I wonder if anyone else has had their Varia malfunction? Bought mine in '23 and it has worked well until yesterday when it stopped working and wouldn't turn on even though the battery had been fully charged with solid green charging light. I did a hard reset with the power button held for 8 seconds and plugged charger in again with no luck although on a couple occasions it would light up but only while charging (solid green light), unplugged it turned off. Garmin has some sort of exchange program for out of warranty at a price but they don't specify the fee (AI indicates $70 to $90) and I want to use it now rather than send it in so I took it apart not having much to lose since I'd buy another if I couldn't get it to work. Multimeter on the battery terminals read over 4v (3.8v spec battery). When I plugged the battery connector back into the circuit board it went back to working as usual. Not sure what the problem is or was other than guessing that the connection may have been loose. I won't be surprised if it stops working again but I'm hopeful it won't.
Garmin Varia 515 malfunction
- Thread starter EMGX
- Start date
fooferdoggie
Well-Known Member
Yes I have had 2 go bad after years of use. one was replaced with their out of warranty exchange.
Thanks for replying. Can you describe what the problems were with yours? Mine is out of warranty and besides my timeline for use I would have rather paid $150 for a new one than take a chance on a possible refurbished exchange from Garmin for $90 (if that is what they really charge). I also see $75 rear view radar with lights on Amazon with great reviews that I would probably buy instead of Garmin anyway. So far mine is working so I'm happy with that.
fooferdoggie
Well-Known Member
cant remember for sure but I think they would just not turn on.
stompandgo
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
I would buy a new one for $149 or upgrade to the RearVue 820, send yours in for exchange, and sell the exchanged unit.
My RTL510 was working fine before I sold it for $105.00.
My RTL510 was working fine before I sold it for $105.00.
I read that the Garmin out of warranty exchanges are refurbished units, not worth the trouble of trying to sell a refurb that I paid potentially $90 for when new are $149. The 820 looks like a nice higher spec unit but I'm happy with 515 performance so no need for an upgrade. Not to mention that I already disassembled and reassembled my 515 so return for exchange isn't feasible. Besides the possible loose battery connector to the curcuit board (only a guess) there is a tiny BMS on the battery so I wonder if disconnecting the battery from the circuit board allowed for a possible fault in the BMS to reset, again just a wild guess.
Bicyclista
Well-Known Member
I bought a used Garmin Varia 315 for $38 plus tax and shipping on eBay. It works fine, although the battery seems to have lost some capacity. It is good for about four to five hours. Right now, there is a new 515 for $125 plus tax and shipping on eBay.
mschwett
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
that's a good deal. i don't like the new one (bigger and heavier for not much benefit) so i might pick up a second 515. mine has around 1,000 hours of use, at least 200 charge cycles, so i figure i got my money's worth. it still works very well but the battery life doesn't seem nearly as long. thanks for the link!
stompandgo
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
6zfshdb
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
- City
- Northeast Pennsylvania
FWIW, I used a 515 for a short time and had no trouble with it. My big problem was, the 515 wouldn't reliably detect a rear approaching bike on trails. I returned it and recently bought the 820, which works perfectly where I ride. It's a bit bulkier and quite a bit more $$ though, but it's worth it to me for the reliability.
If the 515 works for you, by all means, try repairing or replacing the unit.
If the 515 works for you, by all means, try repairing or replacing the unit.
stompandgo
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
One enhancement that I would like to see on the RearVue 820 is to have the peloton mode reduce the sensitivity or even ignore cyclist detection. Right now, it's light control only. I want motor vehicle detection, but not others that I am riding close to.
mschwett
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
yeah, it’s worked very, very well! i’m worried about cars, not bikes!
stompandgo
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
Having cyclist specific detection is very helpful on the rail trail when a Sur-Ron is approaching from behind at 30+mph.
My experience with the 515 has been different, it has reliably detected other bikes as well as people walking up behind a stationary bike. I love it and find myself reluctant to ride without it, certainly on roads but even on paths/rails to trails. I'm not sure what fixed mine, I only disassembled it and removed the battery (and unwrapped the "BMS" attached to the battery). When I reinstalled it it was back to working normally. The battery is only a few years old and shouldn't be anywhere near the end of its useful life. FWIW AliExpress lists a same size and capacity battery for ~$15 but if necessary I'd probably replace with an external battery pack so I could use disposable batteries instead of being limited to recharging. Three AA or AAA alkalaline batteries in series at 4.5v might work or NiMH at 3.6v in series would be closer to the stock battery.
