 You don't need to be an 'investor' to invest in Singletrack: 6 days left: 95% of target - Find out more
I have a Garmin Edge 500 GPS and a Garmin HRM chest-strap.
Both items have always functioned perfectly together - that is until my last two rides!
On my last two road rides the GPS device has had sporadic periods of showing my hear rate around 250 bpm! I get a warning sound from the GPS and when I look down my heart rate is being reported at over 200 and sometimes upto 250 bpm. After less than 5 minutes the bpm drops back down to 'normal' levels of between 120 and 160 bpm.
On none of these occasions did I 'feel' like it was actually that high - so I've assumed the Chest Strap is probably failing. Has anyone here had this problem? Was it the Chest Strap?
I've owned it for over 10 years - maybe it needs replacing?
Mine did similar, not quite 250, but i was showing high 190s and i know with 100% certainty i can't get to that.It was also showing my HR at 180+ on a cruise ride which also wasn't the case. I replaced the battery but that didn't help. So i binned it and bought a new one. Works perfectly.
Like yours, mine was 10+ years old.
Got mine from CRC.
Probably just needs a new battery
If it's the one where the gubbins is removable, try washing the strap (gently)
Mine will play up after a few rides if not washed. It can do similar things and indicate you are at max while your gently pootling along or read as if you are lying in bed when you are giving it everything and your eyeballs are popping out.
Edit - I've assumed you've changed the battery
I had issues with my Garmin HRM & put it down to a failing battery.
Changing the battery didn't improve things & I was about to order a new one, when I saw a recommendation online that before replacing the battery you need to short out the contacts in the HRM and then put the new battery in.
I figured it was as good as dead anyway so gave it a try, and when I put the new battery back in it was working fine. God knows why, but it's been fine ever since.
Basically, you just need to take the old battery out & then put something metallic into the battery compartment to bridge the 2 battery connections. I used a small screwdriver.
Lots of HRM related weirdness. Replaced the strap with a cheap Ebay one. Now all fine again.
Thanks for your replies - I'll change the battery and see what happens.
DC Rainmaker has some useful tips 'what I found' just in case anyone else has troubles....
DC Rainmaker article on HRM straps
My Garmin 800 has also stopped detecting my hrm (2 weeks ago) strap, tried washing it, shorting the contacts, and changed the battery, but no change.
Will check the DC rainmaker link.
UPDATE
After reading the DC Rainmaker page I realised that each time the strap had 'malfunctioned' I had NOT licked the back of the strap - where it picks up the signal from my skin. DC Rainmaker says it improves conductivity between your skin and the strap.
It's a stupid mistake as I have been doing it every time prior to this and simply forgot!
Anyhow - licked the strap on my ride home and it worked perfectly. One swallow does not a Summer make and I'm still going to change the battery but it may just be this simple :o)
Thanks everyone.
My premium Garmin strap started dropping out eventually and occasionally giving random readings (although not normally anything excessively high - usually low).
Changed battery. Washed it. Ended up buying a Polar strap in the end and swapped the sensor over. Worked just fine since.