I've had the Vista HCx for a month before it started. On every ride, after a few minutes on gravel rides the unit would shut down. (In the beginning it happened on rougher terrain, but as it progressed you didn't need much to make it happen). At some point it would happen a couple of seconds after I turned it on. I couldn't live with it and started looking for solution. For some reason the most common solution I could find was to add a piece of paper between the lid and the batteries to avoid "Battery Bounce". Apparently, It solved the problem for some people, but not for me. It took me a long time but eventually I found this web-page. (or this). I did what it said and took a whole bunch of pictures during. It worked, I kept on riding many times with the unit without it shutting down even once. So here is what I did. Step 1 - Take of the rubber band off the the unit. Do this very very gently and don't stretch the rubber band. It will be a real pain to put it back later because the band would remain stretched. Just use your hands and peel it off instead of pulling it. I fixed two units, first one looked like the picture below, second one was perfect. Difference was I was very careful not to stretch on the second one. This is what happens if you stretch it too much during the process:   Step 2 - Take off the glue.It's extremely sticky and gluey but if you are careful you can reuse it after you remove. If not you silicone instead on the next re-assemble (Below...)Be careful not to cut the tape that it sits on. You will need to remove that separately and reuse it on re-assembly. I would use only my fingernails so I don't ruin the tape beneath. 
 In the end you will be left with the gluey mess aside. (Again, If you are more careful you can actually reuse it later)  Step 3 - Take off the Rubber Tape.The rubber tape is elastic and should be removed (also) very gently so you can use it again later. Step 4 - Take the unit apart very slowly. Don't use force.Now you need to open the unit. Be very very careful.Once you open it, there's a conductor that still connects both sides and you mustn't pull it so don't use force.  Step 5 - Clean battery contacts or Solder the battery contacts with the board.I used a special pen-like stick that cleans electrical conductors and a spray
 Wipe the contacts after you spray'em. Finally, pull the springs on the other side (The side of the batteries) so they reach a little stronger. You can solder the contacts and completely avoid the possibility of springs losing contact. This solution has the chance of solder failing due to intense rattle.
Here are the photos of the soldered contacts. The spring have to be shortened obviously to achieve this. (Use a proper cutter)
 Step 6 - Close the unit and seal it.Close the Unit.Put the rubber tape back on.  I used some standard black electrical tape on the original rubber tape for better isolation from water. Then, to glue the rubber band back to the unit, I smeared a nice layer of silicone and adjusted the band on it. Waited 24 hours for it to dry completely and, since I stretched it while pulling it off, had to fill some gaps that were left with silicone and wait another 24 hours. UPDATE: I have done this procedure with another Vista unit, this time, when removing the rubber band, I made sure it wasn't streched.
I Peeled it slowly and when I put it back on it was nearly flawless. I should mention that Garmin Europe has an excellent service and would usually offer to replace the unit immediately once you complain that it shuts down. The only problem is that usually, the new unit will start to shut down as well. No doubt this is a major issue with the Vista design and I'm surprised that Garmin never stepped back and fixed this. Let me know in the comments if you have any questions. |
Fixing A Vista HCx that shuts down. |
