etrex 30 keeps switching off

[vorsprung]

ok, given Kim's great idea about the batteries and the idea up thread that the sd card or sd card mount may be defective I have two suggestions

1) run the etrex off usb power, using an external usb battery pack. 
2) remove the sd card and use the small built in storage for the map

If it turns out that either of these are a problem then see my other thread https://yacf.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=102112.0 which has info on out of warrantee repairs from Garmin

Both 1 and 2 are daft ideas if you don't mind me saying.

obvs you can say what you like BUT

I am not suggesting you ride about forever with an usb battery pack.  I am suggesting that using this power method instead of AA batteries would let you see if this is the problem.  I am not saying that you permanently use the internal memory for the maps, this is just to see if this is actually the problem

[Ben T]

obvs you can say what you like BUT

I am not suggesting you ride about forever with an usb battery pack.  I am suggesting that using this power method instead of AA batteries would let you see if this is the problem.  I am not saying that you permanently use the internal memory for the maps, this is just to see if this is actually the problem

Yes but it wouldn't though - because the problem's intermittent.
If I plugged the usb battery pack in, and the problem *didn't* occur, that wouldn't necessarily mean that it had solved it. Because the problem doesn't always occur even with batteries - it just sometimes does.
Same with the SD card.

[Kim]

Standard intermittent fault diagnostic procedure:  You keep using the test condition until either the fault occurs (at which point you know the test condition hasn't solved it) or you get bored.  It's tedious, but it's all you can do with faults that can't be easily provoked.

[Ben T]

The trouble is I'm already bored. So bored in fact I think I might dremel a battery. Is it dangerous?