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Stripped 1 Garmin HR monitor battery cover screw

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Stripped 1 Garmin HR monitor battery cover screw

Old 11-19-18, 11:45 PM
  #1  
bogydave
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Stripped 1 Garmin HR monitor battery cover screw

(2nd time back’s been off, 3rd battery.)
the philips head stripped, got it out but
only put 3 back in.
...working...

A screw that small not gonna be
at Home Depot. Not even know what the screw size that small is called.

I can’t be the only one to strip the little SOB’n
screw.
Source of new screw?

Garmin
Jeweler
Eye glasses repair
???
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Old 11-20-18, 08:37 AM
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Yep, done killed mine too. I actually ended up just pulling the rear cover over the screw. That side of attachment is now useless. I got one good screw and then I took athletic tape and went around the unit. Works just fine on the chest strap. Garmin CS was NO help on this one and it was annoying. I wanted to buy just the rear cover and a couple of screws and they said in a polite way, screw you! They don't sell the parts for it, told me I had to buy a whole new unit.


I am hoping the wife gets me a second unit for Christmas and then I will just use the "defective" unit for indoor training. I would forgo the chest strap all together but I like having that data on hard rides and uphill training.

If you do find a solution I would love to have it too. Good luck!!
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Old 11-20-18, 09:30 AM
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amazon has a fairly wide selection of miniature screws. Not sure if any of them would fix a garmin device though https://www.amazon.com/slp/miniature...sh8z2bbj2tg8ed
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Old 11-20-18, 09:59 AM
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Lovely young lady at Walmart's glasses section helped me (finally!) find a screwdriver that worked on the Garmin HRM. Might be worth asking if they have some replacement screws.

Wahoo HRM works better than the Garmin, is Ant+ compatible, and changing the battery is a piece of cake. (Mention that to your wife if you think she'll buy you another one for Christmas!)
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Old 11-20-18, 01:34 PM
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Originally Posted by pdlamb
Lovely young lady at Walmart's glasses section helped me (finally!) find a screwdriver that worked on the Garmin HRM. Might be worth asking if they have some replacement screws.

Wahoo HRM works better than the Garmin, is Ant+ compatible, and changing the battery is a piece of cake. (Mention that to your wife if you think she'll buy you another one for Christmas!)
Yeah, I have "hinted" at the Wahoo version......won't get Garmin again for that and I am Garmin fan for sure....
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Old 11-20-18, 05:02 PM
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If that is the sensor on a chest strap and you only have three screws holding it on, it might be easier for sweat to get into it. You might consider putting some electrical tape over the backside where your skin contacts it to seal it.

If it is a screw that goes into plastic, a lot of watches like Casio for example use small screws. A watch section in a store might be able to help if that store replaces watch batteries. They might just give you a screw if they have any spares.
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Old 11-20-18, 10:20 PM
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The sensor snaps to the chest strap.
It doesn’t touch the skin.




But yes,
am looking to find a screw that’ll work.

Tape may be in my future

Last edited by bogydave; 11-20-18 at 10:28 PM.
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Old 11-21-18, 08:00 AM
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FYI, for those following along here--there are a 3 common small cross-tips: Phillips 0, 00, and 000. There are also JIS screws, which were/are common in some electronics. If it doesn't feel like a solid connection when you insert your screwdriver, don't charge ahead with it anyway.
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Old 11-21-18, 09:47 AM
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Years ago I had a heart rate monitor strap, the battery cover was held on with screws, sweat got in and corroded it. That is why I made my comment above about tape.

I usually replace my own watch batteries. I find that if you put a tiny bit of grease on the screw threads before you screw the screws in, they come out easier next time.

I bought a cheaper Garnin strap from Asia on Ebay, took a month to arrive. Mine does not use little screws, uses a coin to turn the battery cap off. Not sure if the trade war will mess that option up or not.

Good luck with your efforts.
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Old 11-21-18, 10:38 AM
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Originally Posted by wschruba
FYI, for those following along here--there are a 3 common small cross-tips: Phillips 0, 00, and 000. There are also JIS screws, which were/are common in some electronics. If it doesn't feel like a solid connection when you insert your screwdriver, don't charge ahead with it anyway.
But what about the saying, "If brute force doesn't work, you need a bigger hammer?"
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Old 10-28-19, 09:00 PM
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turf the garmin and buy a Wahoo

Three of the four screws on my garmin hr monitor stripped upon trying to replace the battery for the second time. My theory as to the cause is a poorly designed cover. the screws at the very least should have torx heads. sweat gets into the screw holes and the screws rust. Making removal of the screws there after virtually impossible. As someone mentioned, putting a little grease on the threads would solve the issue. But I don't think many of us are thinking that the cover is that poorly designed when we purchased the Garmin.

My solution: throw the Garmin HR monitor in the trash and buy a Wahoo HR monitor. The Wahoo strap isn't quite as good as the Garmin one.

The good news is the Wahoo monitor works with the Garmin HR strap. So you get the best of both worlds.

Between the Garmin HR monitor and the 520+ constantly crashing. Not to mention Garmin's horrendous customer support.

Garmin will not get another penny from me again in my lifetime.

The quality of Garmin's gear has steadily gone to garbage over the last few years.
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Old 10-29-19, 09:54 AM
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I bought one of these a couple of years ago and it's been more than useful. It contains various other bits that come in pretty handy. Well worth the $8.

https://www.harborfreight.com/33-pie...set-93916.html
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Old 10-29-19, 12:09 PM
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Can you buy the Garmin strap by itself? It's a bit annoying that the heart rate monitor is usually called a "strap" polluting the google results
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Old 10-29-19, 03:05 PM
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Here's $11 for just a strap (I've never had a Garmin with a removable transmitter, at least I can't remember having one - so I can't say whether it will fit) or $24 for the transmitter too.

https://www.amazon.com/CooSpo-Fitnes...2383042&sr=8-8

If you wind up needing a new transmitter that one is BT only, the one that also does ANT+ is $34.
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Old 10-29-19, 05:59 PM
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can’t even begin to tell you how many times i’ve thought how poorly designed the heart monitor battery closure is and how often i’ve fantasized about flailing (with the heart monitor and strap) the individual that got that particular design standard pushed through...
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Old 10-29-19, 08:26 PM
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Originally Posted by Seattle Forrest
Here's $11 for just a strap (I've never had a Garmin with a removable transmitter, at least I can't remember having one - so I can't say whether it will fit) or $24 for the transmitter too.
thanks. Any personal experience with these? I was thinking about just getting a new strap for my Wahoo, but they are $20 plus shipping.
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Old 10-29-19, 10:23 PM
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@unterhausen

My experience is they're not meaningfully different from the Garmin ones.

I bought one, misplaced it temporarily, and bought a second to replace it. Customer service wrote to thank me for my business, and sent me a colored strap as a gift (they asked which color first). Can't beat service like that, and the product seems to be basically the same at a fraction of the price.

I've never worn a dozen straps at the same time to verify its accuracy like DCR, but I've been using chest straps for 15? years and the readings give me no reason to doubt, and I think all chest straps are probably equally accurate. I've only had it since July so I can't say much about long term durability, but at the price it doesn't have to last years to be a good value.
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Old 10-30-19, 07:36 AM
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the BT version is $6 off right now, so cheaper than a replacement strap for the wahoo. I bought one. I have been using the wahoo for a couple of years now, and I'm not particularly impressed. What I have found is that the bad readings are obviously bad, like staying the same through intervals and rest periods.
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Old 10-30-19, 07:39 AM
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If you use the correct screwdriver it's a non-issue.
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Old 10-30-19, 07:25 PM
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Originally Posted by DrIsotope
If you use the correct screwdriver it's a non-issue.
incorrect. have the correct screwdriver and it's still a pita. there's a better way than what they've got.
make the backing threaded so you can screw it on and make the entire operation tool free.
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Old 10-30-19, 08:21 PM
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I get 700+ hours out of a battery, and have removed and reinstalled the back cover twice with absolutely no issues.

Tiny red Skil screwdriver which claims to be a "2mm Phillips." I don't know if that's actually a thing, but it works.
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Old 10-30-19, 09:14 PM
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would you agree that changing the battery removal/replacement could/should be tool free?
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Old 10-30-19, 11:12 PM
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Originally Posted by ooga-booga
incorrect. have the correct screwdriver and it's still a pita. there's a better way than what they've got.
make the backing threaded so you can screw it on and make the entire operation tool free.
My Vectors use the same battery as any chest strap. They're set up like you describe and the only tool you need to change the battery is a quarter or a dime. It's a waterproof setup.

The benefit of the way they do it with chest straps is they get to sell you another strap when this happens.
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Old 10-30-19, 11:18 PM
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^ i remember chest straps like this and they were super easy to replace/access battery.
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