Zumo User Forums

this is in use on my motorbike ,it is 11 years old and always performed well/

Now keeps saying BATTERY low and I believe the charging unit is working properly

Could it be it needs a new battery due to age ?

anyone any knowledge please

TIA

Trekker

Hi

I don't know the 340 series, but I have just taken a quick look at the manual.

It doesn't look as though the battery is accessible without unscrewing the body - but the unit itself has 3 power sources. The battery itself, the bike cradle - 2 pins on the back which mate with 2 pins on the cradle, and the USB / car adapter.

If power from the USB does not charge the battery and power from the bike cradle does not charge the battery, but both provide sufficient power to keep it working when in the car/on the bike - then either the battery is faulty (after 11 years it is distinctly possible), or the charging / power circuitry has packed in - the electronics that allows the unit to be in use even though it is charging.

I don't know of a way to know which it is. If it was mine, I'd take a look inside and see what battery replacement you need, and then get one from Garmin - to ensure you don't get a dodgy one.


Do you ride a motorbike using the USB connector, or is it powered through the cradle ? The USB connector on the bike will be prone to too much vibration and they tend to fail - much sooner than 11 years though - which is why they use a different cradle for a motorcycle.

I use a Zumo 340 in a cradle on my Honda XL600LM handlebar.
I had the same problem as you.
For a long time I thought either a faulty battery or intermittent power supply due to a faulty wire or power pack.
After lots of playing around it turns out that the two pins on the cradle were not being pressed hard enough onto the connectors on the unit. I reckon this was due to many years of vibration from the old thumper engine causing wear on where the unit slots onto the cradle. I put a thin line of superglue along the forward edge of the lower cradle/unit flange in order to push the unit a little closer to the pins, plus I cleaned the pins as they had got blackened (by tiny sparks?). The problem was solved.