Took me about 2 hours to change out the battery. I should’ve watched the whole video before opening my S2. Once I’d gotten to the point where I had to solder, I didn’t know if I would go through with it… haven’t soldered since high school(over 35 ago). Went to Harbor Freight got the soldering iron, some cheap solder and the replacement battery on Amazon. I was low-key excited when my old and trusted watch came back on! The whole thing cost me just under $24. Thanks for the info and good luck to everyone who tries this meticulous but very rewarding task!
First and foremost, thanks for making this video. Very helpful and I was able to complete the repair. For your next video... 1) place the camera above the plane of your hands. On some of the most critical operations, your hand(s) block the view. 2) Summarize the tools and skills needed to complete the repair at the beginning of the video. Folks should watch the video before starting, but I suspect some don't/won't. Not everyone has a soldering gun/iron or shrink tubing in the tool chest. Thanks again and please keep posting DYI videos.
This was VERY helpful. After viewing it I felt confident I could do this myself. Thank you very much for posting it. The wiring inside my watch was a little different. To connect the new battery I decided to cut the wires leading to the old battery leaving myself enough room to hold them while I used my fingernails to strip the insulation. Soldered them just as suggested here. Tin first. I didn’t have shrink tubing so I used electrical tape to ensure the connections are insulated. You have to take the long end of the watch strap off or you’ll definitely break the back of the watch trying to remove it. You’ll need two small Allen wrenches. I had both a metric and English set. I used a 1/16” (about 1.6mm) and a 1.5 mm Allen wrench to remove the strap. The shaft is metal on both ends. When you reassemble the watch after ensuring the gasket is in place as the video shows, remember you’re screwing into plastic so just snug.
Thanks, Dan I just replaced a battery in the Garmin Approach S2, with your recommended battery. I'm looking forward to using my watch again. It's only been a week without it. But thanks to your video, I have a $14.00 reworked GPS watch again. If you're ever in a bind with back ordered repairs of Approach S2's give me a shout and I'll help you out. I just finished reading all of the comments and got to the one that said they pushed all four buttons and it reset the program and started to work again. I didn't do that, but I'm happy with my results. Thanks again, George
Having issue charging my S2. Contacted Garmin repair service and they put me in touch with a local distributor here in Singapore. Estimate cost of repair: 126$ and 4 weeks!!!! Almost the price of a brand new watch. Ive decided to take the plunge and order the 3.7v 200mah 402030 LiPo battery...will see how it goes when I receive the parts. Thanks for this VDO
I bought a Torx T5 (had T6 already), soldering iron and battery 402030. All was done within 30min. The most difficult was to solder the wires together. Didn't use shrink tubing, just the yellow tape salvaged from the watch. The LCD screen & battery holder came all together out of the case so removing/reattaching the connector was a breeze.
Hi my Garmin S2 was acting up real wonky ,all over the place on the course.Then when i got home would not charge properly,I had had it over 4 years so I thought it was worn out. However whilst playing about with it, I switched it off and then I pressed the 4 buttons around the watch at the same time and low and behold the watch face lit up and read reset program.I then switched it on and put it on charge and a year later still works perfect.I think the problem arose when I pressed some of the buttons out of sequence whilst on the golf course. hope this helps. Bill G.
Hi, my Garmin approach S2 will not charge either. After reading the above, I plugged the garmin into the computer port & pressed all the 4 buttons around the watch at the same time and there were some response on the watch simultaneously. Again, I pressed the buttons again & the screen was responding & the watch face lit up & currently the watch is reacting with a positive charge. Thanks for the above data. Saved me repair charges, mailing cost & the return time should I have chosen to send it back to the Garmin rep.
Ha! Pressing all 4 buttons at the same time worked for me! Before, at full charge, the watch face was clear -now mine also is reacting with a positive charge. On another brand, tech told me to clean the contact points on both the watch and the charger - they get dirty. He even told me he wasn't supposed to tell me that. WTH! I use a Q-tip.dipped in a little rubbing alcohol. Works great. Anyway, thanks so much for the tip!
Hi Dan: Unfortunately I broke the white plastic connector while replacing the battery. Can you replace that connector, and how much would you charge? Thank You, Rob
Geez, your hand was in the way at key moments. Plus, a "gear" listing of tools required and source info on replacement battery would have been very useful.
This video is enough to put anyone off trying to replace a battery. Hands in the way most of the time. The Garmin design is hopeless and obviously they just want you to buy a new watch, as after all the effort it is most likely not to work at all. he says he'll do it for you!! How much????
