My GPS isn't charging and it keeps shutting down saying low battery, even though the charger is plugged in. I have tried it in 2 cars and it still does it. I don't know if it's the charger or the unit; and I don't know if it's worth fixing or I should just buy a new one. It is a Roadmate 1420. Thanks.

One possible cause is that your battery is low or the battery can no longer hold a (good) charge. In this case, the TomTom is shutting down because there's not enough battery to keep it running, even though it is plugged into a power source.

To determine if the battery is the cause, try to charge the TomTom battery .... using a (USB) connection to your computer, or a direct power source (i.e. while the TomTom is not being used). Let it charge for a few hours until the batter charge indicator shows that it is fully charged (or just leave it charging overnight).
Then, unplug the TomTom from the "charger" and power it up. If the TomTom (battery) doesn't hold a (good) charge, the device will shut down within a few minutes, e.g. 10 mins or much less.
When you (then) plug the device into a power source, and it doesn't stay on (i.e. it keeps shutting down after 10 seconds), you can safely conclude that the battery is the cause of your problem.

My 2 year old TomTom gps Via 280 will suddenly not turn on

Check to make sure that the rear USB jack isn't loose. This is a common problem on ALL nuvi's that are charged by a USB jack only. If the jack is broken, the battery will not be charged. When you plug in the charger, the battery icon with green bars should go away. If you can still see it, your USB jack is broke and needs to be replaced. I've replaced these many times. More info can be found here:

http://www.sharc.net/gps_charger_repair.htm

that usaully happens when the battery is low...try charging it up for a few hours via the usb connector..or the car or home charger, what ever you have handy

its possible its not taking a charge though...hook it up to either the home or car charger to check the charging, it wont show if the usb is connected.

Bill
EX

Standing Member of G.O.T.

try replacing the battery

may be battery life come to end..

You may have to replace your battery, these go faulty often, even though they seem OK.

its probably not charging...very common problem with this and many others.

make sure green light is on the car charger and let it plugged in for awhile, then hold the power button (upto ten seconds) until it starts..if that fails

the following magellan 2000,2200t,2500,3000,3100,3140,4000,4040,4050 and the 6000 are known to have faulty dc connectors...if your magellan gps is not charging or will not power up, its most likely the dc power port...

you can get it repaired, here
or buy the port here

if you need further help, just let me know.

bill

connect the garmin to your computer using the usb port. It will start charging then. For some reason when the battery goes dead in this unit the only way to charge it is with computer. the car adaptor will not work once the battery gets real low.

We did not have a charger to plug in the GPS to charge, so my husband plugged it into a battery charger. I guess the battery charger was low, so it drained the unit rather than charging it. It was so low it would not come on again. I have an electric charger that adapts the car charger into AC current, so I tried that and the unit came on. Problem solved and the GPS is working again. Thanks for responding.