The GPS unit will not charge. I have plugged it into a car outlet and the light turns blue but never makes it to red. I have charged it over night and the blue light is now off but theunit will not turn on.

The traffic receiver is in the car charger cable. The charger should have a red light on if it is getting power. If the light is on and the unit is not charging and you have no traffic, the charger cable is bad. If the light is off, then either the fuse did not fix the problem, blew again, or is somehow not sitting properly in the charger. Another thing you can check is by using the unit in another vehicle. If it works fine there, then the charger is not making good contact with your vehicle outlet for some reason. You will probably have to buy a new traffic receiver charging cable.

Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} FIRST, make sure you have the GARMIN approved charger!!!!

There are three ways to charge the internal battery in your automotive GPS unit.1

1. Use the provided vehicle power cable that came with your GPS unit. The unit will charge while powered on and using the device as well as when the GPS unit is powered off and plugged into a running vehicle. About 3 hrs for a full charge. If the unit will not charge in the vehicle, check the fuse in the power cable for the unit and the power outlet in the vehicle.
2. Use an AC power adaptor. Some units come with this power cable to plug the GPS unit into a wall outlet allowing the GPS unit to take a charge. For units that do not come with this cable, one can be purchased from Garmin's online store.
3. For most units, the final way of charging the battery is to plug the GPS into a powered on computer with a USB cable2. This method of charging will be a trickle charge and it may take longer (like a full day) than the other two options, however it will still charge the battery. A USB cable is provided with a few GPS models. For those that don't come with this cable, one can either be ordered from the online store or you can use a standard USB to mini-USB cable that fits the unit and plugs into your computer.

1 - Please note that temperature can play an effect on the charging of a device. If the battery registers a temperature of 0°C and below or 45°C and above (32°F and 113°F respectively) then it will not charge. When connected to external power it will only be operating off of external power.
2 - The Quest® and Quest® 2 will not charge using a USB cable.

Sounds like a battery problem. You may have to send to Garmin for replacement of the battery as it's not user fixable. I also highly suggest using a Garmin approved charger/ car charger if you don't have that!!
Or understand this:
Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} There are three ways to charge the internal battery in your automotive GPS unit.1

1. Use the provided vehicle power cable that came with your GPS unit. The unit will charge while powered on and using the device as well as when the GPS unit is powered off and plugged into a running vehicle. About 3 hrs for a full charge. If the unit will not charge in the vehicle, check the fuse in the power cable for the unit and the power outlet in the vehicle.
2. Use an AC power adaptor. Some units come with this power cable to plug the GPS unit into a wall outlet allowing the GPS unit to take a charge. For units that do not come with this cable, one can be purchased from Garmin's online store.
3. For most units, the final way of charging the battery is to plug the GPS into a powered on computer with a USB cable2. This method of charging will be a trickle charge and it may take longer (like a full day) than the other two options, however it will still charge the battery. A USB cable is provided with a few GPS models. For those that don't come with this cable, one can either be ordered from the online store or you can use a standard USB to mini-USB cable that fits the unit and plugs into your computer.

Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} Sounds like a bad or low battery. Do you have the Garmin approved charger / car charger?? You may have to send your GPS in for battery replacement or try this:
There are three ways to charge the internal battery in your automotive GPS unit.1

1. Use the provided vehicle power cable that came with your GPS unit. The unit will charge while powered on and using the device as well as when the GPS unit is powered off and plugged into a running vehicle. About 3 hrs for a full charge. If the unit will not charge in the vehicle, check the fuse in the power cable for the unit and the power outlet in the vehicle.
2. Use an AC power adaptor. Some units come with this power cable to plug the GPS unit into a wall outlet allowing the GPS unit to take a charge. For units that do not come with this cable, one can be purchased from Garmin's online store.
3. For most units, the final way of charging the battery is to plug the GPS into a powered on computer with a USB cable2. This method of charging will be a trickle charge and it may take longer (like a full day) than the other two options, however it will still charge the battery. A USB cable is provided with a few GPS models. For those that don't come with this cable, one can either be ordered from the online store or you can use a standard USB to mini-USB cable that fits the unit and plugs into your computer.

1 - Please note that temperature can play an effect on the charging of a device. If the battery registers a temperature of 0°C and below or 45°C and above (32°F and 113°F respectively) then it will not charge. When connected to external power it will only be operating off of external power.
2 - The Quest® and Quest® 2 will not charge using a USB cable.

Ahh, the notorious battery problem. I had (2) units that would not charge or turn on (red light just kept flashing). I opened the unit and disconnected the battery on (1) and completely removed the leaking battery on the other since I could not find replacements batteries. The units work fine now when plugged in (AC or DC adapter of course !). Still looking for a replacement battery...

Are you plugging it in to your car, is the cig outlet in the car have a bad fuse, does the charge
plug for the unit have a fuse in it.Check these first to make sure power is getting to the unit.
I can not tell if the unit needs to be charged first or if it comes charged as you did not post the model.

First plug the charge adapter into an outlet, then plug into the unit. Push the power button to turn the unit on. Now, push the button for the light. The light should come on. At this point you hit the charge button and the green light should start blinking and there will no beeping. Then turn off the light. The green light should continue to blink and the unit will charge. This worked for me, hope it helps!

it does not seems to charge / or turn ON either from the computer or when plugged to an electrical outlet to the wall. Red light is still ON after the whole night . What's wrong ?? Can you please HELP - CODY STELLER MINE IS A 4 GIGA BITE MP4 PLEASE HELP ONLY

There are 4 reasons why your unit is behaving this way:
1. Charger is the problem.
2. The docking station is the broken.
3. The battery is broken or not accepting charge.
4. The actual unit is the problem.
It is very hard to tell which one is causing this to happen.
Let us do some troubleshooting first:
1. Plug your charger in an A/C outlet and make sure the red power light (left) is lit, otherwise the charger or the docking station is broken.
2. You can test the charger with a multimeter. Unplug the charger from the docking station and measure the voltage across the outside and inside, it should register more than 5 volts DC. If there is a 5Volt DC the docking station is the problem otherwise the charger is broken.
3. If the red power light is lit and the status light (right) is lit too, your docking station is broken.
4. If the red power light is lit, dock the unit into the charger, the status light (left) should turn red when your battery is accepting charge or turn blue when your battery is fully charged.
5. If the status light will not lit at all (while the red power light is on), tap the screen while the unit is docked on the charger. If the unit will become alive, you need a new battery otherwise you need a new unit.

12 hours is very long time to charge, the status light should turn to blue in less than 2 hours especially for a new battery.

Hello kdiltzbook,

Most GPS units can be charged three different ways:

1. Connection to a computer via USB port
2. Connection to a automobile via cigarette lighter plug
3. Connection to a wall outlet via an AC adapter

Typically most GPS devices these days include only the USB cord. Some GPS units also include the cigarette lighter plug. For most GPS units the cigarette lighter plug and AC adapter are optional accessories have to be purchased in addition to the GPS.

You don't mention which model of Magellan GPS you have so I am not sure which cords your GPS should have included. It sounds like you have the cigarette lighter cord and the USB cord? I am sure that Magellan has an AC adapter available for your GPS. You will want to contact them directly (their website is http://www.magellangps.com) or visit an electronics store that sells Magellan GPS receivers (such as Best Buy™) to purchase the adapter.

However, most GPS receivers can be charged from the USB programming cord on the computer. However, ensure you are plugging the cord directly into a USB 2.0 on the computer itself NOT a port on a USB hub. (A USB hub may not output enough power to actually power and charge the GPS.)

You will also want to check and replace the fuse on the automobile plug.

I believe that both the USB and automobile cords should be charging the GPS. If neither adapter is charging the unit then the problem may be the GPS unit itself. The GPS may have a bad battery or problem with its charge circuitry. If that’s the case the unit may require factory service as the battery pack is generally not considered to be end user replaceable.


Best Regards,
Ken
"Go Ahead. Use Us."