I don’t know what’s wrong with my HRM monitor but lately it having problem to startup and connect…before (4-5months) it was spot on. The battery is also changed! Is there anything u can do with it since it is totally automatic? I also wash my chest band regularly…
Sincerely
Julius
Mine doesn’t work either, thinking I washed it too much 
What does ‘regularly’ mean? Garmin’s suggestion for the band is to rinse after each use and put in the washer after every 7 uses. I think the wash temp is also supposed to be 40 degrees C.
Personally, I think that’s probably too frequent for washing, but definitely rinse out and let dry after each use.
Is there som sensors in the band that can get destroyed?!?
I am not exactly sure what is in the band, but I would certainly have to guess that is where the sensors are. The piece that snaps onto the band is, I think, only the transmitter. For my Dual band I always try to be careful to not excessively bend the sensor areas, also. But, at the same time, they definitely wear out after a while. My old band started recording crazy heart rates (like 250 BPM) every so often, so I knew it was time to replace. I think they should last at least a year, though, even with heavy usage.
Electrically speaking, the band is basically just two pieces of wire between the transmitter snaps and your chest (via the two electrodes). The mechanical connections can wear out over time, and when they do, the sensor will become unreliable. I don’t know about Garmin, but for my Polar sensors, generic cheapo bands have been more reliable than the original ones (and of course cheaper too).
Even a changed battery can be “old” and not full. Worth trying another battery. But also connection to what? Zwift or your watch? using ant+ or Bluetooth?
The washing is debatable… If you don’t at all, it’s also fine. Too often may not be required as it’s not a pro version or a swim/tri version to swim.
Is it not working at all? I know these steps from Garmin have worked in the past when they stop working…
We recommend replacing the batteries & performing a reverse polarity on your Heart Rate Monitor (HRM) by following the steps below.
Please follow the steps below to perform a Reverse Polarity on your Sensor / HRM – this will reset the module and allow connection with your head unit;
You may be required to follow the pairing steps for each sensor after battery replacement as per user manual instruction.
Seem like i found the problem. Now I make the whole strap wet and it start directly. The thing is i didwnt do that before and it worked just fine but now it seems like i have to make it wet first…maybe the cold winter. Humidity in the summer. The indoor climate…well thanks for all them answers!
Instead of wetting the strap, try putting a bit of water on your hand, and then rubbing your hand across your chest where the sensors will sit.
You shouldn’t have to wet the actual strap, just the two electrodes (contact patches against your chest). But yes, I wouldn’t expect the sensor to work properly without, of course at some point in the effort your skin will usually provide the necessary moisture but riding conditions and sweat rates vary so I would never want to rely on that.
At least with the aforementioned Polar straps, excess moisture makes the area around the snaps rather fragile especially when dis/connecting the transmitter, leading to breakages of the electrical connection and the strap becoming unusable.
I had problems with one strap, and turned out the actual active part of the strap was quite wider than I thought. It was very dry in the house as well, and I just started wiping water from one side to the other on the strap itself, and the problem went away. I figured that the dryness of the house, the dryness of my skin, and the incomplete coverage of the back of the strap with water was causing it to not get enough of a sense of my heart rate. It’s so dry here that I’ve been having issues with my iPad not detecting my fingers on the screen. Yikes… Time for some hand cream I guess.
Water on the chest, or strap? I’ve always done the strap and it works well. I might have to re-wet if it’s been a while since I put it on. Good luck, I know it can be frustrating.
See, my Garmin strap actually has 4 areas that look like sensors so I started just wetting the whole back of the strap. Eventually the area is going to be flooded with sweat so wetting the strap seems to make the most sense.
I put it on, center it, and take a wet hand, not huge amounts of water, but then go over the strap and put it right on, I’ve only had a couple times where I’ve had to dump some water from the bottle and apply more. Eventually when I start to sweat it’s all good. Someone suggested to me to use ‘electrolyte gel’ that hospitals use, and that seems like way severe overkill and likely to ruin the strap?
The one weird part is the new Garmin ‘HRM-Pro Plus’ straps, as the battery pod is a permanent part of the strap. I ran the strap in the shower trying to get it as wet as I could. Is that enough to ‘clean’ it? It was getting crusty…
With my HRM-DUAL, all I have to do is put it on, wet one finger under the tap, slide it around under the strap on the left and right sides of the transmitter, and it works right away every time. Two years so far on this one.
Yep - that’s all it needs. In Summer, when it’s very warm, there’s often enough perspiration on my body to activate the strap anyway.
I think mine was like that for a while. Then it started needed some moisture. Some people are just lucky and their straps ‘just work’, and others need that moisture to get things going.
I really liked the Dual. That’s the strap I had before the HRM-Pro Plus. Sure seemed to work through everything. I washed the strap, maybe ever 30 rides or something. Still worked. I think I just wore it out.
Yeah, the newer Polar H10 strap has that too, I suppose it’s just a way to make the contact patch bigger and more flexible at the same time. I would just moisten the far ends when using one of those. Electrolyte gel is definitely overkill and probably only means you’ll have to wash the strap more often because of the residue it leaves. Personally I use this easily available liquid called “saliva” if tap water isn’t close enough…
I had similar issues and bitched about it, but found a hot tip that works. Rinse after every use AND regularly wash (depends on usage) in a bucket of detergent/water over night, then rinse and dry. Garmin’s instructions of regularly washing, perhaps not in a machine, actually works. Since then, HRM works well without grief.
So, the Garmin HRM-Pro Plus has two pads, rather wide, and are wider spaced on the strap towards the end of the business part of the strap.
The Tikr I have has two heavily textured pads rather close together spanning the center.
The Garmin Dual straps I have are the ones with four pads, two near each end, little things, and two near to the center that are wider.
Just for clarification. Wonder why the Dual type strap has four sensor pads. (shrug)
Spit. Go with what works. It’s probably better than plain water.
I’ve head that too but I rarely washed mine, they work(ed) fine. Some have complained about the Dual straps separating, likely from being washed too much, or temperature. Wash on cold and delicate. I used to toss it in with my bibs and tops. NEVER put straps in the dryer. Just saying…
The HRM-Pro Plus is a conundrum. Can’t toss that in the machine. Hmm…