Garmin Edge 500 - infinite battery life?!

MajesticDonkey

So, my Edge 500 has the bug which means the battery life indicator constantly shows 100%, no matter how long it's left on for.

One fix I found online for this is to leave the unit on until it dies, then plug it in and let it charge fully. The unit has now been on since around 11pm last night, and it still shows 100%...just over 17 hours on. I know the listed battery life is 18 hours, but that's the lab test maximum life, so I'm surprised I've even gotten this far. Granted, the backlight has been off most of that time but it didn't lose GPS signal since last night.

Anyone have any experience with this problem?

Thanks.

seamus

I was wondering why mine has been showing 100% constantly, didn't know it was a bug.

You'll get 20 hours out of the battery, even in use. So if it's just sitting there, you might get 25+ hours out of it. Leave it out in the direct sunlight, it'll die quicker...

MajesticDonkey

seamus wrote: »

I was wondering why mine has been showing 100% constantly, didn't know it was a bug.

You'll get 20 hours out of the battery, even in use. So if it's just sitting there, you might get 25+ hours out of it. Leave it out in the direct sunlight, it'll die quicker...

Apparently it's a bug!

Leaving it out in the sun will make sh1te of the battery I'll leave it as long as it takes...

Captain Havoc

Mine died last year after 15 hours and 16 minutes cycling, although I got 15 hours and 42 mins out of it the year before.

MajesticDonkey

Captain Havoc wrote: »

Mine died last year after 15 hours and 16 minutes cycling, although I got 15 hours and 42 mins out of it the year before.

Kudos to you sir!

Finally sorted it. The unit died around 6pm, so got around 19 hours out of it. It is now charging, currently at 4%.

So for anyone with this problem, the simple solution is to let the unit completely die, then charge it up.

Inquitus

Captain Havoc wrote: »

Mine died last year after 15 hours and 16 minutes cycling, although I got 15 hours and 42 mins out of it the year before.

The moral of that story is keep your breaks to less than 3 hours total

TheBlaaMan

Mine started this lark a few weeks ago. Garmin must have done something to connect.garmin.com to knobble our devices so we'll go an buy the 510.............hmmm:D

Will try your fix.

MajesticDonkey

TheBlaaMan wrote: »

Mine started this lark a few weeks ago. Garmin must have done something to connect.garmin.com to knobble our devices so we'll go an buy the 510.............hmmm:D

Will try your fix.

I never use GConnect. Strava is far better IMO.

Cookie_Monster

seamus wrote: »

I was wondering why mine has been showing 100% constantly, didn't know it was a bug.

You'll get 20 hours out of the battery, even in use. So if it's just sitting there, you might get 25+ hours out of it. Leave it out in the direct sunlight, it'll die quicker...

The heat from the sun will help partially recharge wont it? Cold drains rechargable batteries and heat restores them

seamus

Ha, yeah batteries are weird. Generally extreme hot or extreme cold are not good for batteries, though some batteries hold their charge better in freezing temps, whereas others (such as car batteries) die quicker in the cold.

Generally extreme hot or cold will cause batteries to discharge faster when they're in use. The difference though is usually not that much. The main reason I suggested leaving it in sunlight is because electronics work much less efficiently when hot and drain the battery much faster. Though if you're going to leave it in sunlight, at least leave it outside. The unit is probably designed with airflow effects in mind so leaving it indoors in direct sunlight might result in heat damage.