Polar CS600 Power Problems

[Ergoman]

I've installed my CS600 by the book with guidance from discussions on this forum. Heartrate and speed work fine, but I get no power or cadence. The batteries check good in the power unit and have been swapped just to double check. I get green and red lights on the power paddle when the crank is turned, and I have trained the head unit to detect power.

Before I return this system does anyone have any ideas what might be wrong and what I could do to fix it?

Thanks.

P.S. I've tried the power unit with a different CS600 head unit and I've also held the head unit within a few inches of the power paddle, but still no luck.

 

[kytyree]

If you were able to "teach" the power sensor to the CS600 then you are one step ahead of me. Mine was working then quit toward the end of a ride, ever since then I get no cadence or power.

Like you I get the lights from the powermeter, and other signals are picked up fine, but I have been unable to pick up a signal or teach the powermeter to the CS600 again. This is after about a month of pretty reliable use.

Talked to Polar on the phone and they talked me through a reboot on the computer to return everything to the factory default settings but that didn't do anything to help me pick up the power/cadence sensor. I should call them back but for now I am tired of fooling with the thing.

 

[Ergoman]

If you were able to "teach" the power sensor to the CS600 then you are one step ahead of me. Mine was working then quit toward the end of a ride, ever since then I get no cadence or power.

Like you I get the lights from the powermeter, and other signals are picked up fine, but I have been unable to pick up a signal or teach the powermeter to the CS600 again. This is after about a month of pretty reliable use.

Talked to Polar on the phone and they talked me through a reboot on the computer to return everything to the factory default settings but that didn't do anything to help me pick up the power/cadence sensor. I should call them back but for now I am tired of fooling with the thing.

I called Polar, and after reviewing my problem (on a brand new CS600), they decided that the unit is defective and asked me to send it back. A two to three week turn-around is the best they'd promise...not an ideal scenario to attract new users to Polar.

 

[cPritch67]

I called Polar, and after reviewing my problem (on a brand new CS600), they decided that the unit is defective and asked me to send it back. A two to three week turn-around is the best they'd promise...not an ideal scenario to attract new users to Polar.

Did they want you to send the head unit back or the power paddle?

 

[Ergoman]

Did they want you to send the head unit back or the power paddle?

They want both.

As an aside, I just had a Planar LCD monitor fail at almost the end of its three year warranty. Planar not only honored the warranty without question, but immediately shipped me a new monitor and a return UPS shipping label so that I could use the box to ship my dead monitor back to them (at no expense to me). The new monitor arrived from half way across the country less than 48 hours after I made the call to Planar. That's the kind of service that a company that wants to build customer loyalty should deliver. I have no hesitation recommending Planar or their products, and you can bet that when it comes time to buy a new monitor, Planar will get my business.

 

[robd2]

I've installed my CS600 by the book with guidance from discussions on this forum. Heartrate and speed work fine, but I get no power or cadence. The batteries check good in the power unit and have been swapped just to double check. I get green and red lights on the power paddle when the crank is turned, and I have trained the head unit to detect power.

Before I return this system does anyone have any ideas what might be wrong and what I could do to fix it?

Thanks.

P.S. I've tried the power unit with a different CS600 head unit and I've also held the head unit within a few inches of the power paddle, but still no luck.

I had the same problem. Still waiting for an exchange from performance to go though. You mentioned the flashing red and green lights on the paddle. On my unit I would get one orangeish flash followed by all green. Do you actually get a seperate red flash in between the green from the same spot or is it a seperate indicator for red and green?

 

[Ergoman]

I had the same problem. Still waiting for an exchange from performance to go though. You mentioned the flashing red and green lights on the paddle. On my unit I would get one orangeish flash followed by all green. Do you actually get a seperate red flash in between the green from the same spot or is it a seperate indicator for red and green?

The lights are pretty dim and the flashing/color is tough to determine. Polar tech support gave me the impression that so long as there was some flashing in two colors the sensors were working. I think my problem is in the transmission of data. The sensor is detected by the head unit, but that's as far as things work.

 

[J-V]

The lights are pretty dim and the flashing/color is tough to determine. Polar tech support gave me the impression that so long as there was some flashing in two colors the sensors were working. I think my problem is in the transmission of data. The sensor is detected by the head unit, but that's as far as things work.

I think that's a direct indication that it's a transmission problem from the power sensor. In fact, after dealing with this for months, I'm convinced of it.

Polar really needs to step up to the plate and give us users an option that doesn't leave us without a computer for three weeks. These are defective units right out of the box, and I'm certain at this point that they know exactly what the issue is. Getting a 'replacement' unit off someone's shelf is unlikely to remedy the problem until the production issue is fixed, and faulty stock is depleted.

I'm unhappy about this situation, but have to admit it's the first problem with a Polar product that I've had in 15+ years of using their monitors.