Dumb questions about charging my new Nuvi 1350

[LBrandt]

Hello,

I just received my new Garmin 1350, and it’s the first time that I’ve ever owned or used a GPS. I ordered a separate A/C charger, but that hasn’t arrived yet. All that I have so far is the unit and a charger that hooks to the car’s lighter socket.

My questions are:

I’m assuming that I have to charge it before attempting to use it, is that correct?

If I use the car’s lighter socket to charge it, does the car have to be running, or does it matter?

If I use the car’s lighter socket to charge it, will it take a lot longer than if I wait until my A/C charger arrives?

If I opt to get a USB cable to charge it from a PC (no USB cable came with the unit), does that method take a lot longer to charge the unit as opposed to using an A/C charger?

And finally, how will I know when the unit is fully charged?

Please forgive these (probably dumb) questions.

Thanks,
Louis

[maptechie]

Welcome to the Garmin group!

Yes, fully charge the unit before first use for sure!

To answer your other questions, charging in the car will depend on the electrical system of the vehicle. Some lighter sockets are always live, some switch with the key. With the GPS on, turn the car off. If the GPS says "Running on battery" on the screen, you'll know the lighter socket has switched off with the key. Charging in the car or in the house should be about the same time.

As for the USB cable as a charger, yes, it will charge, but much slower than with the proper adapter.

On my 755t, there's no "Fully charged" indication. Not sure about the new units.

Hope that helps!

Bob

[t923347]

If you attach the unit to a plug in your vehicle that is always "powered" (works when the key isn't in the on position) then you wouldn't need to have the car running but you will be using the vehicles battery. If you plug it into a "non powered" outlet then you would have to turn the engine on. This is the same as any other device you'd be charging in your vehicle.

It will take longer to charge with the USB cable than it would from an AC or DC adapter.

There is no easy way to know when it's fully charged other than looking at the battery indicator in the top right corner of the main Where To screen. if you press on that icon and hold for 5 - 10 seconds a new screen will appear and on that screen you can see the battery charge level, as a percentage figure I think. While charging the device via the AC adapter you will see this percentage rise to 100% and on some Nuvi models the percentage will change to say "charging complete" or "fully charged" or something like that. This is available on all Nuvi models, at least since the 2xx and 7xx series.

[LBrandt]

Let me also ask this follow-up question. If the car is running, does the unit have to be charged BEFORE plugging it into the car's lighter socket in order for it to work, or will it simply begin operating off the car's battery, even if it hasn't been charged prior to starting the car?

Louis

[t923347]

Plug the Nuvi in and start the car. The Nuvi will start up automatically and it will also charge the battery at the same time. Doesn't matter if the unit hasn't been charged before that.


If you plug the Nuvi into a powered outlet in the vehicle, even if the vehicle is turned off, the Nuvi will start up and charge the battery using the vehicles battery as the power source.

[LBrandt]

Ok, so far I understand everything that you all have said, and I appreciate it. One more question: The manual tells me that I need to go outside to an open area, in order to acquire the satellites. Must the battery be charged before doing this, or can I simply install the unit in the car, plug it into the ligher socket, and begin driving and without having previously charged the unit, will it begin to acquire the satellites?

Louis

[SergZak]

The battery does NOT need to be fully charged for the satellite acquisition process to take place.

Note that you should remain stationary though at this initial acquisition stage. Movement during this process may cause very long acquisition times...if it can even acquire at all. Just sit still during this process and all will be fine.

[LBrandt]

But if I take the unit outside and stay still while it acquires the satellite, won't it have to re-acquire it once I put it into the car?

Louis

[SergZak]

No it won't. The unit will acquire running from external power or battery power. There is zero difference. It will not have to reacquire when switching from battery to external power and vise-versa.