Problem with Nuvi 310. It turns itself off!

christiani · Occasional Visitor Joined: Feb 07, 2007 Posts: 20

I've just bought a second-hand Garmin Nuvi 310 sat nav.
The unit is fine when selecting one of the numerous locations that you can choose from (petrol stations etc), but if I try to select a destination using the postcode option, I encounter a problem. I select the 'spell city/postal code' button, which gives me a 'search all cities' option. After clicking this, it takes me to the 'enter house number' option. My house has a name and not a number, so I just press done (in order to get to the other options). When I press 'done' though, it turns itself off!
I updated the firmware, using the webupdater program from the garmin site, but it hasn't fixed the problem. I just wondered if anyone knows of this problem, and if there's any way of fixing it.

swing · Posted: Wed Feb 07, 2007 9:51 pm Post subject:

Hmm, I tried something similar, and the first time my 310 turned itself off too. However, when I tried to recreate it to describe what worked and didn't work, it happily worked whatever option I selected.

One thing - are you turning the unit on and immediately performing the search? If I leave the unit a little while I can't make it turn off whatever I so.

In fact, what happens if you just leave the unit - does it turn off? If so, there are a number of other things which could cause the unit to turn off after about 30-50 seconds that are unrelated to the menu you select at that moment.

Finally, do you have an SD card in the unit, and if so, what is on the card? Music? More maps?
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christiani · Occasional Visitor Joined: Feb 07, 2007 Posts: 20

Thanks for the swift reply. It turns off in exactly the same place every time, whether the sd card is in the slot or not. If I leave the unit on, it remains on.
Is there any way of formatting the sd card and the sat nav unit so that it's as it was when it was manufactured?
I'm asking this because the previous owner left songs etc on the card, and may possibly have caused the problem with it (I wouldn't have thought it would have had this problem from new).

Anita · Posted: Wed Feb 07, 2007 10:05 pm Post subject:

Have you tried entering zero for the house number if it doesn't have one instead of pressing 'Done'?

This is what you need to do on the i3, but it may not apply to the more sophisticated 310.
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christiani · Occasional Visitor Joined: Feb 07, 2007 Posts: 20

Nope. I entered '0' instead of just pressing the done button, but it still turned off.

christiani · Occasional Visitor Joined: Feb 07, 2007 Posts: 20

Another thing. I've just realised that the sat nav isn't showing any signal, even when left in the car for about 10 minutes.

swing · Posted: Thu Feb 08, 2007 7:59 am Post subject:

Ah - now this might be part of the key to the solution - leave the unit for up to 45 minutes to allow it to get an initial lock.

Once you have a GPS signal, try your search again - you may find it now works.
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christiani · Occasional Visitor Joined: Feb 07, 2007 Posts: 20

I've just tried leaving it out in the car for 45 mins, but it just says that it's finding it hard to track satellites. This seems odd, as my old Garmin c310 finds them within a minute in exactly the same place.
Also, regarding the post code input problem, surely you should be able to input a destination post code, regardless of whether the sat nav had found a signla or not. I'm certainly able to do that on my c310 :s
Any other ideas anyone?

swing · Posted: Thu Feb 08, 2007 4:59 pm Post subject:

I would concentrate on getting a gps signal, as I think the turning off problem goes away once the unit has signal.

However, as I understand it, you are not entering a postcode - you are selecting to enter an address (ie by not entering the postcode), and you are also asking the unit to find all roads in all cities (by selecting Search All Cities) - this is why it's turning off - it can't cope with the amount of data it has to provide back to you.

Your options are to enter a postcode into the postcode entry box, or select a City to help pin down the location you want to provide. Then try leaving the house number blank and it will let you enter the street from the limited postcode / city area (and it's surroundings).
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philpugh · Posted: Thu Feb 08, 2007 5:58 pm Post subject:

Err....

You have lifted the GPS antennae at the rear of the unit ?

Just thought I would explore the obvious Wink

My brand new - out of the box - 660 got a lock within 30 secs - very impressive.
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swing · Posted: Thu Feb 08, 2007 6:10 pm Post subject:

christiani · Occasional Visitor Joined: Feb 07, 2007 Posts: 20

Yes I lifted the antenna up on the back of the unit ;)
I contacted Garmin about the prob, and they said that it sounds like it has lost the map data or something 8O
They said that they could reinstall the map data for me, but that it would cost about £35. Is there any way that I can do that? Especially as I've deleted all data on the sd card and data on the actual unit (maps and everything).

christiani · Occasional Visitor Joined: Feb 07, 2007 Posts: 20

Another update for all of you!
I was finally able to upload the maps back onto the Nuvi. Everything is working fine now (it can even simulate a journey now without any problem), apart from one thing... It can't find any satellites, whether it's in my house, outside, or in the car!!
I just wondered if anyone knows any reasons for this.

christiani · Occasional Visitor Joined: Feb 07, 2007 Posts: 20

I've just tried to get a signal from it again by standing outside, and found that an odd thing happens. If I turn the unit on without the aerial flipped open, the signal strength meter is of course not shown at the top right of the screen. When I flip it up though, it immediately shows 2 bars of strength for a split second, and then shows nothing. Then 2 or 3 times after this is show the 'updating gps software' warning for a split second, but doesn't actually update anything.
Has given anyone any clues?

swing · Posted: Fri Feb 09, 2007 8:19 am Post subject:

It is possible that the WebUpdater firmware update failed to work correctly. Can I recommend you download the firmware file from Garmin and re-apply it. Then reboot the Nuvi. This may fix the problem. Without resolving the GPS firmware failing to apply, you will never get a GPS signal.
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