Zumo power?

[RedHot]

So I have a Zumo 550 and all of a sudden the power doesn't seem very strong. I can hear the music coming through, but it's not as loud as it should be. I can't hear the navigation, the voice is too soft. I replaced the ear speakers and that didn't help. I have the coiled part coming out of the bike, attached to an extension coil to reach the helmet. When I take out the middle cord, the sound is the same. I've cleaned the bottom of the unit with a pencil eraser; I'm not sure how to clean the prongs on the cradle that's mounted to the bike. WHAT ELSE????

 

I don't know what else to try. No, I haven't called Garmin and sat on hold for 45minutes (yes I know it's worth the wait), but I thought I'd check here first.

 

Do you guys have any suggestions?? Is it possible the cradle is damaged? I did take the unit off the bike during the rain once, so it did get wet, but that was about a month ago.

 

Any thoughts or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

 

TIA!

Tina

[bh1859]

Hi Tina,

 

Mine is sent off to Garmin at the moment being replaced so I can't access mine to help you but try Zumoforums.com. You can go to the specific model and there are a lot of knowledgable people there that may help you out if you don't get an answer here.

 

Good luck,

Brian

[DiggerJim]

So I have a Zumo 550 and all of a sudden the power doesn't seem very strong. I can hear the music coming through, but it's not as loud as it should be. I can't hear the navigation, the voice is too soft.

Mine is doing the exact same thing! Started this weekend. Love to know what you find out. I'll pay you money to listen to Garmin hold music to find out for me

[Skywagon]

I assume you know there are two volume controls....

[RockBottom]

My hypothesis is that you're just getting old.

[DiggerJim]

I assume you know there are two volume controls....

Yep - jacked up to 100%. Used to use them down at 60-70% in fact.

[RedHot]

My hypothesis is that you're just getting old.

 

Thanks Steve, but I'm not old - I'm chronilogically challenged but I'm still cuter than YOU!

[RedHot]

I assume you know there are two volume controls....

Yep - jacked up to 100%. Used to use them down at 60-70% in fact.

 

 

Yup volume is at 100%; yellow bars are all the way to the top!

 

I've logged in on the Garmin forum but I'm not sure they are going to come up with anything. I'll call tomorrow and if I have success, I'll post the answer and my bill!

[Danny caddyshack Noonan]

That is a known fault with Zumo, especially the 665. A recent firmware upgrade kicked it up a little. You might check for an update. Also, I find that mine works a tiny bit better with less than 100% volume on the nav setting and 100% on the media.

If that doesn't work, call Garmin.

[WestTX RT]

I'm going back to the over-simplistic here. Take the unit off the cradle and clean off all the contacts with an eraser, make them nice and shiny. Unplug all your connections and spray them with contact cleaner and wipe them off if you can. Zumos like to be clean.

[RedHot]

Thanks for the tips. What is contact cleaner? Can you give me a name or a brand? Not wd40 right?

[terryofperry]

Make sure the contact cleaner is plastic friendly.

 

By the way, I needed Garmin 2 weeks ago, called them up, they answered right away, no hold, and solved the problem. They said they have added people. Just my experience.

 

Is the volume low without the headset attached?

 

Terry

[RedHot]

Make sure the contact cleaner is plastic friendly.

 

By the way, I needed Garmin 2 weeks ago, called them up, they answered right away, no hold, and solved the problem. They said they have added people. Just my experience.

 

Is the volume low without the headset attached?

 

Terry

 

How do I know that? I only have the speakers - the unit doesn't have a speaker on it.

 

I did mess with the speaker jacks on the unit - that seemed to help but I'm not sure for how long. Trying to do a IBA SS2000 this weekend and this darn thing may not cooperate with me!

[WestTX RT]

Go to any electronics shop, Radio Shack or a ham radio shop and tell them you need some contact cleaner. Take your Zumo with you and some of them might even help you clean it. If you get it cleaned and working, you might put some dielectric grease on the offending piece so it won't gunk up again. Just ask the techies at the shop if they have it.

[terryofperry]

I'm not familiar with the 550 so I did not know it lacked an internal speaker. If playing with the jack helped that may be the issue.

 

You may try a little di-electric grease on the jack, can't hurt. Any Advance Auto, Napa, Autozone.

 

Terry

[hopz]

Get your automobile mount and put it in the car. Put your unit in the mount. Try it there.

There is a speaker on the auto mount. Look at the back of the auto mount first though. A lot of the mounts come with a sticker inadvertently pasted over the speaker outlet... which is on the back side.

 

Also know that there is a microphone on the mount so you can bluetooth the unit to your phone and talk/listen hands free while in the car. You can check the Navigation prompts in the car. If the volume is normal there then the unit is OK and the bike mount may be faulting. If the sound is low while in the auto mount the issue may be the unit itself. Having said that... there is not a lot of history of low volume due to unit issues. Mounts maybe, units... not that I recall.

 

Calling Garmin is usually a no-wait situation if you avoid Mondays and the mornings.

 

If you come to the conclusion that the unit is operating properly...What language are you using? Some have lower volumes than others. There is a hack to increase the volume if you need it.

 

p.s. I used to be the moderator over at zumo forums.... but I retired.

[w2ge]

As someone mentioned, Garmin's telephone support has benn EXCELLENT as of late.. I can remember the days of 30 minute waits... I dunno what they did, but you usually get someone almost immediately.

 

So don't hesitate to call.

[RT_Jim]

I'd also suggest you unplug each connector (one at a time), blow on it, then lick it (seriously), and then plug it back in. Do this for EVERY connector - those from the GPS and those from the Autocom.

 

This will make sure each and every connection is 'fresh' again and making good contact (that's what the 'lick' is for).

 

I had a similar problem and doing this solved it. Face it, after years of riding, you've shaked, rattled, and rolled the connections and subjected them to a lot of dust. Time to clean them out.

 

(BTW, contact cleaner is NOT WD40 and its not the stuff you use on your contacts you put in your eyes - Radio Shack sells the stuff you want but I'd try the 'lick' method first)

 

Jim

 

 

[RockBottom]

I'd also suggest you unplug each connector (one at a time), blow on it, then lick it (seriously), and then plug it back in.

 

 

This sounds like a YouTube moment.

[Phone Guy]

I had this problem with mine. It was the Motorcycle mount. The replacement they sent me did the same thing. I found someplace on line where someone stuck the soft side of Velcro on the back of the mount and it solved the problem I did the same and haven't had a problem since. Look for Zumo forums on line.

[Phone Guy]

Just found this:

 

"One: Clean the contacts on the Zumo and the dock with some kind of alcohol wipe or electrical contact cleaner.

Two: Add a couple of skinny strips of Velcro (just the soft side) to the dock to make the Zumo fit tighter in the cradle. You’ll figure out the best place on the dock for the strips. It’s a fine line between a snug fit and the Zumo not engaging in the dock. 

 

I did this and it works like a charm"

[James Clark]

Sometimes the foam gasket that surrounds the contacts squishes out and interferes with the mating pins. If that's the case, you can trim the gasket back with a razor blade or exacto knife.

[Lone_RT_rider]

I'm going back to the over-simplistic here.

 

Ok, my turn to do that. Do you use formed ear plug speakers? If so, have you cleaned the ear wax out of them recently?