86sci Antenna Housing Rubber Compound Question

(-DISCLAIMER- I Am Asking For Advice Which May Involve Using Rubber and Bonding Chemistry To Effect A Repair. I Hold Garmin and The Members of This Forum Harmless In Any And All Suggestions, And All Results From Any And All Subsequent Use of Said Advice. Period!)

I have a GPSMAP 86sci marine handheld. The antenna housing rubber compound in one small corner is showing the plastic corner or the under-housing showing through. Is this an issue for water ingress? When looking at the gps from the front, top down, the plastic that's showing is on the front-right-top of the antenna housing. Is this close enough to a seam on the antenna housing to be concerned about water ingress, say, during rain? I don't usually float it, even though it says it does. That, to me, is more of an emergency feature, so rain is my main concern.

I've called Olathe, and have a trade-in price for a refurb unit as a replacement, which isn't at all bad, but I am wondering if I might get around this by putting a small amount of a suitable rubber compound that wouldn't eat through the plastic. If so, can someone recommend a product?

Thanks In Advance,

-Stephen A. Brown

Top Replies

Firefishe over 1 year ago in reply to twolpert +1
- Yes, this was suggested. I don’t know if the plastic housing underneath the soft rubber compound is a single piece, or part of two halves. I also don’t know where any seams are.
- The hole is…

All Replies

0 twolpert over 1 year ago

Did the support folks tell you that this causes a problem with water resistance?

+1 Firefishe over 1 year ago in reply to twolpert

Yes, this was suggested. I don’t know if the plastic housing underneath the soft rubber compound is a single piece, or part of two halves. I also don’t know where any seams are.
The hole is only bound to get bigger. I was told that policy is to replace the unit for a fee. The replacement unit will be a refurbished 86sci. I bought the unit new at full retail. The electronics work as desired. I really just want a new housing for the internals, actually.
Provided that there isn’t a ton of glue—like a smart phone—I could do the retrofit myself, but I have not found any take down videos on this unit yet. The 86sci is the marine version, essentially, of the 66i, which I used to own. The compass module on that unit was off by 30 degrees, and I arranged a refund from the company, and bought the 86sci, instead. I live in Michigan, so the included nautical charts made sense.
Wear has been caused by rough-out leather abrading against the silicone on the antenna, the carrying case of which which I am not using anymore.

0 twolpert over 1 year ago in reply to Firefishe

Replacement with a refurb unit is standard Garmin practice. They do not (ever, AFAIK) repair YOUR unit. If yours is still under warranty, they will swap you for the refurb unit for free. If not, you will pay a fee.

0 Garmin-Leslie over 1 year ago in reply to twolpert

This is somewhat accurate. Please be aware that physical damage to units even if under warranty are typically not covered under the warranty policy. Garmin Outdoor Product Warranty Policy and Repair Process

0 Firefishe over 1 year ago

Does anyone have a suggestion for a "liquid rubber" compound that might work without damaging the plastic?

0 razmichael over 1 year ago in reply to Firefishe

The only way to know if it will not damage the plastic is to test on a small piece but I would think that the Liquid Tape (used in lieu of black electrical tape) would do the job. Available just about anywhere (HomeDepot etc), brushed on and dries as a waterproof and flexible layer of protection.

0 Firefishe over 1 year ago in reply to razmichael

Thank you! I was hoping that there might be something like this. I’ll check around my local stores.

0 Firefishe over 1 year ago in reply to Garmin-Leslie

Leslie. I’m sorry this is so late getting back to you. I appreciate a Garmin Rep answering my forum question! Thank you!!