About this replacement
TomTom Start 60 Series — 3.7V Li-ion Replacement Battery (VFA / AHA11111003)
This is a 3.7V 1020mAh Li-ion cell for the TomTom Start 60, Start 60 EU, Start 60 M, and 4EN62 portable GPS navigators. It replaces the original cell when the device no longer holds enough charge to run navigation away from a power source. Capacity matches the factory specification at 1020mAh (3.77Wh).
- Start 60 series compatibility: The Start 60, Start 60 EU, Start 60 M, and 4EN62 all share the same battery bay dimensions and connector pinout. The BMS handshake is identical across these variants, so the cell communicates correctly with the charge circuit in each model.
- Bench tested on actual hardware: We cycled this cell on a Start 60 unit and confirmed the BMS accepted the charge curve without error. Charge termination triggered cleanly at full capacity with no overcharge flag.
- First-start procedure after fitting: After fitting this cell, power the GPS fully on outdoors and allow it to acquire a satellite fix before driving. The navigator performs a cold start after any full power interruption — first fix can take 5–10 minutes outdoors. Subsequent warm starts are under a minute.
GPS accuracy reduced at low battery on the Start 60
When the Start 60 drops below roughly 3.5V under load, the GPS receiver scales back sensitivity to reduce current draw. This means the device may drop from a strong multi-satellite fix to a weaker position lock, causing route drift or missed turn prompts. A worn cell accelerates this: voltage collapses faster under the combined draw of the GPS receiver and backlit display. Fitting a fresh cell at the correct capacity keeps the receiver running at full sensitivity through the entire charge cycle.
Start 60 shuts off without warning before the battery indicator hits empty
The on-screen battery indicator on the Start 60 is calibrated against the original cell's discharge curve. A degraded or mismatched cell can show two bars remaining and then cut off immediately because the voltage threshold for shutdown is hit before the visual indicator catches up. This is a calibration lag, not a fault with the device. After fitting this replacement, run two full charge-discharge cycles to let the device recalibrate its voltage-to-percentage mapping — on the second cycle the indicator and actual cutoff voltage should align at approximately 3.0V.