Garmin 296 power-on problem

I have a Garmin 296 that I bought new and use in the car and in the plane. It has been absolutely babied, always. I love it.

About 6 months ago (right after the warranty ended )it developed an interesting problem. Sometimes on poweron the internal clock appears to have "stopped" and the date/time is not correct. This causes GPS acquisition to be slow. It always eventually reacquires, and the date/time corrects itself. This happens about 33% of the time. It doesn't matter if the battery is full, half, on nearly empty. The longer it is left off, the more likely the problem is to happen.

I've been working with Garmin tech support, and we've done all sorts of software updates, hard resets, etc. I've also cleaned battery contacts. They've pretty much given up and want me to send it in, along with $250 for repair.

Has anyone else had this problem? I once fixed a 196 that had a loose internal screw that was causing problems. I'm (wishfully) hoping this might be easy too. Thanks for any info,,,

My 296 started to act exactly as you describe about two weeks ago. The problem started right after I performed a firmware upgrade. I've kept a copy of each firmware version that has been loaded into my unit. I'll be going back to version 3.7, which ran fine for over a year. I'll let you know if this solves the problem. I have ver 3.1 and 3.7, along with 4.7. I can email you any of these if you would also like to try an earlier release.

Scott - let me know what happens, and I may be interested in that firmware. I didn't keep any old versions. I have had this problem through at least 4 versions, though, so I'm not inclined to think it is a firmware bug.

Let me know! Happy New Year,

dave

I had a problem with my 295 that wasn't exactly like yours, but it was fixed by a total reboot. Garmin wanted $250 to fix it sight unseen, but Google turned up a list of master reboot codes that Garmin apparently didn't want to share. Might not fix your problem, but free to try! Sorry I don't have the link, but a Google along the lines of 'garmin master reset' would probably find it.

IowaRV9Dreamer said:

Scott - let me know what happens, and I may be interested in that firmware. I didn't keep any old versions. I have had this problem through at least 4 versions, though, so I'm not inclined to think it is a firmware bug.

Let me know! Happy New Year,

dave

Click to expand...

Dgamble said:

I had a problem with my 295 that wasn't exactly like yours, but it was fixed by a total reboot. Garmin wanted $250 to fix it sight unseen, but Google turned up a list of master reboot codes that Garmin apparently didn't want to share. Might not fix your problem, but free to try!

Click to expand...

agree with Dave! Here is a link you might want to explore to know more:

http://home.online.no/~sigurdhu/GPSmap-276C_commands.htm

Let us know how it goes!

Ciao, Luca
(proud Garmin 296 user)

IowaRV9Dreamer said:

Scott - let me know what happens, and I may be interested in that firmware. I didn't keep any old versions. I have had this problem through at least 4 versions, though, so I'm not inclined to think it is a firmware bug.

Let me know! Happy New Year,

dave

Click to expand...

Dave,

It may, or may not be, a firmware issue. Just because you have had this problem through four updates does not really mean anything. If, and a big if, there was a bug introduced in the software several revisions ago, that bug may still exist. Both you and I may be operating our units in some sequence that Garmin may not have tested.

When I turned on my 296 (firmware 4.7) at around 2:00 PM on Dec 31, it displayed a date of Dec 26, 2006. The GPS took about 30 minutes to get its position and current time. This is to be expected when the GPS has the wrong time. At about 3:00 PM I turned the GPS off. At 11:00 PM I turned it back on without an antenna. Its internal clock was showing 6:00 PM, Dec 31 (5 hours slow). I then connected an antenna and let it update the time and position. After that, the firmware was flashed to ver 3.7. As of right now the GPS has been keeping the time perfectly.

This isn't enough testing to come to any conclusions. I will be keeping an eye on the 296 (firmware 3.7) over the next few weeks.

From my experience, Garmin will not admit to any problems with their units. I had an original 195. During flight testing on my RV-6A, I climbed to 14,000'. The face plate on the 195 blew out with a rather loud bang. The early units were filled with an inert gas and sealed. I spoke with Garmin tech support and asked if this is a known problem. They said, "No, we?ve never heard of it, but we have a fix for it. We?ll drill a vent hole in the case." I sent it to Garmin and they fixed the problem, replaced the screen and updated the firmware and database. This was all performed at no cost.

Let me know if you would like to try an earlier version of the software. This problem is either hardware, or software. My unit started to have problems right after an update.

Scott

GPSMAP 296 master reset

Interesting..... it sounds like our 296's have exactly the same problem. Makes me NOT want to spend $250 to get it "fixed" !!

FYI - here is some text from a Garmin tech support email on how to do a "master reset" for the 296... it's a little different than the link above. It did reset the unit, but didn't solve the problem. Good luck!!


Master Reset - With the unit off and all cables disconnected and any
datacard removed, press and hold the OUT+QUIT+NRST buttons. Tap the POWER
button once for about .5 - 1 second. (The unit will beep and power up to a
shaded screen.) Continue holding the OUT+QUIT+NRST buttons for about 6 - 8
seconds and then release. If the unit powers off or refuses to power up to
full brightness, remove and re-install the battery and perform this reset
procedure only one more time. Again remove and re-install the battery. The
unit should now function properly. After this is done, enable the WAAS
function and take it outside to let it acquire the satellite signals for
about 10 minutes

Just an update on the time problem. I went flying today and the time on the 296 was correct prior to seeing a satellite (firmware 3.7).

Scott

Power on problem fixed !!!

When I updated my software to ver 4.7, the unit would lose time (see my earlier posts in this thread). I rolled it back to 3.7 and the problem was corrected. The unit has run perfectly for the past two weeks. This is pointing to a software issue. Last night I downloaded ver 4.8. Prior to upgrading from 3.7 to 4.8, I performed a master reset as described above. The theory is that a user setting may be corrupting the update. Not likely, but stranger things have happened when dealing with software updates. 24 hours later, the unit has been correctly keeping time.

Two changes were made in this 'experiment'. I performed the update on a clean system, and the software was updated to one later revision. I'm confident that one of these actions corrected my corrupt clock. Let me know if anyone would like a copy of 3.7 and the update application associated with that revision.

Yeeee Haaaa. Now I can finally use the auto-tuning on the SL-30.

Scott

Scott:

I found a bug moving user waypoints that are on routes inside controlled airspace in version 4.8.

I reported it to Garmin. You may want to experiment with it before declaring victory.

Vern

vlittle said:

Scott:

I found a bug moving user waypoints that are on routes inside controlled airspace in version 4.8.

I reported it to Garmin. You may want to experiment with it before declaring victory.

Vern

Click to expand...

Vern,

Thanks for the heads-up; I have read the posts on this. I doubt that there is any software out there that is bug free. I only have one user defined waypoint, and it is outside controlled airspace. The bug that you referenced will have no impact on my use. My concern was getting a version of 4.X on my 296 so that it can pre-tune the SL-30. The earlier attempt at loading 4.7 resulted in the clock running slow. This resulted in acquire times of over 30 minutes on multiple occasions. Not acceptable.

I'll await the next Garmin release that may fix your problem, but also introduce additional bugs in the code

Scott

GPS 296 Battery Missing message

I've got this one even after upgrading op sys to 5.20 and buying a new battery, fully charged, etc. Resets, etc. are no help. Garmin thinks another new battery might help and is sending one to me. We'll see. Works fine on ext pwr with this "bug".

Mine continues to have this problem. One way to mitigate the effects is to select the "stored without batteries" option when it can't find the satellites. This results in significantly faster position fix.

Strange, but I am also having the same problem. Is there someone higher up in Garmin that we can email/call?? Anyone know?

New Garmin GPSmap 296 problem

In preparation for today's flight in a friend's RV-4, I powered on my 296 and got a red screen with the message "Software Missing".
I updated the software in December. The unit worked as expected that day and a week later. It's been off until today.
I read and performed the recommended "fixes" as described by Dave Gribble et.al. without success.
Any suggestions?
Thank you.

Garmin handheld failures

The previous string has suggested many firmware/software updates solutions for a hand held failure to acquire properly often because the clock appears to have lost it's time hack. Garmin wants $250 for a repair. For the most part, all the unit needs is a new battery which is soldered to the pc board. The following link will demonstrate the process for replacing the battery. http://www.gpsinformation.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4701
I purchased the battery from Allied Electronics. Works like new now.
Good luck.

Thank you

Thanks, Frank. Will attempt that route.
rd

2 GPS's - lots of waiting fo rme

As the OP on this thread - I can say I've officially given up on a permanent fix. I sent my 296 back to Garmin and paid the $250, and now it is doing the same thing again after about a year. I also have a 1.5 year old 496 (don't ask why) that has started doing the exact same thing.

From what I understand, the internal coin cell is rechargable and is supposed to recharge when the GPS is actually active not just charging. To test this out, I left my 296 powered on by the wall wart for 2 weeks and then turned off for 2 days. No joy on powerup.

I am sure that the battery replacement as listed above will fix the problem, at least for a while. If I ever get time I will try it on one of the units and report. As an avionics engineer, I question the idea of internal, non-replacable batteries.

Until then, the tip about holding down the "zoom out" button while powering on helps - it causes the GPS to power up in autolocate mode and speeds things along.

Good Luck!

Take a look at this thread. If your clock is wrong on start up........

Mine has worked glitch free ever since and we have done 3 others.

196, 296, 396, 496 have the same internal battery setup and it does not charge.

I tried at all before I replaced the battery.


Sal

http://www.vansairforce.com/community/showthread.php?t=32265&highlight=Clock+battery+garmin