That One Time the Garmin Fell Apart...

I've had my faithful Garmin Forerunner 305 for about three years now. Originally I received it as a Christmas present from my parents back in 2008 and never looked back. It was with me for every run and every bike ride since. It's an amazing piece of technology and probably one of the most important training tools I own. (If you don't have one, or something similar, get one. Yesterday.)

However, like most high usage items, it begins to show signs of wear and tear after a while. First it was a couple scratches after bringing my arms too close to a light pole on a run. Then, it was falling off its bike mount and tumbling on asphalt at 20+ mph. Lastly, it was my incessant button pressing over three years that finally made it say "stop abusing me, I can't take it!" Namely the "Enter" button had gotten so sick of my crap that one day it decided just to up and leave.

The result:

'Tis merely a flesh wound!!'

Well, Mr. Garmin, if you think a large gaping hole in your housing is going to deter me from using you for another three years, you've got another thing coming. With a few minutes of thought and a little trial and error, I came up with a way to plug this hole, make it weatherproof, AND make the 305 fully functional again all with a few easy steps. If this ever happens to you, please use the instructions below to plug the holes left by your mutinous Garmin 305 buttons. If you don't like gerry-rigging your training equipment, by all means send it to Garmin and have it professionally repaired. I was just in the mood for saving a few bucks and this fix cost literally next to nothing.

The tools: (1) Roll of electrical tape. (1) Nail small enough to fit inside the 305 button hole. Pliers with wire cutters. Shears or scissors. Super glue or strong adhesive.


If MacGyver was a triathlete.

Step 1: Cut a hole in the box. Wait. Sorry. Wrong procedure. I mean gauge appoximately how deep the actual button switch in the Garmin button housing is. The switch is very important because, well, that's what makes the Garmin work.

Step 2: Carefully, take the small nail and use the wire cutters on the pliers to cut off an appropriate length of the nail so that it will fit into the button housing and stick out just a little bit from the housing. A 1/8" length from the nail head to the tip should suffice, but this make take a little trial and error and a few bits of flying nail (protect your eyes).

Step 3: Wrap the now sheared nail head with a small piece of electrical tape. This will 1) give your new button some volume to fit snugly in the button housing and 2) prevent the metal nail from directly contacting the button switch in the housing. (Metal on metal contact is frowned upon.) It should look something like this:

Step 4: This is where you need to be careful. Turn the Garmin ON. Next, slide your MacGyver'd Garmin button into the button housing, making sure that the tip of it is contacting the button switch with enough pressure to activate the switch. Your Garmin should beep as normal if you've done it right. Test it a few times to make sure it works consistently. Once you've done that your Garmin should look like this:

We can rebuild it. We have the technology. And electrical tape.

Step 5: Cut a 1/2" by 1/2" piece of electrical tape. Spread some super-glue or other strong adhesive on the edges of the electrical tape to ensure a good seal with the Garmin 305 casing. Carefully place the electrical tape over the button housing and press firmly, making sure all the edges are sealed. After this is done, your newly repaired Garmin should look like this and work like nothing happened!

Looks like a salty war vet now.

There you have it. A cheap and functional way to fix your Garmin buttons should they decide to be uppity and bail on you. I hope you found this useful. Any other Garmin repair tips and tricks are welcome as well. Leave your thoughts in the comments section!

Be fast and train well. Cheers.

Mike



Update: I went on my first run with this the other day and it worked like a charm. A heavily bandaged charm.