Hi,
Does anyone know what might the problem be with my friends TomTom XXL540 device?

I purchased a new battery as the other one was stuffed. I replaced the battery, and went to switch device on. Nope wont power up, battery might need a charge being brand new. Charged battery for 30 mins. Switch charger off, pressed the TomTom button down to power up device. Nope, nothing happened.

Placed on charger. press TomTom button down again, Yep, device works, changed the date to reflect current time. Unplug charger and still no joy.

For reasons unknown to me it appears the battery is not connected. The battery plug is orientated correctly. It's identical to my device and it works with the new battery installed.

I'm stumped as to what the problem is.

Anyone have any idea as to what the problem might be?

Thanks

Faulty battery?
Or are you saying it works in combination with your device?
It could be that you have some technical hardware malfunction with regards to the connection between XXL and the (new) battery.

I think Razorblatter is right...the motherboard has a fault on the power/charging circuit and the original battery was ok after all.

I just had the exact same thing on a laptop yesterday, it worked fine when plugged into the mains but won't run on battery power...I tried a new battery but had the same result.

There's not much you can do apart from replace the motherboard or run it by keeping it plugged in to the power

Thanks for your reply with probable cause.

That very well could be the cause. I tested the battery with a multimeter and it read 9.4 Volts. (not holding charge). Works fine using USB cable from car power supply and using charger from mains power , but fails to turn on when using the devices own battery.

Can these TomTom XXL540 devices be repaired as such, if so, who would one take it to? If not, would it be simpler to purchase another TomTom device?

How did you measure the voltage of the battery?
To be sure you have to measure from the connection points on the motherboard.
It is also a good idea to check for the connection of the new battery if there is also voltage at the battery points in connection with the possible charging of that battery.
Once again opening and measuring is knowing, guessing is missing as we say it here
You need special equipment to remove or solder new SMD parts.

Also "bondy99" I await your reply to my pm on GPS Pwr (meant to ask for email, not password) then we can get your password back on for "the other" forum

Hi biggerdave,

Sorry, I did not receive your pm on GPS Pwr, I'll have a look and I'll be in touch. For reasons unknown, the last time I tried to log in there, the captcha was not showing, nothing seem to happen when I entered my email.

@ pe1agp,

I measured the battery for voltage using a multimeter. Red probe on power wire, Black probe on negative wire., voltage at the time from battery read 4.7v

I have not measured for power to the battery via the motherboard connection point as I could not readily see where to place the probe.
If the battery is good, then maybe the problem could be a faulty terminal on the motherboard where the battery clicks into. This I have not checked.

Does one need the battery connected at that terminal on the motherboard when being tested with the multimeter?

Thanks

It is not necessary to have the battery connected if you want to measure with the power supply if there is a voltage for the battery.

I'm afraid you'll have to take the motherboard off completely in order to be able to check the solder connection at the bottom.

Actually, I do not expect any problems there unless something has broken down when removing the old battery.

So first disconnect the motherboard completely, connect the mains connection and measure whether there is voltage on that connector.

Then disconnect the mains supply and connect the battery, measure at the same points, whether voltage is present

If the voltage regulator is defective you can forget it or you should know someone with special soldering equipment for SMD components.

But without the battery it works, so not too many probes to repair

Thanks for your directions.

Before I proceed with it. The GPS device will work without the battery using the 12v (Cigarette lighter plug) to the device's USB port. Also works with power connection from the charger.

The time clock has to be reset every time the power is disconnected.

I did notice there was some initial resistance when I removed the battery plug from its connector.

I did notice very early stage when I connected the new battery to the device, there was a battery icon showing as soon as it powered up, it was a cylinder shaped three quarters blank with small amount of orange, then it disappeared. That particular icon never shown up since the initial event.

If I read your story like that, then somewhere on the motherboard must be loose, with a little luck and a steady hand with a soldering tip
as sharp as a needle and it might be possible to restore a loose contact.

Certainly a research with a large magnifying glass is necessary at that location, so I wish you every success.
Would you live around the corner in Capelle aan den IJssel then it would not be a problem to stop by

Hi pe1agp,

Yes, what I said is correct. Certainly does appear to be a loose connection somewhere on the motherboard. Large magnifying glass would help in finding the broken connection.
Unfortunately I'm not around the corner where you reside. I'm in the South East of Queensland, Australia.

Oooh but that's quite nearby