I love the GPS in my Droid. However, whenever I use the GPS with the Droid in the car cradle and with the Droid plugged in, the battery seems to discharge rather than charge. Today I used the GPS on a trip of about 1 1/2 hours. When I got to my destination, the battery was nearly totally discharged. I then drove for about a half hour with the GPS off, and the Droid out of the cradle. The battery began charging. Finally, I drove for another hour with the GPS on and the Droid out of the cradle. The battery continued to charge. This would suggest that it may have something to do with the Droid being in the cradle or perhaps a problem with the Car Home app that runs when the phone is in the cradle. I would be interested in knowing if anyone else has had a similar problem.
Are you sure the power cable was completely plugged into your Droid while in the car dock? I know the cable is a little short. I use my Droid in navigation mode with Pandora playing all the time with no problem. Something is not right (obviously).
Yes, I have been watching this for awhile. It has happened more than once. Each time I have checked the power cord.
Interesting! Yes, the phone was quite warm. I thought it might be from charging or discharging, much like it seems to get hot if the camera or bar scanner has been left on. I will definitely check it out as a possibility.
I spend a LOT of time traveling for work in a car with my Droid mounted to the windshield and the GPS running. The linked forum post talks about direct sunlight, but I can tell you that even at night, in winter, with the phone charging and the GPS running, it gets HOT. Much hotter than I would think that it should get. I haven't experienced charging issues with mine fortunately, but I wouldn't be at all surprised if I did.
At this point I just let it cook. I really haven't found a solution to the issue anywhere and I haven't read much about it becoming a phone-killer. On the bright side, after a good long trip, I can put a toaster strudel on it and it heats up in about 3 minutes. mmmmmm.... Breakfast....
OK, I'm still having the problem with the battery draining while using the GPS in the car with the phone plugged in. And, yes, the phone gets hot. However, it is not getting hot from the sun. I have moved the phone to different locations and it still gets hot. And it is not the cradle. I have used the gps with and without the cradle. Still doesn't charge, and still gets hot. Now here's the kicker: When I turn off the GPS, and leave the phone plugged in, the battery charges and the phone remains cool. That would suggest that it is an issue with the GPS. Anyone have any thoughts?
Yeah, I've had the same issue with the battery draining while trying to charge with a car charger purchased from verizon and using google nav. I'm guessing one of two things is happening: either gps and navigation are running off of the charger and not allowing the battery to charge or they draw more power than the car charger can supply. This issue isn't limited to the droid as I've heard reports of similar events with other phones.
A third factor is if charging was halted because battery temperature got too high. That was my experience.
Glad to hear that someone else has the same issue. Either issue suggests quite limited usability for the GPS on the phone. While I really like the GPS on the Droid, it sounds like I may have to go back to my Garmin until a solution is found. Would love to hear a comment from Verizon tech support.
I noticed recently that I am having the same problem. I recently made a 7 hour trip and the battery was drained after about 4 hours using the GPS and Pandora for the entire time.
Haha! Oh boy.
I enjoy your humor Jim.
No humor intended. I drove for 4 hours using the GPS and listening to Pandora with the Droid plugged into the charger. Instead of maintaining or charging, it discharged the battery.
Jim - did you happen to notice if the battery stopped charging? Not sure if you read my other post referenced above, but in my case the battery got hot enough for a safety mechanism to kick in which shut down charging.
I think that's probably what happened. It got really hot in the sun. I need to make a sun shield and see if that helps.
In my case, it may well be getting too hot. However, I moved the unit around so it would not be in the sun and it was still getting hot. Could the heat may be coming from the battery as it discharging? I have also noticed it getting hot if the camera is left on. So this brings us back to the question of whether the GPS is causing the battery to discharge faster than it can be charged in the car. And, if so, can there be a fix?
yeah, I don't think mine was overheating. It was maybe 95-100F based on Temp Monitor and still had the charging icon. I'm thinking that navigation and gps may just draw too much juice. Note to self, have it fully charged and don't expect the car charger to charge it.
Great idea! I did not know about TempMonitor. will down load and see what I get. I'm thinking mine might be warmer than that. Will check back Sunday after I have a 5 hour drive.
Another good app is BatteryLife which is free and has a widget that displays the battery temp, charge, etc.
As expected, keeping the screen lit uses more power than anything else. I guess the continuous screen uses more power than the charger supplies.
I don't know what model car cradle you are using but I have the Motorola OEM cradle, drive for multiple hours with the phone in the windsheild in direct sun and never have it not 100% charged at the end of my trips. It seems like maybe you should bring this up to someone in a Corporate Verizon store and see if they can swap your phone. I have had mine since last year and have used it on dozens of trips lasting at least 2+ hours. Hopefully you can figure it out.
Could be due to overheating. See Cooking your phone.
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