GPS overheating

[gg2000]

I have a Dell Axim X3, TT3 and a Haicom HI-204S GPS. The combination works well except when I leave the car parked facing the sun on even a fairly cool day! Typically the GPS works perfectly during the journey but when I return to the parked car, the red LED in the GPS has stopped flashing and is permanently on. Typically the GPS will start working again about half an hour into the journey (aircon on full) or if I cool the GPS with spray freezer it will work again within a few minutes. The dash board temperature obviously gets very hot, I guess around 50C but this must be the same for all cars. I may be making the problem slightly worse in that I have the GPS permanently powered but I thought a GPS was designed work under these conditions. The HI-204S operating temperature specification states 70C which seems fairly typical.

I am surprised I cannot find on the forum any reference to others with a similar problem. Could it be I have a faulty GPS or does everybody else move the GPS into the shade when parked?

Any thoughts or comments would be very welcome
George

[lbendlin]

If you search the forums then you will find plenty of discussions about overheating. It's even worse with PDAs (the screen is very sensitive to heat.

Obviously also the color of the GPS device is important. Mine (TomTom wired/Leadtek) is silver which helps quite a bit.

You will need to consider a cap or some other form of deflector that you can put over the device when you are out of the car. I have placed my PocketPC directly on top of the aircon, so that I can restart navigation quicker. Whenever I leave the car standing around I put a white baseball cap over it or put the aluminium shades up. Also helps against prying eyes
_________________
Lutz

Report Map Errors here:
TomTom/TeleAtlas NAVTEQ

[gg2000]

Many thanks Lutz for the quick reply. Following your very helpful comments, when I parked the car yesterday I moved the GPS off the dashboard and placed it below the dash level well out of any direct sunlight. However upon return about 4 hours later the GPS was locked up (LED permanently on). It started working again after turning off the power for a few minutes and then driving a short distance.

It obviously gets hot inside a car even on fairly average temperature days like yesterday, so what surprises me is why there are so few others suffering with this problem. I have searched all the forums using a number of key words but can only find a few references to temperature problems, none seem to indicate a similar severity. Does this mean most users move the GPS to a much cooler position every time they park the car, or other GPS makes perform better or I have a faulty GPS

Regards
George

[lbendlin]

It may be a combination of all these factors. Who knows, maybe the soldering on your receiver is sub-optimal. Or something else on the PCB is affected by the growing/shrinking due to the temperature.

Why don't you try to get a replacement unit?
_________________
Lutz

Report Map Errors here:
TomTom/TeleAtlas NAVTEQ

[sven]

Interesting.......

I use the same combo, but with CoPilot rather than TT3.

Returning from Scotland the other weekend, my Haicom HI-204S GPS receiver lost the satellite signals and, when the weather clouded in, it eventually started working again, but only with a very weak signal.

It had been in the clear vinyl map pocket in my tank bag (I use it on my motorbike) and the weather was very sunny and relatively warm - 65-67 degrees F. I did notice some condensation insdie the casing.

Handtec have replaced the receiver under warranty, but I think I'll make sure the replacement is located somewhere cooler.

[rossh51]

I have recently replaced my 203E with a 204S. I'm in Australia and although the season is into Autumn(Fall for our US readers!) its still quite warm. I have the 204S mounted under the rear parcel shelf in the rear window in a Citroen C5. It regularly gets to at least 50dec C there but I have not seen any issues at all with a failure to work. In fact it is hugely better than the Evermore chip set based 203 for both TTF and satellite sensitivity and hloding on to the signal as an aside. Well worth the small amount extra for the Sirf chipset.
RossH

[gg2000]

rossh51 - Many thanks with your very interesting comments which I think confirm I have a faulty GPS receiver. All this week it has been cooler with a lot of cloud and the GPS has worked perfectly. The problem is probably as suspected by lbendlin that the higher temperatures cause a connection problem or the like

Now plan to get a replacement unit which hopefully will solve the problem
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TTGO 700 v6.15 External Aerial

[davidj]

I always move my 204s (and the Ipaq) when I park (I live in Manchester, UK) and overheating would be the last of my worries if I left it on display (replacing the broken window would be top of the list!)

As such I have no problems to date, the summer months may tell a different story though. Up to now I have been very impressed with this device, pick up is excellent (I use the lighter socket - so it is not permenantly powered) and much better than past cars I have had with standard fit Sat Nav.

I have toyed with the idea of hard wiring to a discreet location, your experience may well convince me to carry on as I am. For me it is no hardship, and the benefit of being able to move it to another vehicle kind of seals the deal.

To prove the point with your 204, try sticking it in a cool box on a hot day and see if the problem goes away. If it is the same situation it must be something to do with the power supply when the vehicle is not being used. Just an Idea

[gg2000]

Just to complete the story about my overheating HI-204S receiver. I recently obtained another HI-204S (different supplier) and so far it has worked perfectly even on a hot day like today.

However my son who purchased the same set up as myself from my original supplier now has exactly the same problem with the GPS failing, even on slightly warm days. A second unit from this same eBay supplier has also failed.

It seems as a minimum there is a defective batch of heat sensitive HI-204S about, or could it be the eBay supplier is selling defective stock
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TTGO 700 v6.15 External Aerial

[Dave]

Personally I always try to avoid ebay. There maybe some good bargains there, but a lot of bad batches get sold on ebay because companies can get around havng to support warranties.

[sven]

I had my receiver changed under warranty by Handtec and, after functioning resonably well on my holiday to Austria and back, it's suffering exactly the same problem as the first one!

It seems that it's not "fit for purpose" and I'm goig to demand a refund so I can buy an alternative make

[gg2000]

Hi Sven
I purchased my original Haicom receiver on eBay from PDA -GB EBAY. This unit had overheating problems from day one. Interestingly the invoice for my replacement unit is headed www.handtec so as I suspected eBay is just another outlet. After several hot days I am please to say the replacement is working OK but too early to say if the problem will reoccur . The only visible difference between the two units is that the second unit has an extra label on the base, warning about strong magnets, which may not mean anything!

As you may have read, my son had exactly the same problem with his receiver which was purchased from PDA -GB EBAY and is now awaiting his third unit having had two receivers with the same overheating problem.

There is defiinately a bad batch of HI-204S around
George
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TTGO 700 v6.15 External Aerial

[sven]

Handtec are givng me a refund, so I've ordered a Rikaline 6010 (?) which some of my bike club members use - hopefully this will be OK.

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