Fretting Issue vs Bad Batteries

I have 6/2019 vintage Vector 3's (Dual) on my Trek. Recently I have started getting 'dropouts' which take the form of 5 to maybe 30 seconds of either no power at all or a 0 reading. Then things come back and a couple minutes later it repeats. 

The batteries that I am using are 'off brand' LR44's (making them suspect) but they only have maybe 25 hours on them. Is this behavior typical of the 'battery fretting' issue (I did not use oil between the 2 batteries)? I was just looking for the most likely culprit here. 

Thanks.

dave

  • Easiest thing to do it remove the batteries and look for any black residue on the contact points. If it's present, use a bit of mineral oil to clean it off, then replace. Also, if your caps do not have the gold-coated terminals, get Garmin support to send you some of the new ones.

    A lot of people have success (me included) with the single CR1/3N lithium batteries. I get about 100 hours out of them. Although it's a bit of a grey area regarding whether Garmin officially supports them.

  • kj - thanks for the helpful info. dave

  • How does that even work? You only get 3 volts from a single Lithium primary cell and when you use two in series (the ordinary way to power Vector 3 pedals) you get 6 volts. I’m surprised it works properly on half the voltage for which it was designed.

  • LR44 and SR44 are 1.5V (standard Vector 3 batteries)

    CR1/3N are 3.1V

  • Since it seems that folks are still reading this thread ...

    I removed the off brand batteries and did nothing more than clean the contacts with a cloth. There was no visible sign of anything being wrong here. But I now have over 3 hours of riding on these without one drop out. And (finally) I now own some baby oil to put on the contacts next round. 

    dave

  • Regarding the support status of the CR1 batteries, it would appear that their status has changed as Garmin Support now is referencing their use. 

    https://support.garmin.com/en-US/?faq=mPTfjF4psV25Zbyvr0eoa8

    dave

  • Thanks for clarifying / correcting my misunderstanding.

  • OK, so now that my mistake is cleared up, I have to say that this sounds like an ideal solution. For one thing, combining two cells into one surely gets more capacity in the same space, since the lost space taken up by one more case (including the negative button) are eliminated.

    Is there any down-side?

    Anyway, I’m going to give it a try.

  • The drop-outs subsided then returned. On colder recent rides I get low-batter warnings and “right power meter missing” and an ever increasing number of drop-outs.

    Yesterday’s ride was a sustained tempo ride with anaerobic bursts (it wouldn’t be right to call them intervals, though). It was my most vigorous ride since winter began. But there were so many drop-outs (easily visible in Garmin connect) that it pulled down my average power substantially. This annoys me…

    I’m replacing the batteries now, cleaning the contacts and whatnot.

    I’m also starting to look at alternatives. Despite the amount of money I’ve put into these, I’m starting to look at alternatves from other manufacturers. (I replaced the pedal bodies several months ago to get the new battery compartment design and because due to some ssymetry in my legs and feet the left body (the front loop) had worn to the point I was pulling out of the pedals on a regular basis.)

    I’ve got to say, this is all pretty disappointing. Third generation design with a separately redesigned battery compartment and still they’re hideously unreliable.

  • Two things:

    1) The Garmin support page (https://support.garmin.com/en-US/?faq=mPTfjF4psV25Zbyvr0eoa8) now includes CR1/3N as the most preferred battery.

    2) I don’t like the idea of using a substance (mineral oil) that will leave a residue that would be almost impossible to remove without disassembly. I’m going with IPA for now. Is there a specific reason to advise mineral oil?

    And yes, these are the new pedal bodies and battery compartments with gold-plated contacts.

    Correction / update: These are the 2nd door design, not the newest, 3rd design. As I mentioned below, I’ve submitted my order for free replacements.