Just replaced the batteries in my Garmin Vector 3 pedals and I get quite different readings if connected via ANT+ (50%) or Bluetooth (85%). Any suggestions on why that might be the case? Thanks.
Power meters Usually transmit information once every second. Bluetooth technology allows for 64 times per second but is a closed system. ANT plus around 4 times a second. With my experience with Vectors I would says trust ANT+ as power meters don’t work that fast and is probably an issue with Garmin and the battery levels. It happens to me all the time. One side actually drains faster than the other one.
Ant + for myself show 25% for quite some time and then they just died (the batteries). I used my garmin 1030 and it showed red. I wouldn’t trust what TrainerRoad tells you, use garmin once in a while. No offense to TrainerRoad, I think it has very general battery info, 85%, 50%, 25%, that’s about it.
This morning after changing batteries 22 days ago, the vector 3’s acted really weird, constantly dropping out, changed the batteries, it was good. Last time I checked TrainerRoad, it showed 85%. Not sure what happened there, bad batteries, I’m going to check them out this weekend, the ones I swapped out but hoping I didn’t get a batch of bad batteries, energizer, I was hoping for better.
I have V3s and I get the similar reading you do via bluetooth connections. My work thru is that I follow is: I always use my Garmin Edge 810 and when I receive a warning on that screen then I am alerted to that my battery power is low. I have dual pedals and when my battery gets low on my Edge 810 I will sometimes get a left or right pedal not connected. I usually go three more workouts and replace batteries if I know I’m going outside I will replace before my outdoor ride just for peace of mind.
So just to summarize:
- I use my garmin Edge for all all indoor rides but follow the TR dashboard via moblie or PC
- I only worry about my battery level when I get a warning on my Garmin Edge. Sometimes I get a battery level via Garmin Connect on the PC. I haven’t figured it out on the mobile App.
Finally, I’m very happy with the V3s.
Hope this helps.
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I rarely use the 1030 inside but try to check once in a while. Rain has set in here in the northwest, so outside is done for now. I did find that my last replacements were the LR44 which I really didn’t read were the cheaper version compared to the SR44 which I ordered some this morning. Guess I’ll see the difference between the batteries.
I also don’t trust the battery percentages displayed in TrainerRoad. My V3’s went from 85% to 25% last week. FWIW, I use Bluetooth. Now I just have batteries ready to go for when they go from 25% to dead.
I’ll have to connect the Garmin and see what it says as others have mentioned.
Im having to replace my batteries on my V3’s every other work out. They show as 85% on TR but it keeps disconnecting for the workout. It continues to say not paired and battery level 85%. I changed the batteries and i’m good to go for two more days. This is frustrating since i really don’t want to pay $7.99 every 3 days for batteries. Did anyone had/have the same issue?
Every single time I pair my vector 2s to TR it shows 50% battery. It doesn’t matter if I changed the battery today, last week or last month. 
I have a decent supply of batteries on hand as all my sensors/devices all use cr2032s it makes it easy. Hope you can get your issue figured out. I would reach out to garmin, they have been awesome to work with and gone above and beyond to always get me sorted.
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A related question about Vector battery %…the Garmin Connect iOS app does not show % at all, only “Good”, or something like that. So where does the TrainerRoad app get a % value?
I’m just assuming that Garmin’s own app would show % if it was meaningful.
I replaced the batteries in both sides of my Vector 3s last week, checked the battery level in TR straight after and it was…85% lmao. Not sure how it’s calculated but it’s clearly not reliable in any way!
my old battery and my new one show me 50% on ANT+, it doesn’t change!
No. Something is wrong. I ride 7hrs a week and get about two months out of batteries.
Reach out to Garmin, my vector 2 pod just died after 18 months or so. Got on and chatted with a representative and a new pod will be here Tuesday with no charge to me. They will get you squared away.
I had similar experiences with my Vector3s after they were roughly 6 months old. Replaced with brand new set, no questions asked and no downtime since they allowed me to deposit and refund so I wouldn’t miss training time. Say what you will about the Vectors, Garmin’s customer service has been top notch for me… way better than Wahoo.
Do you still have these problems? I have the same issue and i thought it was just a pedal issue. Outside it seems to be working fine, but inside it gets disconnected and can’t connect to anything else too.
I had similar with my first pair. I tried everything I could think of (v3 of the batery cap, mineral oil, cork under battery contact, using a single 3V battery, etc) and nothing worked. Ended up sending them back to Garmin and I’ve had zero issues with the new pair even after a couple of battery changes.
At this point in the products life-cycle, I’d say just ask Garmin for a replacement as they seem to have sorted most of the issues now…
Have you been doing the Vector 3 Baby oil treatment? (Not joking - it worked for me)
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PhilSJones, I try it. Thanks!
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I seem to only have issues with the left pedal. I was using a grease on the contacts and getting about 50 hours of battery life. I started removing the left pedal battery cover and cleaning the battery and terminals about once a week. I have noticed that the contacts are were pretty dirty after a week, but that after several weeks they are not as bad. I also switched to baby oil instead of grease. As of today, I have 70 hours on this set of batteries. I have a Garmin 1030 that I have going while doing TR and in the past it has given me a message when I have low battery life. Previously at 50 hours, I would have a lot of drop outs before the batteries finally died. At 70 hours now I still do not have any dropouts. TR has the battery life for ant+ at 50% as it always is.
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Excellent. “Baby oil rules” 
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