GPS 178c issue

[Frankie G]

I dropped the boat in today for a ride, but when the power came on for the GPS, it could not acquire a satellite signal...I tried shutting down and restarting it several times, but nuthin. The wiring all looks fine, so I can't figure it out. Anyone ever have this happen to them?

[DMMSR2784]

unplug it and plug it back in..........?

[Chuckster]

Internal or external antenna?

[Frankie G]

external...side mounted on the cc. i've tried plugging and unplugging, and that got me nowhere... the connections on the dash look clean, though I guess they could use a cleaning...but what do you clean those tiny connections with? I have some stuff from Penn that is anti-corosive, anti-salt and water, but I am not sure liquid is good for the connections. Like i said, all the power comes up, but the first thing it does is try and locate itself and it cannot. Thats fine on days like yesterday and today, but when the weather is marginal or I want to head to a specific location, I wouldn't go out there without it functioning properly.

[Bob Parsons]

Look carefully, maybe even with a magnifying glass, did any of those tiny pins get bent? Somewhere there is a problem with the antennae. Corrosion could be inside the plug and you may need a new plug.

[Frankie G]

I just went outside and fidgeted with it for about 45 mins...used a baby toothbrush and some warm soapy water to scrub the connections as there was some minor corrosion on some of the pegs....then blew aways all the excess moisture with an air gun. It finally found itself and appears to be working normally. Why is it that no matter how hard you try and be prepared for all the little things, there is always something that doesn't work just right? I guess it's just part of owning a boat.

[Breakwater]

Well, it's fixed already, so this is obviously not the solution, but alot of times if a GPS unit has been off for a long time it takes a while to get the minimum 3 satelite fix. Sometimes you just have to be patient for it to calibrate. If you are being too patient, something is probably busted. ;)

[Frankie G]

Ok, so I got it to locate itself in my backyard, which was quite helpful. Next time I splashed it, no go. I finally called Garmin Customer Service, and they hooked me up. After a certain amount of time off line, it loses all it's prior information. In case anyone else has this issue, to find the "Auto locate" function, simultaneously hold the "page" button and the "power" button and you will activate the auto locate feature. It will then acquire satellites and locate itself...the full process will likely take an hour, but at least it ain't broken. By the way, they guy at customer service told me what I needed to know in less than a minute. Very courteous and professional.

Frank

[Blackjack]

Frank -

Thanks, that's good info. I love my garmin 76 gps - no problems so far but I soak those little pins with silicone every fall. New boat will have Raymarine but I am reluctant to lose my Garmin...