prj71

Have a Garmin Edge 130 that's only 2 years old. All of sudden the battery started draining real fast. Anyone have this happen?

Iride01 

How cold are the temps you are riding in up there now? Though the minimum operational temp is about 4°F the device needs to be at least 32°F to charge properly.

I don't know if Garmin has any sophistication in it's firmware or software to check temps when you plug it in to charge. But if it doesn't then charging when very cold might damage the battery capacity permanently.

If it does check for such, and you only plug it in after a ride for a set amount of time, then maybe it never fully charges.

blacknbluebikes 

yikes. I do worry about the rechargables' longevity. looking at Garmin's forum, seems that you're not the first one to bring this up. take a look at this link. If you're still in year-2, I'd definitely be talking to Garmin support.

prj71

Yup. Year 2 now. Was purchased November 2019.

Bald Paul

Sometimes the batteries in Garmin units don't last as long as we'd like them to. I really do wish they would make their devices so that the battery could be easily replaced if needed, but I guess they figure it would compromise the wet weather integrity. Besides, it's a good incentive to upgrade to a newer, more capable device.
I had a Varia unit (several years old) that would die after less than an hour of use. Garmin didn't offer any battery replacement service, so even though the battery was only about $15, the best they could do was to offer a "refurbished" unit, which probably meant one that they had replaced the battery. It wasn't much less in cost than a new unit, so I opted for new. At least it has the warranty.

Iride01 

Even if it's out of warranty, call Garmin and see what they say. Maybe they'll be filled with the holiday spirit and send you another if it does turn out to be a bad battery.

prj71

It's not about weather integrity...Much like phones they don't make the batteries replaceable. Forces you to upgrade instead of buying a battery. Some of my older phones I had them for years and just replaced the battery when it wore out. Phone companies figured they can't sell as many phones if people replace batteries so they make them disposable.

One of the reasons I won't buy bike lights unless the batteries are replaceable. Luckily that's still an option. I really loathe devices that don't have replaceable batteries.

Bald Paul

It seems to be the new marketing strategy for a lot of electronic devices that are "rechargeable". They know the batteries will only last through X number of charging cycles, figure out how long that would be for average use, and they make sure they come up with a new, improved (and probably more expensive) product in the meantime.

Just think, if the electronics we typically use on bikes ran on common 9v batteries, AA/AAA, or 2032 "coin" batteries, we could just stop at a local store on our ride should they run out of juice and buy a new battery. As it is with so many of the rechargeable units, when they run out of juice, that's it until you can plug them back into a charging device and wait the required time to recharge them.

Seattle Forrest

How much would two years of AA batteries cost for a Garmin?

Bald Paul

About a dollar three fifty.


Would you rather have your "Low Fuel" light come on in your Chevy, with a gas station 5 miles up the road with gas at $5.00/gallon, or have your "Low Battery" light on in your Tesla, with your charging station back home, 300 miles away?

prj71

Considering you would only have to probably replaces batteries once a year. I would say about $10 for Energizer Ultimate Lithium.

Iride01 

10 dollars a year in batteries. For one device? Geesh. My Edge 500 would have cost me an extra 110 dollars if it had replaceable batteries. Glad it didn't my younger son that currently is using it would be about to shell out another 10 bucks.

Batteries probably aren't really the problem for most people. Whether your batteries are or aren't a problem is not something that I think really affects most of us.

Cyclist0108

Yes.

Seattle Forrest

I don't think two sets of batteries would power a GPS for two years! I used to have a hiking GPS that took AA batteries, two sets would get it through a single weekend.

rm -rf

Yes, contact Garmin first. I know of a few Garmin GPS that were replaced out of the warranty period.
If that doesn't work:

I replaced the battery in my old 705 after about 4 years. It was showing "5% remaining" after riding just an hour or so. (Perhaps there was actually more time remaining than it calculated? I never tested it to shutdown.)
This company:
https://newpower99.com/products/garm...d-life-battery
(I don't see the installation video link for the Edge 130 battery. I'd want to review it before buying.)

The 705 replacement battery worked great, and lasted for years until the 705 developed CPU/memory problems. The replacement was easy on this device, just 6 small screws, the old battery was stuck down with double faced tape, and there's a small ribbon cable connector. They include the tiny screwdriver and a plastic tool for the connector. And a detailed video. Easy!

I think the newer Garmins are glued together, and I don't know how they would be done.

prj71

I contacted Garmin customer support. They were useless.

Iride01 

Well get a Wahoo, Lezyne or other GPS. Some people just don't get along with Garmin products. It's like the device senses their owners dislike for them and then they make it their mission to make their owners life h e double toothpicks. <grin>

Trsnrtr

Yep, I’m one of those people. I’ve owned Garmins since the 305 came out and have had my share of problems.

Oh, and you can say Hell.

Ghazmh

Hmmm, I bought my 130 two years ago for my wife to give me for Christmas. I appreciate how it has all the features I want including usable navigation and none that I don’t need. I expect that I’m getting close to its EOL. Although it’s not particularly problematic for me yet I do notice that I recharge it more frequently than before. Aren’t we due for the x40 iterations soon?

prj71

I had a Lezyne, that was worse...not so far as battery life, but glitchy software.

I have a Garmin Edge 530, Garmin Instinct Solar Watch and Garmin eTrex handheld GPS...no probelms with any of those devices. Just the Garmin 130 right now where the battery seems to be shot after 2 years.

Iride01 

Since it wasn't mentioned, do you keep the back lighting turned off? Back lighting is probably the biggest hog for battery power on that device. If you've gotten in the habit of using it,..

prj71

I will check that. This is my girlfriends device and we started noticing the battery deterioration in June and it's gotten progessively worse.

blacknbluebikes 

Well, I'm sorry, but you never said this was "the girlfriend's." Forget everything we said. All is nullified, renounced and rendered moot. You just go buy a new one and stop thinking, right this minute. Duh.