I have had a problem with my Polar 510 randomly stopping while riding. A couple of weeks ago, the stopwatch feature on my Polar 510 began to stop in the middle of exercising. If I hit the red "Ok" button, it would restart. It happens both on the road and in my basement on the trainer. Sometimes it happens a lot and other times only 2-3 times per ride. The monitor is only 6 months old (only used for 3 months).

I don't see how the problem could be related to any of the usual interfeences like too loose of a strap (mine is tight), issues with the electrodes (the monitor keeps measuring my heartbeat the whole time with no problem), electrical interference, or static electricity from my shirt brushing against it.

Anyone else have a similar problem?

I had a similar problem with a lower model fixed the problem with a new battery in the watch itself. Works perfect no more random shut downs or turn offs.

Lone Ranger,
My 510 would do all sorts of crazy stuff - stop working, lose the cadence, lose the speed, lose HR... until I sent it back to polar and they replaced the battery. Now it works perfectly.

John

I have had a problem with my Polar 510 randomly stopping while riding. A couple of weeks ago, the stopwatch feature on my Polar 510 began to stop in the middle of exercising. If I hit the red "Ok" button, it would restart. It happens both on the road and in my basement on the trainer. Sometimes it happens a lot and other times only 2-3 times per ride. The monitor is only 6 months old (only used for 3 months).

I don't see how the problem could be related to any of the usual interfeences like too loose of a strap (mine is tight), issues with the electrodes (the monitor keeps measuring my heartbeat the whole time with no problem), electrical interference, or static electricity from my shirt brushing against it.

Anyone else have a similar problem?

It might not be the battery. Other people have had similar issues with things like power lines.

See Polar HRMs... (http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?p=458700)

It might not be the battery. Other people have had similar issues with things like power lines.

See Polar HRMs... (http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?p=458700)

At first, I thought this might be the issue as I started noticing it on rides outdoors. When I focused on it, however, it turned out that the stopping occurred at different points in the same route and occurred different number of times on a ride. Also, the basement stops are random and are not influenced by any power source that I can identify.

I am wondering if it is something in the memory chips in the unit, although as others don't seem to have problems, that may not be the case.

I think a call to Polar is in order.

make sure the sensor for speed is working. if youre using it on your bike you probably have the auto-start feature on, and the stopwatch will go while your ewheels are moving. make sure the magnets are close enough etc, and if that doesnt help, then id try getting the battery replaced.

Grrr!!!! Mine does that too! Irritates the everliving crap out of me.

I, too, use the Polar S510. Let me chime in that my speed sensor is whacky, but my cadence sensor works flawlessly. I have my speed sensor mounted quite high on the fork, so it is close to the monitor on the handle bars.

I have had problems with the speed sensor and I've only recently begun using it, so I haven't been able to rule out user error. That's why it is mounted quite high. That's why I replaced the battery in the speed sensor (just to be certain it wasn't the battery). I turned the Autostart feature off. I still have problems!

The speed sensor worked occasionally on my 35 mile ride yesterday. It would sometimes pick up my speed. Sometimes that speed was accurate. Other times it was way off (3.2 mph going *downhill*)! And the thing is that if the speed sensor isn't working that means the odometer isn't working either. (The trip registered just over 14 miles -- a long way off from the 35 miles!)

Yesterday, after my ride, I moved the magnet and sensor. Spun the wheel and the speed registered without a problem. Today, on my commute, it registered zero speed the entire trip.

I, too, am baffled. Let me know what Polar says. I'd be interested in what they say.

Hey, something else to consider. Where do you mount/wear your watch? This morning on my commute I had the watch mounted on the handlebars directly above the speed sensor and didn't get a single reading. Tonight, I mounted the watch on the opposite side and had no problems whatsoever! I wonder if placement of the receiver matters?

If you have the Autostart feature on and the receiver mounted someplace where it gets spotty or intermittent updates from the speed sensor, then that could explain the random stops.

I'm going to start mounting the watch opposite the sensor so there is less stuff (handlebars, mount form, fork) in the way and see if that continues to make a difference.

Give that a try, Lone Ranger.

You guys may have indirectly hit on the anwer. I upt the speed sensor on my back wheel for distance and speed information when riding the trainer, but it was too far away from the monitor on the handlebars to work. It may be giving a stray signal that gets through and causes my problem. I took the sensor off yesterday and didn't have a problem. I will see over the next couple of weeks whether this takes care of the problem.

Thanks for the replies.