason, among others (much less glare problem, too).

Getting the unit off the dash and out of the direct sun reduces temperatures a fair bit. I've seen as ugly as 158F, but that was ON a dash in full sun, closed car.

My current stable is shown in the attached pic.

 

[itsonelouder]

Well it certainly sounds like this is my issue. Thanks everyone.

It was very confusing. On Tuesday it happened at exactly the same spot on my delivery run, and I hadn't had any problems for a number of days. It just so happens that Tuesday was pretty damn hot!

I don't think there is any way around this, unless I can mount it in front of the air vents. My van has no air-con

 

[itsonelouder]

This problem will be a bother to anyone using just about any device with a battery that is being charged in the vehicle. Garmin and all the others are no exception to this, and it's in their manuals, too. Apart from putting a great big skull and crossbones on a sheet in the box warning of the dire consequences, I'm not sure what else they can do.

FWIW, I've never stuck any of my units in the windshield apart from my 740 (and typically not even that one), but the 740 unclips from the mount with a simple thumb press, and is therefore never left up there when parked in the summer. Any of my units that tend to mount more 'permanently' find a home on some other surface in the vehicle, down out of the sun. They're where they are for that reason, among others (much less glare problem, too).

Getting the unit off the dash and out of the direct sun reduces temperatures a fair bit. I've seen as ugly as 158F, but that was ON a dash in full sun, closed car.

My current stable is shown in the attached pic.

That's some setup you got there. 3 devices!

Can I buy mounts to fix in those locations?

 

[canderson]

I'll wait for Andy to pop up with good sources for mounts in the U.K. There are at least two manufacturers of mounts that can hook you up to spots other than the windshield glass.

 

[- et -]

I don't think there is any way around this, unless I can mount it in front of the air vents. My van has no air-con

Just getting your unit out of direct sunlight will be a big help. Air conditioning should not be necessary as long as the GPS is out of the sun and air can freely circulate around it. I mount my own units below the level of the dash for other reasons, but keeping them out of the heat of sunlight is a nice fringe benefit.

There are several companies that sell mounts that clip onto the air vents in the dash, or slip into the cup holder, but I am not familiar with the dealers and products readily available in the the UK, so my suggestions might be invalid for you - especially since the internal layout of your vehicle will be a bit different from mine. Personally, I use a cup holder mount from a US company called Arkon. It works very well in my car and in my wife's car, but it does not work in my son's Scion TC because his cup holder is too far aft in the center console to easily see the GPS screen.

With best wishes,
- Tom -

 

[canderson]

One thing to remember is that the interior temp of a car can easily reach 122F this time of year in many places around the world. After getting into a vehicle that has been parked all day in the sun, it can take some time for the interior of the unit (not to mention the driver!) to cool down to something below that, and until such time as it does, no charging will occur.