Tom Tom VIA 620 cuts out after a few minutes.

[rodelgk]

It cuts out and goes to the main menu, when I press Done again it again runs for a few minutes. The battery seems OK as when fully charged I put it on a very long demo run and kept it running for a long time before the battery discharged.

 

[dhn]

Are you charging from a usb port in your car? If so, don't. Use the car charger supplied with the model. A usb port provides insufficient power (.5A) to run the device properly.

 

[rodelgk]

No I use the charger from the Tom Tom

 

[dhn]

Try a drum reset on the unit by holding the power button about 20 seconds till you hear the drum sounds.

 

[rodelgk]

Thanks dhn, I did this as well as a recommendation from Canderson who replied to oldjono who had a similar problem, shown below. I went on a 90 minute trip and it didn't cut out so hopefully between the two of you my TT is fixed.
Canderson's reply to oldjono
"OK - that's easier to deal with!
It sounds like you are seeing 'phantom' presses on the screen caused by the bezel coming into contact with the screen. The 620 is has resistive screen (one of the brightest and clearest, in my opinion!), so any pressure around the outside edges could set it off.
Take the corner of a business card or similar thin item and run it around between the bezel and the glass in an attempt to remove any crud that might have accumulated between them. Let us know if that gives you any relief."

 

[rodelgk]

I celebrated a bit soon, when I went out today it displayed the main menu then cycled through other screens while still giving the verbal instructions, this is really not much use. Any ideas?

 

[canderson]

Your Aus Via 620 is what we called the Via 1605 here in NAM. I haven't experienced your problem on my own 1605 (yet), but phantom presses are almost always related to something causing pressure between bezel and screen around the edges. That can either be caused by crud between the two or temperature changes that are causing the bezel to change shape a bit. You're beginning to move into the warmer part of the season there, and that seems to be what sets it off.

I'd be curious -- if you leave the device in the house (at reasonable ambient temp and out of the sun!) for a few hours, does the device behave normally?

If it only misbehaves when mounted to the windscreen when there's some sun on it, it could be a bezel warp problem. Bit of a pain to fix those, but possible.

 

[rodelgk]

I had it in the house overnight, then put it in the car this morning and it went to menu within about 3 minutes.

 

[canderson]

What I'm hoping you will do is test it IN the house for a while before taking it to the vehicle environment to see if it behaves correctly in the house over a reasonable period of time..Trying to eliminate your vehicle environment from the list of variables here.
What is your current daily temperature there, and is your unit by chance in the path of a heat vent?

 

[rodelgk]

I left it on my desk in the house, over a number of tests it cut out between a few minutes and over an hour. the temperature is about 22 Deg C.

 

[canderson]

OK. Then we're not talking about any sort of ambient temperature or sun problem in the car. Any temperature change is strictly a function of the operation of the unit -- so it's really sensitive.
The only potential DIY solution is going to involve taking the unit apart to get under the bezel, and that's not a trivial task for most people.

 

[rodelgk]

I removed the bezel and cleaned up around the screen. It worked lying in the house but when I went out with it in the car it still cut out, I think due to the vibration in the car. Various attempts to tape the screen to the body of the Tom Tom were unsuccessful until I attached it with 2 layers of double sided tape. It also seemed to need the drum reset after it had cut out. It has been working well for the past week so I hope it is OK now. Will replace the bezel in a few weeks time if all is still well. Thanks for your help

 

[canderson]

When you replace the bezel, look carefully for any tight points where it may be in contact with the screen. A bit of emery cloth or an Xacto may be needed to relieve any pressure that you find..