Disappointing weekend ride

So, headed out for a ride on Saturday morning. On the recommendation of t_smit I rode with my Garmin Edge 510 to gather diagnostic data on potential mishaps with my Vector 3's.

It didn't take long, almost immediately (like in the first minute) the Edge 510 reported 'Right Sensor Missing' (whereas the Bolt never reported anything when things went awry). I stopped, tried a calibrate (that seemed to work before), but the calibrate failed with a '1024' code (which I assume means the right sensor is missing). Turned Bluetooth off on my iPhone in case that was causing problems, but no luck. Still got repeated 'Right Sensor Missing' messages and the power reported was about half what I expected. Power balance was also reporting 100%/0% most of the time.

No amount of fiddling, recalibration attempts (incantations, prayers, curses, etc) could get it going, so I resigned myself to just having to ignore the power data from that ride and kept going.

About 21 minutes into the ride I got a message about 'installation angles' having been set. Given that this was an Edge 510 I can only think that it's a legacy of previous Vector pedals with the pods, but when I got the message the pedals suddenly started reporting power from both pedals and things became normal in terms of power measurement. From then on the pedals worked normally until about 20 minutes from the end of the ride, when I got a 'Low Battery' warning. Given that I have less than 30 hours on the pedals, and Cycling Dynamics is still disabled, that was surprising. I dismissed the message and continued. Later when I checked, the battery levels were good in GCM.

See attached fit file from the ride, along with a screenshot from TrainingPeaks that shows the 'flatlined' right sensor that suddenly wakes up.

I really want to like these pedals. The idea of their transportability and all the additional data is appealing, but first and foremost I need a power meter that I can trust. One that will just work every time I get on my bike. On Saturday afternoon I went to the LBS I got the pedals from. They agreed to take them back if I am unhappy with them. I'm trying to decide what to do ...

ciq.forums.garmin.com/.../1337963.jpg

0 karlw2000 over 7 years ago

I don't have a Vector 3, but it reminds me of one of my Vector 2's when one of the pods was going bad. I would lose power from one of the pedals and occasionally it would turn back on and get the 'installation angle' message. It may or may not stay on. I tried cleaning the contacts, changing batteries, etc. Sometimes it would work throughout a ride so I'd think I solved it, but eventually the problem returned. Finally I bought a new pod and the problem went away and never returned.

Unfortunately, you can change pods, but it does seem a similar problem of losing signal and I wouldn't be surprised if it is that battery issue.

0 CSYVE over 7 years ago

Could anyone from Garmin comment on the fit file I uploaded? Anything weird or noteworthy?

0 CSYVE over 7 years ago

Updated to 3.30 firmware from 3.00 ahead of my trainer ride tonight. Had high hopes that it would fix some of the issues I was experiencing above. No such luck. Almost immediate 'low battery warning' followed by 'missing right sensor' followed by it only reporting 1/2 the power. Switched to using my Kickr power instead of the Vectors for my trainer ride. So, no progress for me.

Help? Should I fiddle with the right sensor's door or something? Suggestions?

0 t_smit over 7 years ago

Help? Should I fiddle with the right sensor's door or something? Suggestions?

Sorry... yes, have a look at the right side door. You are getting some resets on that side.

0 CSYVE over 7 years ago

Ok, so I removed the right pedal so I could be doubly sure I didn't mess things up when I removed the battery door. Everything looked in order. I removed the batteries, added a tiny amount of oil to the contact surfaces and really couldn't do much else besides carefully reinstall the batteries and close things up.

The pedal came to life, but I immediately got a low battery warning in GCM, whereas just 5 minuted before, I was told battery levels were good. I can't tell if the offending batteries are on the left or right side (which I had just opened)? Anyway, I'm assuming it's on the right side and frankly, I'm at a loss for what I might have done. I was exceptionally careful. I removed the pedal, sat down at my workbench under a strong light. Made sure not to mess up any delicate bits and bobs. I felt like I was defusing a bomb!

But here I am now. A pedal (?) is reporting low battery. I guess I replace all 4 and hope for the best? If that doesn't fix the problem where does it leave me? I could not have been more careful in removing the battery cover door and inspecting the batteries!

Thoughts on next steps?

0 t_smit over 7 years ago

The battery status in your file reported 2.59 volts, which is just below the warning threshold. At that point you should still be able to ride for ten or more hours. You should get some new batteries, but it's not imperative (yet) that you change them immediately. The system will shut down and refuse to operate before the batteries get low enough to affect the power measurement accuracy of the system.

Note that the warning threshold is set to reflect an expected amount (about 10% to 20%) of operating time remaining. The battery chemistry and the voltage vs. capacity-remaining curve dictate that this threshold be set significantly above where one might expect it if a linear interpolation was done between the 'full'
and 'depleted' voltage values.

0 CSYVE over 7 years ago

Ok, so the batteries need replacing ... do I just replace all 4 (I bought spares)?

Also, I only have about 33 hours of riding on the pedals. I should expect about 4x that from new batteries?

0 CSYVE over 7 years ago

Replaced batteries in both pedals with new, brand name LR44's. I noticed 3 things (keep in mind I have only opened my right pedal once to inspect and have never opened my left pedal before now):

1. The tiny piece of plastic tape that stops the batteries from shorting out had moved on my right pedal. I think it may have moved of its own accord? I remember being very careful when I inspected the right pedal last night. I did not want to do the wrap-your-batteries-in-tape fix as I'm not sure how I'd get them out again if I did that. I repositioned the tape carefully and re-assembled the pedal.

2. The pedal-side battery contact looks like a small capital 'H'. On my left pedal (never opened before), about 1/2 to1mm of the top right arm of the 'H' was missing (basically the part that curves over). It must have come from the factory like that. This is the first time I had opened the pedal. While the left pedal doesn't (yet) appear to be an issue, I can see that becoming one eventually.

3. Both pedals' battery contact sites showed signs of 'fretting'. That after about 33 hours of riding, 70% of which was indoors on the trainer ... Fretting will be an ongoing issue, it seems.

Anyway everything is reassembled, with 4 new batteries. Both pedals seemed to come to life. I'll ride it tomorrow and we'll see if any issues crop up.