Monday, September 24, 2012

Garmin 2610 Screen Restoration

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Well this is what happened to my 2610 after some temperature shock and rain. It was showing the signs of delamination since the start of spring with a few little dots but I never thought it would come to this!!
The one thing that you might think is why bother! Money is the biggest reason. Six large for the new Zumo with all the tricks and then I would need a two hundred and fifty dollar touratech mount. No thanks! I have four kids to feed, so here we go!
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Got the six weatherproof screws out and four screen screws out, plus what looks like a ground cable screw.

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Once you get the screen off of the face, pull out the screen water seal and rinse off all the built up dirt.
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For the case screws DON’T lose the little red seals. They tend to stick in the case.

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Disconnect the ribbon cables from the backboard to the screen and also the front cover ribbon to the screen or you might mess them up while moving stuff around like I did below.                                                                                                                                                                          
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                                                               OOPS!
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As you can see my screen is pretty scratched up.DSC00813
Buffing out the screen with a Dremel on low speed using a cotton wheel and some cleaner wax for cars.
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First pass and better.
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Second pass and getting better.

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This is the first protector I attempted to use.
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Cut to shape.
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Protector laid down and has a very soft tack to it.
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Unit together and looks ok but the top of the screen is a little funky.
When the unit was powered up it looked great until it was in the sun and was impossible to see. These units always had a lot of sun washout and this was useless.
Step two was crack it back open and try again and find something clear to lay on.

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Zagg is my new best friend but you have to put it on very carefully. It is applied with a soap solution like car window tint. When I applied it I had paper towels covering everything around the screen and you squeegee the water and air out the sides. I had two little spots that would not squeegee out and the instructions state they will go away. A few hours later and they were gone. Also I left the memory card door open to let any moisture escape once the unit was back together. Zagg also says to let the unit sit for 24 hours before using.

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Zagg screen done. Sun wash was the same as stock and touch screen worked like stock.
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Example of a stock screen.
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Zagg.
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Stock.
Since this went good I did my friends screen and it went smoother and came out looking way better than mine. It seems this was a big problem with these units all in the streetpilot 2XXX class.
If you want me to do a repair for you I would charge $35 and you would have to also pay for two way prepaid shipping. FATTKAW@hotmail.com

6 comments:

Eszeleny Productions said...

Looks great, but how could you remove the old factory protector film from the screen?
Mine peeled off in the middle, but the remaining part just doesn't want to come off...

FATTKAW said...

I have put a hair dryer about 6-8 inches from the screen for 10 minuets or so and then put the unit under cold water and rubbed the screen with my hands. use your better judgement with how close to put the hair dryer. may take a few trys to get the bulk off. When your done with that take the unit apart and buff the rest off with a cotton wheel with a non-abrasive car wax and not the silicone type.

Eszeleny Productions said...

Thx!

Paul said...

My 2610 was bought as a refurb several years ago. Now it gets a foggy spot ( thumb sized) in one area that goes away when shaded. Would this be inside between the screens? The outside touch screen does seem to have space behind it at times and seems flexible.
How is the replaced screen holding up?

FATTKAW said...

It's moisture and temperature change. Bring it outside in the sun and open the
data card door. The lower the humidity is outside the faster the spot will go
away. Wait a hour or so after the spot evaporates and close the door. This
seemed to work on my 2610 and would have to be done a few times a year. My 2820
also does this and is 100% sealed and comes and goes every morning. Hope this
helps you out and let me know how it worked for your unit.

FATTKAW said...

Paul did leaving the door open in the sun help you out??