Having problems acquiring satellites

I experienced the same problem about acquiring satellite signal even when it's a clear sunny day. After 30 mintues, it was still searching! The unit appeared to have "stuck" in this acquiring mode. The following worked for me: 1) open the GPS antenna 2) press the bottom left screen while holding the power button to turn the unit on 3) enter maintenace mode 4) select diagnostics 5) clear error report, do NOT clear any user data 6) restart unit the usual way My GPS 350 was able to acquire satellite signal in less than 1 minute after the above steps were taken.

I own & operate the electronics repair company, Westek Electronics in Nashville, TN. We repair & refurbish GPS units among other things. We have repaired many nuvi 350/360 units with this issue.

This issue is typically due to a hardware malfunction and cannot be remedied by software upgrades, resetting, etc.

Do this test:

1. Strip a ¼” of a wire twist-tie end (the kind found on bread wrappers) bare exposing the fine wire core.
2. Power up your nuvi 350/360 and confirm that you are not receiving any signal.
3. While still powered on, insert the bare end of the twist-tie into the center female external antenna jack located on the side of the antenna. If done correctly the external antenna jack will firmly hold the twist-tie in place. You cannot damage the unit by doing this.
4. If you now have satellite reception then proceed to step 5. If you still do not have any reception then I have no further advice other than to try all of the update/reset procedures. If all else fails return to Garmin for repair.
5. Once you have established that you have signal using the twist-tie, remove the twist-tie and confirm signal loss.

1. Purchase & use an external antenna.
2. Return the GPS to Garmin for repair ($175 if its out-of-warranty). Or,
3. Send your Garmin Nuvi 350/360 to us for repair. We charge $55 (return shipping included) to repair this malfunction. We can also accommodate this repair transaction via eBay in order to provide you with additional reassurance (an addition $5 is added to cover eBay fees, etc. when using this option). Our eBay ID is westek_electronics, feel free to review our feedback ratings. To initiate your repair contact us at [email protected].

This problem is not caused by poor solder joints. It's caused by a defective part. We sent a "marked" defective unit to the repair shop mentioned above and upon its return, disamantled the GPS receiver assembly and made the following evaluation:

1. The shop did NOT replace the defective component causing the initial problem in the 1st place. The defective part was STILL in the circuit.

2. The shop placed a wire jumper between the internal antenna and the external antenna port. This type of modification places a +2.5VDC bias on the internal antenna and essentially shorts the internal antenna to the external antenna (when connected), giving unpredictable results. It also affects the circuit impedance and signal strength. This is not the correct way to resolve this issue.

3. The defective part needs to be replaced with a higher rated part. This type of repair returns the unit to full functionality and allows the unit to properly switch between the internal and external antenna as it was intended to do by design

- Jim
SHARCNET-USA
Comments: I will aso add, as the part deteriorates, it becomes resistive and can eventually short out and shunt the incoming RF signal to ground......EVEN with the jumper procedure performed by the shop mentioned above.

- Jim
SHARCNET-USA

I found this on Garmin's FAQs. If the GPS is having issues acquiring satellites on the dash of the vehicle, the problem most likely is due to the coating that the manufacturer applied to the windshield. Some cars are equipped with special windshields that may contain metal in the glass (metal oxide) that prevents the gps from having a clear line of site to the satellites. Windshields with solar ray glass, solar tint, heated or heat reflective windshields, and insulated or Insta-Clear glass may also affect satellite acquisition. If the car has one of these windshields, an external antenna might be required to receive satellite signals. If unsure about whether the vehicle has one these mentioned features, contact the dealer. The other thing you can try is to close and reopen the antenna. Sometimes that wakes up the unit, especially if it was turned on when out of satellite site.

We have a Nuvi 350, In a convertible car and open the GPS antenna and turned it on, we even tried the rest button? Still no satellite reception, keeps asking if we moved 100 miles or more, or if we are in a building, both answers are NO.

Many people who have the Garmin c330 Street Pilot, and probably on other Garmin Navigators as well, have experienced the satellite problem AFTER they have replaced the battery, which is very easy to do. The reason for satellite acquisition failure is I believe, is that the programming for satellite acquisition is a "volatile memory" so when the old battery is disconnected to install the new battery, the satellite acquisition memory is lost. It can be reprogrammed only at Garmin;s Olathe, Kansas facility and the charge in December 2009 is $79. To preclude this happening, you must not disconnect the old battery until you have connected the new battery. Don't worry, you can have both batteries connected and the voltage will not increase as long as you have the positive and negatives to the correct terminal. Once the new battery is soldered in, then take a tiny pair of clippers and clip the wires of the new battery and remove it. Using that procedure, there is never a voltage loss so the volatile memory is retained. If you have further questions, email me at wayne dot tippin at cox dot net.

I know it sounds silly but sometimes when my Nuvi 350 does this, an hour or two in the freezer does the trick.