Save yourself the heartache and get yourself a Tickr. Seriously.

Most frequently with the Garmin HR straps they just wear out. You can try rinsing them in soap and water (or leaving it in a cup of water + a little laundry detergent) overnight). Also make sure the battery isn't almost dead. If you still see issues buy a polar soft strap. It will work with the Garmin HRM unit. The Polar strap is more comfortable and will last longer.

Ultimately though I just had too many issues with my Garmin that I finally gave up and bought a Tickr when I got a amazon giftcard through work. Zero regrets.

edit: as mentioned below, buying the new polar strap may no longer be an alternative. proceed with caution. I haven't really kept up with the polar straps since I bought my Tickr and have been happier with it than my 2x Garmin HRM and multiple polar straps over several years.

HRMs can be quite finicky, regardless of whether they are straps or optical. Frankly the heart is fairly simple but there are so many different rhythms as well and people would be surprised what the heart can do. It is impossible to say what was happening. These devices have to filter out electrical noise all the time. Sometimes HRM can get locked on Cadence instead of heart rate. As someone who was responsible for identifying the various heart rhythms in a split second, and routinely would walk into hospitals where I watched trained techs make big mistakes all the time, I certainly have an appreciation for how complex something like a simple HRM can be.

With that being said, I do find there is finite life to heart rate straps. I get at least 1-2 years out of them but I always have two heart rate monitors around the house in case one starts acting up. Luckily enough either the Garmin Soft Strap or Tickr are not outrageously expensive. If you train by heart rate, it is worth a new one every 1-2 years. There is a lot of bending, twisting, salt, and water happening. I am actually surprised they last as long as they do sometimes.

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This strap is a good few years old as it came with my FR60. Looks like I'll be on the lookout for a new one.

Thanks for the help!

Look into the Scosche. I can't imagine going back to a chest strap after using optical arm band

http://www.scosche.com/...rate-monitor-armband

CC

This is what i used to do, but sadly, the new crop of polar straps are not compatible with garmin sensors. they've changed the size of the connection so the sensor won't clip into the strap. Trust me, I've got two perfectly useless polar straps sat at home.

I just went through this.
I scrubbed the strap and contacts and replaced the battery- works great again.

Good to know. I edited my post since I haven't kept up to date with the polar straps. Were you able to find a replacement strap (Garmin or otherwise) or did you buy a whole new unit?

Make sure you wash your strap (with the sensor removed) with soap and water every couple of weeks or so. I usually throw mine (also a Garmin) into my washing machine after 30 hours of use.

Do you feel the optical is as accurate?

Four situations, in order of frequentness, in which your strap does not work:

1. The cloth strap is old. I change it more often than once a year. I buy Polar straps for my Garmin Transponder, because they work as well as the Garmin ones and are cheaper. The strap is a wearing part. Cleaning, also in the washing machine, did not help a lot in my experience.

2. The strap is dry. Happens sometimes on the bike when it is cool and you are descending so not sweating.

3. The strap is wet. Happens when swimming, or when you sweat a lot, for example on the trainer or while running when its really hot.

4. The battery of the transponder is low.

I've worn out plenty of Garmin straps and transmitters. Went with the Wahoo heart rate monitor and strap and it works great with my Garmin 520. I do have a Garmin transmitter that works that I'll sell to someone cheap but no strap since that is what crapped out last time.

This is bang on. You can try cleaning connectors, change battery (which you did), but it can have a lifespan.

If you train by HR, avoid the optical. They are good for most steady state situations (if properly attached to body part), but any interval type workout they just can't compare to a HR strap. As with the others, I have found the Tickr to be the best bang for the buck. The attachment set up is the arguably the best.

I use a Scosche Rhythm+ and I find it accurate.
I use a Garmin Tri strap on the bike and occasionally for the run if I do a Brick session but usually I use the Scosche for running as, no matter how I position chest straps or how tight or lose I make them, they always threaten to slide down around my waist during runs. I blame my triangular torso ;).
Anyway, the Scoshe works reliably for running when positioned above my bicep and facing forwards. I've had occasional failures to detect HR with other locations. For some reason it doesn't do so well on the bike. I haven't quite figured out why. The other negative is the battery life. It's sufficient for any training I do but at about 7-8hrs it's not enough for a full IM. I used it last year for an IM but only on the run. I wore both the Scosche (switched off) and a chest strap for the swim and bike, then took off the chest strap in T2 and turned on the Scosche for the run. A minor inconvenience but it worked well.

So it turns out that I had the strap too loose and it wasn't keeping contract with my body. Once I tightened it to where it felt snug without being constricting it was much better on the runs.

I ended up giving the FR60 and the strap to my wife who is just getting started running again. Seems to be working well for her. I got myself a refurbished 920XT and haven't had any problems with the hrm-run strap so far.

Thanks for help and suggestions, everyone :-)

Even if your HRM strap works for now, at some point in the next year, it will likely fail if you're training a decent amount. I've burned through 4 Garmins and 8 replacement pods for the HRMs in the past. All of them will die even if you wash them, baby them, etc. The annoying part to me especially was that it gradually dies, meaning at first it'll seem 95% fine, then after awihle, 90% fine, and then gradually from there. Which is annoying since you'll keep messing with it more and more as it slowly dies, rather than replacing it quickly if it just suddenly lost half its data sensing in a single shot. It'll drive you nuts.

The Scosche Rhythm optical sensor will not die. If you get fed up with the Garmin dying after 1-2 years (mine in <1yr consistently), the Scosche is an excellent replacement. It's somewhat more annoying on race day since it goes on the arm and more difficult to deal with under a wetsuit than the chest strap, and as well, its elastic band ($15 replacement) dies within 1-2 years as well, but you won't have to replace the whole thing as frequently as the Garmin.

aliexpress

I buy 10-12 straps at a time because I keep 5 HRM available for my athletes training in our Computrainer studio. Last time, they were $4 each, and exact matches of the Garmin soft strap. I'd guess Garmin buys them overseas and doesn't actually manufacture them themselves, so it's a matter of poking around to find a Chinese supplier (aliexpress).

I keep looking into the Scosche but I was under the impression it was not advised to swim with it or submerge it for long periods of time? even DC rainmaker mentioned this in his review. has yours been fine how much do you swim with it? (I would only do it on race day)

I don't swim with mine so I can't comment on its swim longevity. It's hard to swim with it on race day as well since it gets in the way of the wetsuit if you wear it under it, and you'll be afraid it'll fall off if you use a sleeveless. It's the main negative I think of it.

I raced with mine (Scosche) at Choo 70.3. I don't have any idea how many seconds it took me to put it on in T1 (I left it in my bike shoe), but it couldn't be many (seconds).

You'd spend more time than that F'n with it over/under a wetsuit.....or possibly adjusting it (sans wetsuit) ....during your swim (where it is of zero value to you, anyway).