Heart Rate Monitor not working... help!

bekahl
bekahl Posts: 41 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Today I was trying to use my new Polar FT4 HRM for the first time. I tried it at home and it worked fine but when I was trying to use it in my Bokwa class it kept losing my heartbeat so the result was that it said I'd only burned 76 calories in a full hours class of Bokwa. I can't figure out what was going wrong. Can anyone help??

Replies

  • Salkeela
    Salkeela Posts: 367 Member
    The strap needs to be fairly tight. Perhaps it loosened during the exercise. Or did batteries need charged?
  • Mokey41
    Mokey41 Posts: 5,769 Member
    Chest strap needs to be tight and the electrode pads need to be wet when you put it on.
  • smurfette75
    smurfette75 Posts: 853 Member
    Agreed strap needs to be extra tight, wet it before you put it on. But sometime other people signals can interfere. But adjust the strap and that should help. Mine does that on occasion. Sometime I have to disconnect and reconnect again.
  • mikesalvey
    mikesalvey Posts: 3 Member
    This may sound crazy, but try replacing the battery in the transmitter for the chest piece. 3 weeks ago I purchased an FT4 and had the same exact thing happen.
  • ls_66
    ls_66 Posts: 395 Member
    did you get the strap wet?
  • bekahl
    bekahl Posts: 41 Member
    I wet the strap and put a new battery in before trying it in the house. Could it be that I used a cheap battery and maybe it wasn't strong enough?
    I think the strap was tight enough. Where abouts does the actual monitor on the strap need to sit? Maybe I got that wrong
  • MissJenova
    MissJenova Posts: 258
    I have a different model with the same issue. The polar website has some suggestions on how to fix problems like this or find out what could be causing it.

    For me, after trying everything including letting my sister wear it for a workout, I found that mine was defective and had to send it out for repair. Bummer!

    But yes, make sure it is tight and you've wet it first.

    DO NOT leave the chest piece connected to the chest strap when not in use.

    And check out the company website to test out different ways to solve the problem in the FAQ section.

    Good luck!
  • ChristyRunStarr
    ChristyRunStarr Posts: 1,600 Member
    Where abouts does the actual monitor on the strap need to sit? Maybe I got that wrong

    I wear mine right under my bra and I haven't had any types of issues since I made it tighter (almost to the point it's too tight but with movement it losens a bit)

    When you tried it at home, did you try it for a full workout? If not try that and see what happens
  • omma_to_3
    omma_to_3 Posts: 3,265 Member
    I wet the strap and put a new battery in before trying it in the house. Could it be that I used a cheap battery and maybe it wasn't strong enough?
    I think the strap was tight enough. Where abouts does the actual monitor on the strap need to sit? Maybe I got that wrong
    ]

    It needs to sit in the center of your chest. Put the strap as high up under your breasts as possible with the sensor right in between.
  • queendeej
    queendeej Posts: 214 Member
    Try a dab of KY jelly on the electrodes & make sure the chest strap is tight. Mine started doing that because I don't think it was staying wet during my whole workout.
  • tomomatic
    tomomatic Posts: 1,794 Member
    How much water are you applying to the contact mesh? at first, I was just dabbing the water on there with my finger. I thought it was broken. Then I put the contact under spigot to get more water and everything worked fine.

    Another issue is that if there's another nearby HRM, you guys could be getting your signals mixed. Try a different spot in the room or surrounding yourself with people in the class that aren't strapped. I think the range is something like 2 meters.
  • SonicaBE
    SonicaBE Posts: 151 Member
    I have the same one and use to have problems too. Hers is what helps take the actual piece off of the strap and wet the electrodes/buttons and then put them back on and also run the strap underside under water tap and then put it on. Voila never fails. I called polar customer service because I was so upset and they told me to run through this technique.
  • Mokey41
    Mokey41 Posts: 5,769 Member
    Definitely take the transmitter off the chest strap when it's not in use and if you use any of the jellies you have to clean the electrodes on the strap off really well or it gets all gummed up. I just run it under the tap before and after I use it to make sure it's really wet. Also when you are finished make sure you push the button on the watch to put it back just to time or it runs your battery down. Don't store the strap and the transmitter together so they don't make contact or it can run your battery down too.

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