J

JohnF

Well Known Member
The Garmin 396 that I never wanted just died. One 20-minute flight, and about one dozen power ups to play with it. Battery took and indicated a charge. Now it just replies 'BATTERY MISSING' but of course it is not missing. I looked around and see the replacements run about $50 but Garmin said they will send me a new one. Also there are no cables supplied that allow a new software version to be downloaded from my computer to the Garmin..nothing mates up.

Glad I still have the Anywhere Map...this Garmin is not my favorite by a long shot.
 
Sorry you're having trouble with your Garmin 396, John. I bought one at Oshkosh just two weeks after it was first available for sale. I loved the XM Weather, which I got working in about 15 minutes out of the box. I suppose it is now considered dated, with the new touch screen Garmins now for sale. But the 396 worked great for me up until I replaced it last year with the Garmin 696.

Don
 
Hi John,

Are you 100% sure you don't have the USB cable for the 396 updates? It's wrapped in one of the packages inside your 396 box as shipped to you....if you are absolutely sure you don't have it please give me a call tomorrow and we'll see what we can do for you. We've sold and shipped literally hundreds of these units and I've never heard of the USB cable missing. Not saying it's impossible though.

Your unit is new and under warranty so you shouldn't have to pay for a replacement battery....if that ends up being an issue we'll help you out with that as well.

Cheers,
Stein Bruch
SteinAir, Inc.
 
JohnF,

Read this thread for several ideas before you give up on it. I had a similar problem on my 296, and I just had to leave it on for a few hours to charge the internal battery. If that doesn't work you may have to replace the internal battery. There is a post here somewhere with a link to a web site with detailed instructions and pictures.
 
I have a Garmin 396 (no problems so far) and a Anywhere Map ATC. LOVE my ATC and the only reason I keep the 396 is for the XM WX (and the flightbook) but once I save up for the Anywhere Map pro and there UMPC the Garmin will be my back up (because I use the flightbook that takes the information from the Garmin for my logbook).
 
Still don't want it?

If you still don't want it, let me know. I might be interested in it.
 
396

I need it for the airworthiness inspection so that the RV -12 is in fact built and equipped as Van's SLSA otherwise I would have never asked for it. The unit is awkward and clumbsy to use compared to the Anywhere Map with a touch screen that I have now. Now that it died it really doesn't surprise me. Also within days of receiving it Garmin discontinued the unit. Nice.
 
Dude,

The X96 series revolutionized handheld aviation GPS's...Most likely tens of thousands of satisfied customers...They can't be that bad.

Maybe you got a lemon, it happens... Garmin will replace it if it is new. Once you get inspected, swap it out to whatever you want and sell it.

It will go fast...
 
More on Garmin Died

Stein,

I just measured the voltage on the battery in the Garmin 396 out of the case and it measures 4.78 volts, so the battery itself should be OK. From what I have been able to read on the internet this may well be a software problem. I would like the cable to connect the 396 to my computer so I can download the 5.0 version which may well solve the problem. I sent you a private message about which cables I did/did not receive. Thanks.

John at Salida,CO
 
GARMIN Tech Support

Hey John,
My 296 gave me the "red screen of death" earlier this year; wouldn't hold the software. Your 396 should have a USB cable for updates via the computer. Call tech support and they might walk you through whatever you need to fix your problem. If that doesn't work (like mine didn't), they'll give you the information needed to ship your unit back to them.
That happened to me and I ended up with a new unit! :)
Couldn't be happier with Garmin's support of their product.
Hope this helps.

Regards.
 
usnrph said:
If that doesn't work (like mine didn't), they'll give you the information needed to ship your unit back to them.
That happened to me and I ended up with a new unit! :)
Couldn't be happier with Garmin's support of their product.
Click to expand...

That's been my experience as well, don't feel too bad about the discontinuation of the product, a month after I fired up my GNS-480, it was discontinued, trust me, we owners of that unit invested a tad more dollars than a 396. That said I think most of us wouldn't give'm up for nothing and Garmin has been very helpful to me...Never has been the unit, just a short between the headsets of the operator...Me;)
 
Agree with the Brian and the rest. I have been using Garmin's for over 15 years, from the 55 to the 496 with over 7000 hours on them. Very simple to run and dependable. Call Garmin, they will fix it. As Rick said, when I have a problem, it is normaly between the stick and helmet..which is me.
 
Original Post Follow Up

Garmin sent me a replacement battery and that solved the problem.

JohnF
 
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