Cadence sensor all of a sudden not being found

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rstrom
Posts: 206
Joined: Wed Mar 24, 2010 1:02 am
Location: Chandler, AZ

Cadence sensor all of a sudden not being found

Post by rstrom »

On this mornings ride I noticed that the cadence sensor is not being seen for some reason. Cadence worked on Saturday and Sunday ... no issues.

I tried scanning for the sensors multiple times, both speed and HR were found. I have since removed the battery, tested it with a button battery voltage tester (it appeared to be strong / on the high side), done a hard reset of the Newton, and tried rescanning again.

I have also repositioned the crankarm magnet, taken another magnet and swiped it across the sensor (I can here the clicking), and tried rescanning again. I still get no cadence sensor.

Any idea what is going on here and how I can get it fixed?

Thanks,

Robert
TriBike
Posts: 70
Joined: Sat Jul 02, 2011 9:27 am

Re: Cadence sensor all of a sudden not being found

Post by TriBike »

Try Re-setting the sensor. You can do this by reversing the battery in it for about 10seconds. Then, double check the magnet positions again, be sure they are super close. About 1/8" or closer if possible. Re-Scan for the sensors. This should get you back up and running.
rstrom
Posts: 206
Joined: Wed Mar 24, 2010 1:02 am
Location: Chandler, AZ

Re: Cadence sensor all of a sudden not being found

Post by rstrom »

All right ... I will try that.

So in addition to the previously posted information ...

1. For some reason the cadence started working on my ride today ... for part of the ride
2. I am attaching the ride file showing the cadence just stop working in the middle of the ride. I noticed it when I got back to a lighted area and put the unit in setup mode and did a rescan.

See attached file

I highlighted the area and did a repair for missing cadence on another saved copy of the file (not on this copy)

Robert
Attachments
iBike_10_31_2012_1733_30_Miles_no_cadence.ibr
(569.82 KiB) Downloaded 311 times
rstrom
Posts: 206
Joined: Wed Mar 24, 2010 1:02 am
Location: Chandler, AZ

Re: Cadence sensor all of a sudden not being found

Post by rstrom »

I reset the sensor (turned battery around for much longer than 10 seconds); put the battery back in the correct way; rescanned for the sensors; went to work; came back home and took my ride and had another ride where the cadence died in the middle of the ride!!

I scanned in the same are that I did last night (there are street lights) and all sensors were found and cadence is working again ... for now.

What the heck is going on? Last weekend I rode a 97 mile Gran Fondo with no issues and then rode another 50 on Sunday with no issues then all of a sudden on Tuesday I'm having issues?

One thing I did notice when download the rides last night and tonight. Both times I was told there were new wireless sensor ID's and asked if I would like to store them in the profile. Last night I said no, tonight I said yes.

Why would they be new wireless sensor ID's? It's the same wireless sensor.

Attached is the new file where there is no cadence for a while and then there is again after I rescanned.

Really strange is the fact that there are power readings even when I have not repaired the file for missing cadence!!

Robert
Attachments
iBike_11_01_2012_1728_30_Miles_no_cadence.ibr
(556.63 KiB) Downloaded 313 times
Velocomp
Velocomp CEO
Posts: 7793
Joined: Fri Jan 11, 2008 8:43 am

Re: Cadence sensor all of a sudden not being found

Post by Velocomp »

I think your cadence sensor is intermittent. It likely needs to be replaced.
John Hamann
TriBike
Posts: 70
Joined: Sat Jul 02, 2011 9:27 am

Re: Cadence sensor all of a sudden not being found

Post by TriBike »

When re-setting the sensor(by reversing the battery) it will change the code, that is why you see the new wireless ID's. Also, be sure that you have that cadence magnet as close as you can get it to the sensor, without touching. I can barely see light through the space of mine. If this doesn't solve the problem, then I agree with Velocomp, you will need to replace the sensor.
rstrom
Posts: 206
Joined: Wed Mar 24, 2010 1:02 am
Location: Chandler, AZ

Re: Cadence sensor all of a sudden not being found

Post by rstrom »

UPDATE: The sensors that I was using (I've been riding my spare bike) were the original sensors from the iBike iAero (separate cadence and speed sensors).

- I removed these sensors and installed the dual sensor that came with the Newton.
- I re-ran the scan function and I could not get more than 2 sensors to be found (Speed and HR) although the cadence appeared as one of the items listed on the screen (which reverts to Calories if no cadence is detected - from previous recent experiences). So I was assuming that all sensors were working and I'd be good to go. I did this on Friday evening to get ready for my Saturday morning group ride.
- Went out for the Saturday morning group ride and nothing was working - no speed, no cadence!!
- I stopped twice on the way to the ride to re-scan and I still got nothing ( I also reset the unit - no love, no joy). Luckily I also had my Garmin with me so I had some ride data
- In the middle of the ride (after the iBike was off for about the first 50 miles) I turned it back on while going up a hill. Nothing for a while and then all of a sudden it started registering. Then not, then yes (attaching the file (a whopping 2 miles out of 110 mile ride). Since I reset the unit the start time shows as 9/24/2012 @ 4:15am. That was probably really about 10:15am
- I came home and removed the battery out of the sensor, turned it around to reset and then tried to get the speed to register - no love, no joy
- I tried passing the magnet in front of the sensor and I couldn't get it to trigger (click, click noise)
- The magnet that I was using was the wheel magnet from the original iBike iAero
- I got out the Newton wheel magnet and moved it across the sensor and was able to get it to register (click, click)
- I tried placing the magnets onto a large screwdriver and found that the Newton magnet appeared to be a good bit stronger than the iAero magnet
- Is the Newton wheel magnet stronger than the iAero wheel magnet?
- Do the magnets lose their strength over time?
- Does this new sensor need the stronger magnet?

So I rode today and behold, both the speed and the cadence are working (and the HR). Needless to say I was overjoyed.

Now, here's the catch.

My Garmin was telling me that the ride was 50.6 miles but the Newton was showing double that. The Newton was also showing me that the average speed was about 36mph and max speed was 87mph (I think that's right). All of this was corrected on download but displayed incorrectly during the ride.

One of the strange things was that while the average speed and max speeds were really, really off. I never (and I was paying attention once I had noticed the issue) saw any high or unreasonable numbers for speed being displayed to me. This Sunday ride was a slow easy "coffee shop" ride, there was zero hammering.

When installing the new dual sensor I followed the instructions and reviewed the drawing. I am using the new magnets for both cadence and speed.

I remember something like this happening once before and I was told to move the two sensors farther away from each other to ensure that there was no interference. You can't do that with these sensors.

So, any idea what is going on here?

Thanks,

Robert
Attachments
iBike_11_04_2012_0600_50_Miles.ibr
The Sunday morning ride file. The ride is 50.62 miles, but the Newton was reading double the distance and the average speed and max speed were all messed up. I changed the file name (it was originally iBike_11_04_2012_0600_100_Miles.ibr)
(1.08 MiB) Downloaded 303 times
iBike_11_03_2012_0415_2_Miles.ibr
Saturday morning ride where nothing was working except for this short period of time. This was going uphill (an extended hill - about 3.6 miles). The hill is an average of 3.6%
(50.82 KiB) Downloaded 289 times
rstrom
Posts: 206
Joined: Wed Mar 24, 2010 1:02 am
Location: Chandler, AZ

Re: Cadence sensor all of a sudden not being found

Post by rstrom »

IBike folks??

Thoughts / comments?

Thanks,

Robert
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