Low Battery Warning - Again, After Vector Pods Replaced By Garmin

[Krectr]

Sorry to have to start up a new thread on this topic, but the previous thread that I opened seems to have ground to a halt.

I’m getting the low battery warning again, even though my Vector pods were recently replaced by Garmin (and the low battery warning is confirmed by the low battery status in “Sensor Details” on my Edge 510). This low battery warning has occurred after only eight hours of ride time on new batteries. I put a brand new set of Energizer CR2032 batteries in the pods, and I measured the battery voltage before installing them. Both batteries were better than 3 volts (3.24 volts for the left battery, and 3.23 volts for the right battery, to be exact). I also took out the batteries after the low battery warning and measured the voltages. They were 2.94 volts for the left battery and 2.70 volts for the right battery. The FIT file from my most recent ride is attached.

So, do I have another problem set of Vector pods; do I need to get the pods replaced again? Should I (or my LBS where I bought the Vector) contact Garmin?

Also, in addition to getting my problem solved directly, I would like to know what the cause is. More specifically, I’d be interested to hear Garmin’s view on the question raised by forum poster BIGBUTSLOW in the previous post on this topic: Could the low battery situation have any relationship to electronic shifters? I’m running Shimano Dura Ace Di2 shifters, and BIGBUTSLOW, who is also encountering the same problem, reports that he’s running Campy EPS electronic shifters.

[Krectr]

Follow-up to the low-battery issue. Shortly after I made this post above, a guy from Garmin support contacted me directly by email and offered to send me another set of replacement Vector pods. That would make my third set of pods, including the original set and one replacement set. This set of Vector pods arrived with firmware ver 2.10 already installed, so presumably there was something different about these pods. With this new set of pods installed, I’ve now gotten over the previously-insurmountable barrier of 10 hours of riding time with no low battery warning. So let’s hope it’s third time lucky …

[happyrunner999]

Thanks for closing the loop on this. It is amazing how differently Garmin support is treating Vector compared to its other products. Really great.

[Krectr]

Thanks for closing the loop on this [...]

Well, almost fully closed as I still haven't gotten an answer to my question about what was the cause of the low battery issue in the first place. I also asked this question of the Garmin support guy who was so helpful in getting me the replacement pods, but he wasn't able to provide an answer, other than saying that Garmin's engineers are "generally tight lipped" about this type of info. But yes I agree that Garmin's Vector support has been very attentive.

[Agrume]

today i ve got the low battery warning too. used my vector pedals exactly for 54:32 of riding. what should i do?

[Agrume]

today i ve got the low battery warning too. used my vector pedals exactly for 54:32 of riding. what should i do?

any idea someone?

[Dave_Trevathan]

I just recieved a replacement pod and after only a few hours of ride time I am getting a low battery warning. Anyone know who I can contact?

[zakymaa]

The worst decision I took was buying vector. Need refund and back to SRM.

[Agrume]

The worst decision I took was buying vector. Need refund and back to SRM.

and what's the reason? i'm very happy with my vectors until now (have a srm also) and the "low battery warning" ist the first problem i have. but now it would be nice if i could get some support form garmin ...

[t_smit]

today i ve got the low battery warning too. used my vector pedals exactly for 54:32 of riding. what should i do?

Vector uses CR2032 replaceable batteries, which are readily available at many retail locations. It's best if you get the higher capacity batteries (Energizer, Maxell 2032H type, or equivalent). Battery lifespan in general is affected by many things, including operating in colder conditions. In Vector specifically, the operational battery life is affected by how often the system is woken up by movement of the bike or pedals.

The first course of action should be simply to replace the batteries with a fresh set; if you are consistently getting battery life that's much shorter than the expected 175 hours and you're not riding in colder conditions (eg. below freezing), then contact Garmin Customer Service.

[Agrume]

Vector uses CR2032 replaceable batteries, which are readily available at many retail locations. It's best if you get the higher capacity batteries (Energizer, Maxell 2032H type, or equivalent). Battery lifespan in general is affected by many things, including operating in colder conditions. In Vector specifically, the operational battery life is affected by how often the system is woken up by movement of the bike or pedals.

The first course of action should be simply to replace the batteries with a fresh set; if you are consistently getting battery life that's much shorter than the expected 175 hours and you're not riding in colder conditions (eg. below freezing), then contact Garmin Customer Service.

i have replaced the batteries already and now i wait. but as i said: i used the pedals 55 hours - that's a far away from the claimed 175 hours runtime. conditions were perfect for riding the last few month, not cold at all.

[Dallas_Parr]

54 hrs is fine for the batters... just replace the batteries... welcome to the electronic era.

[[email protected]]

Hi - my Garmin watch has been flashing a *low battery message.
The back of my watch says M/N FR70 M - CR2032 battery.

Does this mean i need to replace the battery on my watch or foot pod?

Also, i ran a half marathon yesterday in 2:15 (10.3 pace) - yet my Garmin inaccurately had the pace at 9.59.
Was this due to the battery being low or is this kind of inaccuracy common.

Thanks...

[t_smit]

Hi - my Garmin watch has been flashing a *low battery message.
The back of my watch says M/N FR70 M - CR2032 battery.

Does this mean i need to replace the battery on my watch or foot pod?

Also, i ran a half marathon yesterday in 2:15 (10.3 pace) - yet my Garmin inaccurately had the pace at 9.59.
Was this due to the battery being low or is this kind of inaccuracy common.

Thanks...

You're in the wrong forum... but anyway, that message indicates that the watch battery is low. If the footpod battery was low it would tell you "footpod battery low" or some such message. The FR60/FR70 should go about a year on a battery.
By 10.3 do you mean 10 minutes 20 sec per mile? That would be an error of 21 seconds on 600, about 3%. That's within the range of 'out of the box' accuracy for footpods, but it also depends on the exact distance that you ran. If you did run a 10:00 pace then in 2:15 that would be 13.5 miles... it's possible that the course was long and it's very likely that you did not run the most optimal line; that may not add up to 0.4 miles extra distance but it would account for some of the apparent distance error.

If you want to increase the accuracy of your footpod pace reporting for a race situation, then you need to do a distance calibration run using the shoes you race in, and running your race pace. Prior to doing your calibration, warm up for at least half a mile so that your stride is representative.

[theredaaron]

Just replaced my pod after ripping part of it off on the chain ring side. Low battery warning. Don't they check these things? Sort of thing you really don't need. So frustrating.