Stuart

I'm maintenance officer of a club flying a 2008 CTLS.  We've experienced what you describe.  The non-responsive 696 with a very faint "Garmin" logo.  When it happens, the pilot flies home without the aid of the GPS and reports the trouble to me.  In every case the problem cleared up overnight and for the longest time I couldn't even reproduce the trouble.

Here's the good news.  I finally got tired of the mysterious lock-ups and contacted Garmin.  They supplied me with a reset that has resolved the problem every time it has happened since.

When your 696 ends up in the locked state hold down the two outside softkeys and the "up" range button ( I think it's the "up" one.  If that doesn't work use the "down" one.).  HOLD all three buttons in until the unit resets.  It'll only take a few seconds.

After the reset, the 696 is good as new.

Stuart
N227CT

I'm the maintenance officer for this airplane.  FD advised me to buy the fuel filler assembly at Aircraft Spruce and they shipped the adhesive.  Our regular A&P was out of town for the week so I took the aircraft to the FBO at our field.  They did the repair after some consultation with FD.

Arian at FD recommended that both surfaces be scuffed with 60 grit sandpaper prior to repair.

I will be filling out a safety of flight report tonight or tomorrow as this incident could certainly have been much worse.

Three recommendations I have for all our pilots...  

1. We'll be watching the line folks fueling this aircraft every time in the future.
2. Looping a finger inside the fuel ring and giving a pull when sticking the tank as part of the pre-flight.
3. Make a habit of checking the sight tubes in flight to monitor actual fuel quantities.

Stuart