Tom Tom Go has gone???

[iadom]

I am on my eight Volvo, I thought I was already registered here but apparently not. That probably has something to do with the fact that none of them have ever given me any real problems.

A fortnight ago I changed my 05/05, V50 2.4 SE auto for a new V50 2.0D Se Lux Powershift. ( the only thing I don't like about the gearbox is the two or three second lag when changing from D to R and back but thats something I will adapt to ).

I have a ten month old Tom Tom Go Live sat nav that worked faultlessly in the old V50.

As soon as I put it in the new car and drove home I was losing the GPS signal every few minutes completely.

I contacted TomTom support and they were very helpful and suggested a few things to check out. They say that the Go Live models do not need a booster antenna.

I went through all the rigmarole of double rebooting and relocating the satellites etc to no avail.

On some days it will only lose the signal two or three times for a few minutes, on others it is going off every five or ten minutes.

I have driven around with the device in my wifes car and it works perfectly so I am left with the conclusion that something in the new car is causing this problem.

The car does not have a heated windscreen and though the side windows have a rain repellent coating I am unaware of any changes to the windscreen such as anti glare coatings etc.

Has anything on the windscreen been changed, is there anything else in the car that could be causing this and has anyone else encountered this problem?

Jim.

[glypto]

Hi Jim,
I had the same problem with my GPS navigation (MIO) - worked perfectly in my old car but was loosing GPS signal in Volvo V50, mailny in urban areas. I used to mount the navigation in the middle bottom of the winscreen. Then I tried to mount it at the corner of the windscreen (bottom left corner) and it works well now - no GPS signal loss anymore.
I guess it is because the windscreen has some heat shield that does not pass the GPS signal through. When mounted at the side of windscreen, navigation can receive signal through the side windows as well which apparently helps.

[HeliFella]

I've had no such issues with my V50 using my old Tomtom Go700 or the new Go 740 Live. I have mine mounted on the bottom right corner (RHD) of the front screen.

No heated screen etc just a good coating of Duxback.

[iadom]

Thanks for the replies. I currently have mine mounted on top of the dashboard just to the left of the 'binnacle'. It was in the same position in my old V50 and never blinked. I did think about trying it in a different position but as I am kack handed it would be a little awkward to move it to the right, nearer to the side window.


The car had the Diamondbrite treatment before delivery, can't see that being an issue though.

I may switch it to the right as a test but I'm useless with my right hand except when it comes to peeling spuds.

I drove down the same road two or three times today, at one spot on the road I lost GPS signal totally, just an hour later on the same stretch I had the full five bars on the display ????

Jim.

[Harvey1512]

Sounds very much like a windscreen issue. I believe Renaults have this problem amongst others. A rain repellant coating should not affect it, it does not on my S40, but other coatings on the screen can reflect away the signal.

An external aerial sounds the likely answer but don't worry they are not as scary as they sound.

[Richard_TD]

Do you have an FM transmitter for an MP3 player or something? My Tom Tom One lost most of its signal when the FM transmitter was switched on. Some mobile phones have one too.

The windscreens that cause trouble are called "athermic" and they do seem to be a French thing. The coating is supposed to stop the interior from getting too hot.

[iadom]

Unfortunately there is no booster antenna available for the 540/740/940 Go Live models, they insist it doesn't need one.

The car has an AUX jack socket for my MP3 player. I am certain that it loses signal even when the HiFi system is switched off. My mobile has not been changed for about 14 months.

I did wonder about the 'athermic' windowscreen problem but there is no mention of that in the cars spec???

Jim.

[Richard_TD]

I don't think it will be a glass problem. If Tom Tom say it doesn't need an outside aerial they'll be right. Lots of cars have athermic glass.

I think it's electromagnetic interference from one of the car's electronic systems. With it being a brand new car it might be a new device that's just been added, or it could be something faulty.

As I was typing this I remembered that Volvo bendy buses always kill the signal to my DAB radio when they draw alongside, maybe it's something similar to that.

In any case I think it's Volvo you need to be speaking to, especially as Tom Tom seem to have done all they can.

[iadom]

That was going to be my next port of call. The dealer is due to contact me shortly with a post delivery satisfaction courtesy call so I will raise the matter with him.

TomToms tech support web site does mention possible problmes with athermic windscreens though.

I will report back if anything comes to light.

Jim.

[mikealder]

Try the device out of the car just on the battery and set the screen to show the sat strength monitor screen throughout these tests (tap the sat strength meter lower right, followed by the small sat strength meter on the presented screen).
Now put the unit in the car watching the same screen does the sat strength decrease or stay the same?
Next start the car with the device powered from the car and does this have any noticable effect on the sat strength?

One other question, have you been updating the TomTom regularly using the Home software as this will download a file known as qGPS, if this contains duff data then it can screw up GPS reception leading to the device showing you off-road at times, I don't bother with qGPS anymore as it tends to cause more problems than it trys to fix - Mike