stevez2436 Posted May 28, 2011 Report Share Posted May 28, 2011 I have a panel installed Garmin 696 in my 2010 CTLS. I love it especially the interface with my TruTrak Autopilot. However, twice within the last year the 696 will not start up when I switch on the Avionics. When I look real closely at the display, I can see a very faint "Garmin" on the screen. From looking at the manual, I think the unit is in some kind of "charge" mode. I tried turning the Avionics switch on/off and it just refuses to turn to on. I also tried holding and pushing the on/off switch at the top of the 696 panel, but the unit refuses to come out of this weird charge mode. The only way I have been able to get it to return to normal is to pull it out of the panel and remove/insert the battery. A real pain in the butt! Anyone have a "trick" to reboot the 696 when it is stuck in "charge" mode without removing the unit's battery? Appreciate any suggestions? Steve in Clearwater, FL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Lee Posted May 28, 2011 Report Share Posted May 28, 2011 I'm not sure if this is a answer, but with the faint Garmin in the background it almost sounds like it is in a power saver mode. If not a call to Garmin is warranted and a possible ship back for repair. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Runtoeat Posted May 29, 2011 Report Share Posted May 29, 2011 Hi Steve. I have a 495 and believe that I had this happen to me. I recall turning off my Garmin by the switch on the unit and not allowing it to shut down by switching off the airplane main instrument switch. When the unit is turned off this way, it will reset the backlight to minimum level. When it is turned back on, the backlight is at a minimum and it appears that the unit is not on but it actually is. This may be why you faintly see the screen. On the 495, I think if I momentarily press the on/off switch, this brings up the brightness and volume control screen. Then I press the up/down rocker to set the backlight for the unit. Of course, in this situation, because the backlight is set to a minimum, you don't see this screen when the on/off switch is first pressed. Pressing the top of the rocker raises the brightness level so the screen starts to come into view and can be seen. Continuing to press the rocker increases the brightness. Not sure about the 696 but this might work for you too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrnflyr Posted May 29, 2011 Report Share Posted May 29, 2011 I had this problem with mine before. The dimmer settings within the 696 had reset and I had to go into the menu screen and kick them back up. I could only see a "Garmin" when I turned on the avionics switch and it was so dim that you could barely see it. (It was actually booting up but you couldn't see that) I put the plane back in the hangar and shut the door so it was very dark. This allowed me enough to see the screen enough when it actually booted up and then I immediately went straight to the menu screens and adjusted the brightness settings. No more problems... Hope this helps. John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rookie Posted May 29, 2011 Report Share Posted May 29, 2011 Steve, Like Dick I've had the same experience with my 496 if I turn the Garmin off while it's connected to power from the plane. If the unit is out of the plane turn on/off is normal but if connected to plane power it acts just as Dick said. The unit is actually on but in a dim mode. I bring it back just as Dick describes. I'm sure your unit is also in a sleep/dim/charge mode. al meyer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevez2436 Posted May 29, 2011 Author Report Share Posted May 29, 2011 Thanks everyone! It happens very rarely (only twice in the last year), so the next time I'll try some of your suggestions. Perhaps keeping my plane covered while switching the Avionics switch on will allow me to see the very faint screen. Also, I found another possible interference might be coming from my GTX 330 ... http://helicopterforum.verticalreference.com/topic/11058-interesting-bug-with-garmin-696/ If it happens again, I'll post the solution that worked Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuart Posted January 9, 2013 Report Share Posted January 9, 2013 I'm maintenance officer of a club flying a 2008 CTLS. We've experienced what you describe. The non-responsive 696 with a very faint "Garmin" logo. When it happens, the pilot flies home without the aid of the GPS and reports the trouble to me. In every case the problem cleared up overnight and for the longest time I couldn't even reproduce the trouble. Here's the good news. I finally got tired of the mysterious lock-ups and contacted Garmin. They supplied me with a reset that has resolved the problem every time it has happened since. When your 696 ends up in the locked state hold down the two outside softkeys and the "up" range button ( I think it's the "up" one. If that doesn't work use the "down" one.). HOLD all three buttons in until the unit resets. It'll only take a few seconds. After the reset, the 696 is good as new. Stuart N227CT Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Lee Posted February 10, 2016 Report Share Posted February 10, 2016 Replace the 696 battery. I had similar flaky issues and after replacing the battery my problems stopped. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Lee Posted February 10, 2016 Report Share Posted February 10, 2016 FYI - I also have a 2010 with Trutrack and a 696. This topic was previously discussed and I tried the reset procedure and popping out the battery and still had the intermittent problem. I was told that the life of the 696 battery is five years which makes sense. For me the problem progressively worsened. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anticept Posted February 11, 2016 Report Share Posted February 11, 2016 If you don't mind not having backup power to the gps, you can leave the battery removed and put a small block of wood in its place so it sits right in the tray. No more reset problems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Lee Posted February 11, 2016 Report Share Posted February 11, 2016 If you don't mind not having backup power to the gps, you can leave the battery removed and put a small block of wood in its place so it sits right in the tray. No more reset problems. Have you tried this? I tried powering up.without the battery and the garmin didn't power up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anticept Posted February 11, 2016 Report Share Posted February 11, 2016 yes, it worked for me. takes a moment to start. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Lee Posted February 13, 2016 Report Share Posted February 13, 2016 yes, it worked for me. takes a moment to start. Hmm.. Maybe I didn't give enough time. When it didn't come up I assumed the battery was required to complete a circuit. I know I was concerned about running down the main battery since I didn't start the plane and engage the alternator. As noted after replacing the garmin 696 battery I haven't had a single issue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CT4ME Posted February 19, 2016 Report Share Posted February 19, 2016 I've had this problem twice (two different 696s) The first time it turned out to be a flaky back-light. Sometimes it "appeared" as if it wouldn't turn on and other times it "appeared" to go black while in flight. When I took a very bright flashlight and held it on the screen, I could see it was actually working, but I just couldn't see it. The second unit has had a problem for a while where it didn't appear to turn on. By looking at other forums/posts, I found there might be a point at power-up where the unit looks for various interface connections, and might hang there. I'd turn off the radios and transponder, and then it would turn on fine. It hasn't had a turn-on problem for months now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anticept Posted February 19, 2016 Report Share Posted February 19, 2016 I think it's the self power off / sleep function is what is malfunctioning. An idea is to turn off the automatic power off when external power is disconnected (i think there is an option for that). It means you need to turn off the GPS separately from the rest of the avionics, but perhaps it won't freeze anymore. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Howardnmn Posted February 27, 2016 Report Share Posted February 27, 2016 Happened once with my 696. Just reset display brightness. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Vance Posted April 25, 2016 Report Share Posted April 25, 2016 Thanks everyone! It happens very rarely (only twice in the last year), so the next time I'll try some of your suggestions. Perhaps keeping my plane covered while switching the Avionics switch on will allow me to see the very faint screen. Also, I found another possible interference might be coming from my GTX 330 ... http://helicopterforum.verticalreference.com/topic/11058-interesting-bug-with-garmin-696/ If it happens again, I'll post the solution that worked I've had this problem as well, and since reading this have started turning the GTX330 off before shutting off the avionics master at the end of each flight. So far, I've not had this problem recur. Now that I've said that, it'll probably happen on the next flight. John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anticept Posted May 1, 2016 Report Share Posted May 1, 2016 Garmin has released version 695/696 software version 7.30 as of April 20, 2016. https://www8.garmin.com/support/download_details.jsp?id=4359 No idea if it helps with the freezing issue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gbigs Posted May 15, 2016 Report Share Posted May 15, 2016 However, twice within the last year the 696 will not start up when I switch on the Avionics. When I look real closely at the display, I can see a very faint "Garmin" on the screen. From looking at the manual, I think the unit is in some kind of "charge" mode. I have had the 796 freeze twice, once close to home, once on a cross-country trip. Lone Mountain avionics dept says there are two known problems that happen with the 696 and 796. First is the battery; they can wear out. sometimes prematurely and will cause random problems such as dim screens, dark screens and freezes. The freezing on a good battery can be due to processor/memory speeds and demands on the device. if you swipe either one quickly and ask it to do too much at once it can freeze. Garmin knows about the battery and processor/memory problems according to Lone Mountain. If the problem is due to the processor/memory issue, then pulling the breaker and resetting it clears the issue. If it's due to the battery then a replacement battery is needed. Remember, when you put the unit back in the plane it will appear to work, but if the connector is not seated in all the way the battery will run down and the unit will stop working. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anticept Posted May 15, 2016 Report Share Posted May 15, 2016 We had bought a brand new one. The problem occurred even with the brand new unit and battery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CT4ME Posted May 15, 2016 Report Share Posted May 15, 2016 After about 6 months without an incident, my 696 wouldn't turn on again about a week ago. I flew home without it and pulled it, since I was going to do the latest firmware update anyway. Of course, it powered-up from battery without a problem, and powered the unit for a long time. Only time will tell if the firmware update will have any affect. I did note that the description of the update says "General improvements to system operation". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlyingMonkey Posted May 17, 2016 Report Share Posted May 17, 2016 I'd say "working" would be a general improvement! Fingers crossed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikey70 Posted July 2, 2022 Report Share Posted July 2, 2022 I had this issue many times and then I started turning off the breaker to the Garmin 696 before shutting down and not turning it on until all other avionics are booted up. This worked until today. For no apparent reason while flying the Garmin 696 went black. When I got back to the hanger I could see the faint Garmin and of course, the normal button pushing does nothing. I tried one of the suggestions here and it definitely worked. Press the 2 outside buttons on the bottom row and the up arrow at the same time. It kills the freeze and turns the unit completely off. Thenboot up as normal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Lee Posted July 2, 2022 Report Share Posted July 2, 2022 Maybe there is something in the main menu that needs to be set? Like maybe a time out or sleep mode turned off? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Flapper Posted July 2, 2022 Report Share Posted July 2, 2022 1 hour ago, mikey70 said: I had this issue many times and then I started turning off the breaker to the Garmin 696 before shutting down and not turning it on until all other avionics are booted up. This worked until today. For no apparent reason while flying the Garmin 696 went black. When I got back to the hanger I could see the faint Garmin and of course, the normal button pushing does nothing. I tried one of the suggestions here and it definitely worked. Press the 2 outside buttons on the bottom row and the up arrow at the same time. It kills the freeze and turns the unit completely off. Thenboot up as normal. Mine did that and when I removed the backup battery it all went away. Anyway, something to try - Remove the backup battery (If you have one installed) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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