Cateye Wireless Bugging Out

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All of a sudden my Cateye wireless bike computer is having a hard time reading the sensor. I've had problems with lost readings in the past due to the sensitivity of the wheel and fork sensors caused by there being too much distance between them...but after a quick adjustment it usually started working again.

Now the Cateye is getting more difficult to hold on to a reading. I was wondering if the batteries in the fork mount start to run down and loose their ability to pick up the reading..especially since now I can be screaming down a hill and the computer only reads 9mph.

My computer is a year old...I know the thing could have been on the shelf for a while also before I bought it.

Any suggestions? Thanks.

Mark

All of a sudden my Cateye wireless bike computer is having a hard time reading the sensor. I've had problems with lost readings in the past due to the sensitivity of the wheel and fork sensors caused by there being too much distance between them...but after a quick adjustment it usually started working again.

Now the Cateye is getting more difficult to hold on to a reading. I was wondering if the batteries in the fork mount start to run down and loose their ability to pick up the reading..especially since now I can be screaming down a hill and the computer only reads 9mph.

My computer is a year old...I know the thing could have been on the shelf for a while also before I bought it.
Based on how Shimano's wireless Flight Deck [made by Cateye] behaves (i.e., the SAME symptoms!), the 2032 battery (it could be a different size in your unit, but that seems to be the "standard" size that Cateye & others are using, now ... you can get a 2032 battery almost ANYWHERE) in the computer head is within a month of crapping out from when the problem first manifested itself -- probably more than two weeks & probably less than four.

I spent more than a week trying to sort this out, originally ... and, even changed the battery (unnecessarily) in the sending unit before figuring out the problem & resolution.

This annoyance should be treated as an unintended early-warning that the 2032 battery needs to be replaced ... with the Flight Deck (which has NO memory of the settings beyond about 5 minutes!), you normally have only about 3 minutes from when the low battery signal begins to flash to change the battery (so, 8 minutes, total). Of course, the low battery signal rarely appears at a convenient time.

Plan on replacing the battery in the computer head about every 12 months. The battery in the sending unit lasts for many, many years.

with the Flight Deck (which has NO memory of the settings beyond about 5 minutes!), you normally have only about 3 minutes from when the low battery signal begins to flash to change the battery (so, 8 minutes, total). Of course, the low battery signal rarely appears at a convenient time.
How times change! I left a Cateye Astrale with a flat battery for some years (flat enough that the screen was blank and unresponsive the entire time). Eventually, I put a new battery in and up popped the original mileage figure, and my wheel circumference setting was still there too.

How times change! I left a Cateye Astrale with a flat battery for some years (flat enough that the screen was blank and unresponsive the entire time). Eventually, I put a new battery in and up popped the original mileage figure, and my wheel circumference setting was still there too.I think it is just the way Shimano must have spec'd the Flight Deck computer heads. At least, that's the case with the 9-speed Flight Decks that I have ...

Someone in Osaka WASN'T thinking!

Maybe the problem has been corrected with the newer (i.e., 10-speed Flight Decks) OR, if not, perhaps it will be with the next generation of Flight Decks.

Gee, you'd hate to think that the same amount/(lack) of thought is going into Shimano's electronic shifters!

BTW. The Campagnolo ErgoBrain is also made by Cateye, AFAIK, and the ErgoBrain will retain the settings without a battery. Of course, the ErgoBrain is encumbered with that ridiculous cadence wire that has to be strapped to the downtube.