Garmin Edge 810 - replacing USB + SD card board

For those riding a bit more or often, charging their 810 via dynamo hub, might observe that the USB port is a pretty weak part of the unit. After a few 10k it became bit annoying to plug in while riding. And I'm not the only one.

@firsthippy @JamesMarkHayden @Garmin I had 2 Garmins during #tcrno4 and they worked about 95% of time. The usb connectors are terrible.

— Mikko Mäkipää (@mkpaa) 11. März 2017

Since I'm not a friend of getting new stuff just because of a small worn out part I got me some spares from eBay.

Just in case.... pic.twitter.com/6R3ebNSQaj

— bemme51 (@bemme51) 10. März 2017

So that's how you change it. I tried to get every step in a pic so you can follow disassembling and putting together again also just for cleaning purposes. It really looked a bit dirty along the sealing rubber. Ah, and don't wonder bout the screen - it just looks a bit worn but that's just the protective matte foil.

The 810 and the new board. Ready to play.

Taking off the rubber case and SD-card. Unscrewing the cover rubber of the ports.

Unscrewing all 6 screws from the back panel.

Taking apart both parts, finger nail should do the job.

This step would not be necessary but I wanted to show the whole story.

Typical connector for screens, you might know from notebooks. Push the black part on both sides gently towards the screen.

The cable now goes out of the connector easily.

Take off the rubber seal. You might want to clean it with some alcohol.

Lift the mainboard with a thin tool, needle or similar.

The mainboard has a port on the backside which connects to the USB board.

Now lift the white plug from the port, small screwdriver helps.

So far easy stuff. Now you need to disconnect both remaining cables.

280°C is absolutely enough, 260°C should be fine.

It just takes two seconds per wire.

The USB board itself is glued onto the case with some sort of black silicone.

It is not really sticking to the plastic case. So just take your time and go along the edge of the board.

You don't need to win a beauty contest.

With a thin blade you should be able to lift the board.

And there it is.

Once you have cleaned the case from the remaing black stuff check if the new board fits well.

From now it's just the same stuff backwards. I had pretty good results with clear window silicone.

It's a bit better to handle in a smaller portion.

Will be way to much.

Ready.

And that's how it's done. Before you do this side, go around along the case once before (forgot to make a pic).

After you filled the gap around the board take a Q-tip with a bit soap and form a smoth surface.

Make sure you don't build up too much material. Check along the SD-card slot and USB port, take off what's sticking in the way.

After a while the silicone should start to cure. Time to solder the wires. Depending on the silicone it can take two days until cured completely. So don't rush with putting back in service.

Plug in the cable.

Put the main board back into place, press to connect to the USB board.

Put the seal in the right direction.

Make sure it is in place.

Connecting the screen.

Easy.

Once you have connected the screen and the upper case to the board remove all dust from the screen and the glass. Demin water with a Q-tip helps.

Now put the case together.

Looks familiar.

So far, everything looks fine.

...

Bingo.


That's it. Not rocket science. Just take your time. The new connector is tight as it should be. Since it is really just the USB-connector I might try to take it off the USB board and replace that one with a new one as well. Just in case... :-)