Killing a TomTom

[notacop]

Has anyone had TomTom specific failures? My Garmins seem to weather water pretty well but my TomTom was very unhappy about getting a little moist going to the lunch ride at Guadalupe, Ca.

It will not respond to screen face inputs no mo! TomTom tech support suggests I dig a hole in the back yard and bury it like a dead pet.

It's a 330XL.

Question is ...Has anyone had one get resuscitated? I tried the rice in the bag trick, poor mans dehydration pack. Didn't seem to help. Rice made a nice TomTom pilaf though.

I don't mind admitting defeat but wanted to tap the combine knowledge, or lack of it here.

Thanks, GPS murderer.

[bubbamoore]

http://www.sharc.net/gps_repair.htm

[Danny caddyshack Noonan]

not the same but, washed an ipod with my jacket and killed it. After a good month plus, it came back completely. Dessicated something that is already wet is not easy at all...especially if there are any labyrinths and small gaps. Moisture is eager to diffuse in but not out. Keeping it dry with dessicant is a snap. You might try waiting some more in a warm environment to increase the vapor pressure of any moisture inside. There is a school of thought that thinks thermal pumping may aid in drying out something like that. Warm for a good while, then slightly cool, then warm etc. Just have to make sure that the cool environment has virtually no moisture in the air.

[Firefight911]

Need to try to dry it out? Put it in a ziploc filled with rice. Came back in about 4 days. Dry device!

[Quinn]

Last ditch try for electronic stuff is to soak it in alcohol to displace the water and then let it dry out thoroughly with just a little heat like a boot dryer or food dehydrater. May have some problems with connectors to cords or batteries; clean them with pencil eraser or emory cloth and paint with de-oxit on a Q-tip. When you finally turn it back on, it will either work or you'll get mad and throw it down on the sidewalk and buy a new one.

 

Oh, and I've also had some luck with relay cleaner spray from Radio Shack.

 

 

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[notacop]

Good responses. I did the rice in the bag thing already, (see initiating post).

The alcohol idea is a good one, anybody got any Ever Clear, I drank the last bottle a while ago. Has promise though. maybe some 90% at the pharmacy?

 

It's been sitting in the hallway in the path of the heater blower for a week, at night it do get cool 'cus we turn it off.

The link from Bubba looks intriguing.

Thanks, I won't dig the hole in the yard yet.

 

 

[CarrotNC]

Wonder if putting it into a vacuum chamber would help the moisture dissipate without rupturing something else? If you know a woodworker who works with a lot of veneer then he'd have a vacuum pump and bags/liners that should work with it.

[notacop]

Or maybe I could slips into Scripps by San Diego and put it in a hyperbaric chamber and force the water out.

Unfortunately I know no wood workers.

[tallman]

I thought this was a turkey hunting thread.

Apparently we have different ideas about killing a Tom Tom.

 

[Selden]

Or maybe I could slips into Scripps by San Diego and put it in a hyperbaric chamber and force the water out.

Freeze drying is probably a better approach. Libraries sometimes have to deal with water-damaged books, and one of the methods is to freeze the books in a vacuum chamber for a few weeks.

 

Re Tallman's photo: Is that a wedding picture?

[tallman]

Yes.

[Selden]

My daughter was invited to a redneck wedding once. It was held in a field somewhere in east Alabama, and the bride was barefoot.

 

Let's hear it for Redneck Weddings.

[notacop]

I should check with th Library of Congress. They may have a space for my emergency.

 

Who is that woman....she's deadly beautiful

[nrp]

I've had good luck using vacuum pump and bell jar to remove water from circuitry. It may be necessary to hold the vacuum for many minutes to clear things up. Isopropyl alcohol fuel deicer is also a good idea. Maybe the two together with the alcohol treatment first.

[Thylacine]

The list of materials, and what they're composed of, in any modern electronic gadget is extensive. I'd really hesitate to expose them to a strong solvent like alcohol.

 

I think if it were me, I'd attempt to remove the casing, then just let the thing air dry. If that's not possible, carefully drill some small holes through the case, then try surrounding it with silica gel desiccant (or the rice again). If it doesn't start working in a few days, it's probably toast. If in a couple of months, it still doesn't work, a brief memorial service before a suitable trip to the recycling bin might help you cope with the loss and the guilt.

[tallman]

In the summer I had success wrapping a phone in a towel and putting it in the rear window of the car.

2 days and it worked like new.

Granted it was warmer then...