A TomTom is a great gadget that is a must if you want to get to your detestation, without using a physical paper map. All TomTom models will have an internal battery pack that holds an electrical charge. When you dont connect your car charger to it, the sat nav then obtains its power from the internal battery pack. The power that the battery pack can store is sufficient enough for local trips. If you are planning on going on long distance journeys, it is essential to plug it into your car cigarette charger socket. This will provide constant power to the car sat nav and will no longer rely on the battery packs power. If the green charging light on your TomTom is not lighting up, it is a symptom that it is not charging. You want to find a solution to this problem before you set off or you will eventually have a dead sat nav.
1) Ensure that the USB lead is connected both firmly into the sat nav and car cigarette lighter socket. Loose connections are likely to cause charging problems. If either connectors are loose, the pins inside will not connect properly to their sockets, causing a bad connection.
2) The charging lead could be faulty. If you notice that when you move the wire around, the TomTom charges sometimes and sometimes not, it is probably the cause to the problem. So wiggle the connectors to see if you can get it charging. If you can, then replace the existing cable with a brand new original replacement.
3) Check if the USB adapter is working. Some newer models of the TomTom GPS sat nav come supplied with a USB adapter. Sometimes the pins inside the USB socket you connect the charger plug into can become bent or broken. Look inside the USB socket, you will see four metal pins. If you see any bent pins, straighten them out with a flat head screwdriver. If any pins seem to be broken off, there nothing you can do. You will have to purchase a brand new replacement adapter.
4) The metal pins inside the charging socket could be dirty. It is possible that dust and dirt have contaminated the pins from every day use. When this happens, the metal pins cant get a good electrical connection with there sockets. So obtain a cotton swab and give all sockets a quick clean. Then reconnect everything and see if the device now charges up successfully.
5) Replace the battery pack. If the battery pack is getting charged up, but it is not holding charge long enough, it is faulty. This can happen if you have used up the maximum charges the battery pack can hold or it is damaged from overcharging. You will need to open up your TomTom sat nav to replace the battery pack. No soldering is required, you simply unplug the old battery pack and replug the new one. You can do it yourself at home or send it in for a repair.
