jeffmiller
02-24-2006, 12:13 AM
Well, for those of you who ever wondered how to access the "secret" diagnostics and some other cool features on your 26XX or 27XX StreetPilots, I've got your info. I called today as my 2730 randomly loses reception of the satellites for GPS. The guy at Garmin told me to put the unit into "autolocate mode." After receiving instructions on how to do that, I started playing around and discovered these items:
1. On Board Diagnostics --- Power the unit off. Hold in the "Menu" button while powering the unit on. A screen titled "General" will come up (see picture) that will display such nifty data as the units internal temperature, the incoming external voltage value, the internal photocell voltage level, RAM test, etc. The green dots on the lower right disappear when the four buttons are pressed, indicating a passed keyboard test. Very cool....see the picture for all the readouts.
2. Erase All User Data ---- Power unit off. Hold in the "Find" button while powering the unit on. Hold in until you see the prompt and warning for erasing all user data. Useful if you have uploaded an MP3 or Audiobook that has corrupted the Garmin unit.
3. Autolocate Mode --- Power unit off. Hold in the "Map" button while powering the unit on. Hold in until you see the "Autolocate" screen. This forces the unit to look for the satellites. This can correct a problem of a hung unit, a loss in coverage that does not immediately resolve, etc.
I tried other combinations to no avail. The most powerful "easter egg" is listed in option 1. This can tell you whether or not a particular device, such as the GXM 30 radio antenna is failing, if a keypad is bad, etc.
Hope this helps out.
Jeff
1. On Board Diagnostics --- Power the unit off. Hold in the "Menu" button while powering the unit on. A screen titled "General" will come up (see picture) that will display such nifty data as the units internal temperature, the incoming external voltage value, the internal photocell voltage level, RAM test, etc. The green dots on the lower right disappear when the four buttons are pressed, indicating a passed keyboard test. Very cool....see the picture for all the readouts.
2. Erase All User Data ---- Power unit off. Hold in the "Find" button while powering the unit on. Hold in until you see the prompt and warning for erasing all user data. Useful if you have uploaded an MP3 or Audiobook that has corrupted the Garmin unit.
3. Autolocate Mode --- Power unit off. Hold in the "Map" button while powering the unit on. Hold in until you see the "Autolocate" screen. This forces the unit to look for the satellites. This can correct a problem of a hung unit, a loss in coverage that does not immediately resolve, etc.
I tried other combinations to no avail. The most powerful "easter egg" is listed in option 1. This can tell you whether or not a particular device, such as the GXM 30 radio antenna is failing, if a keypad is bad, etc.
Hope this helps out.
Jeff