I am having several manual calibration issues with my new Vector 3 dual pedals (not "auto-zero" which is turned off while I sort this out). They were purchased in early June 2018 and I have received and installed the new battery covers along with new batteries, and updated them to the latest 3.5 firmware. The list below shows symptoms which occur frequently and independently when doing a manual calibration using the Edge 520. In each case I always spin the crank arms for a few seconds to attempt to wake up the pedals before starting the calibration. The 520 always shows the proper power meter pairing icon as well as the message "Vector3 found" before I begin.
1) Torque readings showing "--" alternating with a reasonable number. I have to do the calibration several times before I get two valid torque numbers. Sometimes redoing the calibration after exiting and spinning the cranks again helps, sometimes not.
2) Calibration error 1024 "Calibration aborted due to pedaling on right pedal". The pedals are definitely not moving, nor have they moved since the calibration started (and they are not leaning on anything and I am not clipped-in) when I get this.
3) The Edge 520 shows the normal animated calibration in progress icon, but the calibration never completes even after several minutes. Pressing the back button on the 520 does exit the screen, allowing for another calibration attempt, after ensuring the pedals have not gone to sleep during the delay.
Any ideas what's happening? I am not willing to trust the new auto-zero feature until I can regularly see valid manual calibration results. I am having significant L/R power differences (56L, 44R) and am trying to get to the bottom of that. BTW I am a happy user of the Vector 2 pedals after 10,000 miles and 18 months without a single problem, calibration or otherwise. My power balance there was always very close to 50-50 with normally developed cycling legs.
Sometimes, a quick spin of the cranks will wake one pedal, and not the other. This is most likely to happen when the crank position ends in the same place it started. The best procedure is to move the cranks such that they end up around 180 degrees away from where they started.
The occurrence of the 1024 error is due to the right pedal not reporting a calibration result within the designated timeframe. That is often due to the pedals being moved or loaded, but can also be because the right pedal did not wake up.
The torque reading on the post-calibration display is sent by the pedals when (anytime) they think they are stationary. However, other data transactions will sometimes delay the sending of this data and that can cause the display to time out and go to --. If you wait, the torque reading should return. If you give the crank a couple of spins and then wait, it should return.
The 520 never timing out from its calibration might be because, for whatever reason, the calibration command was not received by the pedals. Resending the command as you are doing is the best workaround for that.
Thanks for your helpful response, t_smit . When I wake up the pedals with a more controlled crank rotation as you advise, instead of randomly spinning them around for a few seconds, the issues I was having seem to be resolved.
