Old Tom Tom one sat nav - battery

Dollardog

Hi, I have an old Tom Tom one sat nav which keeps cutting out frequently. It does it mostly when the weather is cold. For about a year I have not been able to use it unless it was plugged into the car cigarette lighter, which was not a problem, so I think it is the internal battery which is dying.
I have tried doing the soft reset of holding the on/off button for 15 seconds but it doesn't make any difference.
Sometimes when I get it back on, it has lost the route and tries to take me back to the last place we went, sometimes it wil retain the route and just carry on.
Sometimes it will cut out half a dozen times then be ok for the rest of the journey, which is why I say its worse when its cold.
It has got too unreliable for me as I need it for work and I have bought a new one but I am giving this one to a friend as it still has some life left in it. I was just wondering, can the internal batteries be changed and if so does anyone know how to get in to it to change it?

TIA

donny-gal

You have to take it apart, and I have seen the batteries on ebay. Maybe connect it to the TT sight, to see if there are any free updates for it. DG

Ximian

Does the device cut out or forget routes when it is plugged into the cigarette lighter port? Just to rule out any issues with the device/operating system/gps.

From your explanation, it does sounds like a battery issue. It's relatively easy to replace the battery on the Tom Tom, the battery plugs into the circuit board, here's a YouTube video displaying the steps: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCVBuXUI4HE

Replacement batteries are about £5 on eBay or Amazon (be sure to double check the connectors on the battery and circuit board)

Dollardog wrote: »

Hi, I have an old Tom Tom one sat nav which keeps cutting out frequently. It does it mostly when the weather is cold. For about a year I have not been able to use it unless it was plugged into the car cigarette lighter, which was not a problem, so I think it is the internal battery which is dying.
I have tried doing the soft reset of holding the on/off button for 15 seconds but it doesn't make any difference.
Sometimes when I get it back on, it has lost the route and tries to take me back to the last place we went, sometimes it wil retain the route and just carry on.
Sometimes it will cut out half a dozen times then be ok for the rest of the journey, which is why I say its worse when its cold.
It has got too unreliable for me as I need it for work and I have bought a new one but I am giving this one to a friend as it still has some life left in it. I was just wondering, can the internal batteries be changed and if so does anyone know how to get in to it to change it?

TIA

Daz2009

I have a Tomtom that if left unused for a while will have a flat battery and only works when it's plugged into the cigarette lighter,but it's not really an issue as that's the only time I use it.

Dollardog

Ximian wrote: »

Does the device cut out or forget routes when it is plugged into the cigarette lighter port? Just to rule out any issues with the device/operating system/gps.

From your explanation, it does sounds like a battery issue. It's relatively easy to replace the battery on the Tom Tom, the battery plugs into the circuit board, here's a YouTube video displaying the steps: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCVBuXUI4HE

Replacement batteries are about £5 on eBay or Amazon (be sure to double check the connectors on the battery and circuit board)

It actually switches off,
Mine is an older version of the one in the YouTube video, but I would think the method is the same. Looks easy enough, I should have come on here and asked before ordering and offering to give it away!!
B*gger it!! - could have saved myself £100 lol
Never mind, the new one that is coming has more features.
Thanks a lot for your help. Will go off and look up the batteries.

Dollardog

Daz2009 wrote: »

I have a Tomtom that if left unused for a while will have a flat battery and only works when it's plugged into the cigarette lighter,but it's not really an issue as that's the only time I use it.

Mine is used a lot, it is not a problem having it plugged in, my problem is it still keeps switching off even when plugged in.
Thanks anyway.

Daz2009

Are you sure it's not just a bad connection with the cigarette socket or even a fault with the socket itself ?
Have you tried plugging another device in and see if that stays working ?

Ximian

It sounds like a loose power supply connection as Daz2009 mentioned or a loose connection inside the unit. Have you also checked that it isn't anything obvious such as a setting to turn the unit off between instructions or something similar?

I still have one of the first generation Tom Tom's (Go), bought it brand new many years ago and spent over £400, overall it has been good, still has the original battery and I recently updated the maps. If I can help it, I'll keep it as long as possible!

Good luck!

Dollardog wrote: »

It actually switches off,
Mine is an older version of the one in the YouTube video, but I would think the method is the same. Looks easy enough, I should have come on here and asked before ordering and offering to give it away!!
B*gger it!! - could have saved myself £100 lol
Never mind, the new one that is coming has more features.
Thanks a lot for your help. Will go off and look up the batteries.

Dollardog

Daz2009 wrote: »

Are you sure it's not just a bad connection with the cigarette socket or even a fault with the socket itself ?
Have you tried plugging another device in and see if that stays working ?

I don't think its the socket, I plug my portable speakers in it and an MP3 to recharge and it works ok on them, I think its just old and as said above, needs a new battery, I use it a lot. Its worse when the weather is cold.

Dollardog

Ximian wrote: »

It sounds like a loose power supply connection as Daz2009 mentioned or a loose connection inside the unit. Have you also checked that it isn't anything obvious such as a setting to turn the unit off between instructions or something similar?

I still have one of the first generation Tom Tom's (Go), bought it brand new many years ago and spent over £400, overall it has been good, still has the original battery and I recently updated the maps. If I can help it, I'll keep it as long as possible!

Good luck!

No don't think it can be a setting, it has only started doing it a few weeks ago and doesn't always turn off, sometimes it might turn off half a dozen times in quick succession, then it might stay on for the rest of the journey - hour or so. Or it will stay on for ages, then suddenly die. It does it more at the beginning of a journey though.
I bought it in July 2006, it was £215 from Amazon, I've got the original invoice for it. I have never updated its maps, never really needed to, its only really new bypasses etc that it gets confused with, if it gets lost in a town through new bits of road or changes, it soon re routes itself. Have loved it, been really helpful over the years, I couldn't really have managed without it for the places I have to go. It certainly doesn't owe me anything, that's why I wanted to pass it on so someone else could get some more use out of it. If it is only a battery it needs it will probably go on for years more. I'll have to take it to bits to see what the battery is, perhaps it has just loosened with carrying it about.
Thanks for your help.