Heart Break - Not Heart Rate
So this has happened to me a few times now: Each time you attempt to replace a Garmin heart rate monitor battery (assuming it's dead), you do it painstakingly and yet it does not work. Flummoxed, you try another, fresh, battery, and yet nothing happens! Dang it! But don't lose heart: The chest strap is likely not as dead as a Dodo and may work. Well, most times anyway.
The Battle of the Battered Battery
When your Garmin heart rate monitor (HRM) stops working - and it will - typically a couple years (depending on your usage), do not rush into changing the battery.
First make sure that the battery is actually dead. Really. Don't rush into changing it thinking its dead. Go to
Settings --> Sensors & Accessories
and then look for your heart rate monitor. Mine happens to be aptly called "Garmin Run". Now get into the menu and check to see if the "Status" is indeed "Connected". Then scroll down to the "About" menu and all the way at the bottom, you should see, among other details of the HRM, whether or not the battery is good or not. Since mine was fine, I saw the following text
Battery: OK
If you see a similar message, there's a good chance that your battery still has juice in it - and that the issue is with the HRM. In this case, do the environment a favor, and don't toss it into the trash. Otherwise, it's time to replace the battery with a new one. My HRM uses a CR2032 coin battery.
HRM CPR
If you think your HRM is dead even after a battery change, then these are the definitive steps to resuscitate it. If you look for
garmin hrm not working after battery change
on Google, you will likely land on this page
and the suggestion given there is really brilliant! It actually works! All credit goes to the author for this awesome hack. I tried this for my Garmin HRM Run that I thought had died years ago (and for which I had bought a replacement) and voila - it fired up and paired like a champ. (However, it died one day later - and I could not get it working again. But even so, this fix may work for you.) Note that you will need a screwdriver with a rather small head and the appropriate battery to perform this operation on a completely dry HRM. These are the exact steps I took:
Step #1
Place your HRM on a table. Mine looks like so
Step #2
Remove the soft cover by gently lifting it up from the bottom. It should come off rather easily. When it's removed, this is how the HRM should appear
Step #3
Now unscrew the 4 screws and place them carefully nearby so that you know where each screw should go back after you're done
Step #4
Gently remove the old battery. You may need to flip the HRM, make a cup with one hand and gently tap from the back it to get it out. Make sure, however, not to lose the O-ring (in red) in the process
Step #5
Place the new battery exactly the opposite way - so the positive ("+") side should be facing down and the negative ("-" side should be facing up. Like so
Step #6
Assemble the HRM back up so that it looks like it did in Step #2. Now listen to this song
Step #7
After 3:01, remove the cover as well as the battery. The HRM should look like it did in Step #4. Before proceeding, listen to this song that expresses energetically some really powerful and feelings (that are often not openly discussed)
Step #8
After 3:16, place the battery like in Step #3
Go ahead and put the HRM back together so that it eventually looks like it did before disassembly
Step #9
Strap the HRM around your chest. Then navigate to
Settings --> Sensors & Accessories
and then look for your heart rate monitor. Get into the menu and check to see if the "Status" is indeed "Connected". It should most likely be after performing these steps.
Corrosion Collusion
If these steps don't work then take some solace in the following words: For those of us who sweat quite heavily, moisture eventually makes its way into the casing and starts - frying - or in this case, rather, soaking the electronics. This leads to the corrosion of several components rendering the HRM pretty unusable. Again, the battery might still be OK - but the electronics are probably shot.
Airing is Caring
What I've seen work in my case is to make sure the HRM is first wiped down after every use - and then left out to dry - perhaps using a fan - so that the moisture doesn't penetrate. Only after several hours of the HRM being completely aired, do I put it back into my closet.
Hopefully these tips help you get a longer life out of your HRM - and preserve the hair on your head that you'd otherwise have pulled out due to the frustration of having to swap out a new HRM every couple years!
It worked for me, thanks!
ReplyDeleteSorry. Did not work for me
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