Polar CS300 HR issues

[rudycyclist]

I have been using a Polar CS300 heart rate monitor for the last 2-3 years and have loved it. Today, I get on my bike and my heart rate does not respond. I figured it was a bad battery even though I replaced it about 2 months ago. I change it and still get no response. I went to Polar's website and they say at about 2500 hours the strap will need replacement. I do not think I've come close to 2500 hours. Has anyone has this problem with any other Polar products? Solutions?

By the way, a new strap will run me about $60 from Polar (although I have found them for $30-50 on ebay).

 

[alienator]

I have been using a Polar CS300 heart rate monitor for the last 2-3 years and have loved it. Today, I get on my bike and my heart rate does not respond. I figured it was a bad battery even though I replaced it about 2 months ago. I change it and still get no response. I went to Polar's website and they say at about 2500 hours the strap will need replacement. I do not think I've come close to 2500 hours. Has anyone has this problem with any other Polar products? Solutions?

By the way, a new strap will run me about $60 from Polar (although I have found them for $30-50 on ebay).

It can still be the strap. That 2500 hr figure assumes a battery in optimal condition. Sadly, not all batteries and battery equipped devices are in optimal condition. Batteries, with age, lose charge and the ability to hold charge. That's why companies like Duracell have been putting "use by" dates on their battery packaging. It also could be that the battery was suboptimal when it came out of the battery factory.

It's equally possible that you put a bad battery in the computer. Try replacing the new battery with another new battery, from a different package.

It's a cheap thing to check and fix. You don't need to buy a new chest strap. You can--or at least you used to be able to--change the batteries in Polar chest straps.

 

[catlike]

I had similar problems with Polar 725. There where no consistent HR signal. The problem was in strap- clip-on mechanism. The femail conector was damadged- it didn't provide good connection. Buying new strap (~10$ on ebay) solved problem. No problems so far (~2 years) with new strap
Try to clean conectors -both male and femail on transmiter and strap and have a look

Overall i consider polar cycling wireles HRM durable and good quality product (I am a bit les optimistic on the polar wired power device i have on my other bike).

 

[gosselin]

same here. new strap fixed the problem. I found that the strap is the weakest link

 

[vspa]

i have the CS300, every now and then heart rate signal is lost for no reason, not often though.

i take out the unit of the strap after every ride, to keep connectors clean, i also wash the strap itself after each ride.

remember also that there is down time when you are preparing to ride and then when you are done riding, where the strap/unit keeps on working and adding up those hours.