Giant Dirt-E battery. Replace rubber cap

[Scriptalert]

Hello,

The rubber flap on my 2016 Giant Dirt-E battery has broken off, exposing the connector. I have gotten a replacement rubber flap, but I still need to get the broken-of old legs out from inside the battery to fasten it. Is it possible to remove the plastic panels on the outside of the battery and push them out? Or should I just glue the new flap in instead?

 

[Mtl_Biker]

Hello,

The rubber flap on my 2016 Giant Dirt-E battery has broken off, exposing the connector. I have gotten a replacement rubber flap, but I still need to get the broken-of old legs out from inside the battery to fasten it. Is it possible to remove the plastic panels on the outside of the battery and push them out? Or should I just glue the new flap in instead?

Photos might be of help here.

 

[Scriptalert]

You can see the cover missing here. The two black dots in the middle contains the ripped-off legs from the flap.

IMG_3412.JPG

drive.google.com

 

[Mtl_Biker]

You can see the cover missing here. The two black dots in the middle contains the ripped-off legs from the flap.

IMG_3412.JPG

drive.google.com

I haven't personally seen that battery in real life but I've dealt with many such "flaps". My suggestion is first of all to not try gluing it. I doubt that would have long-term hold. And the two little "nipples" for lack of a more technical term would probably be very difficult to push back into those holes. Similar things I've seen needed to be pulled through from the back with a pair of needle nose pliers, helped along with some kind of lubricant (I like Windex for that as once it dries there's really no residue). Do you see any way to open the casing of the battery? The Giant battery I have on my Explore E+1 seems to have screws that should allow opening the case. Does yours have anything like that?

 

[Scriptalert]

There are some screws on the battery, but I don’t know what will happen if I open it. I`m not entirely sure of I can pull the nipples out, but tgey seem pretty stuck.

 

[Mtl_Biker]

There are some screws on the battery, but I don’t know what will happen if I open it. I`m not entirely sure of I can pull the nipples out, but tgey seem pretty stuck.

I wasn't suggesting you pull the nipples OUT, but rather pull the new ones in (from the back/inside)... after opening the battery. If you're nervous about doing that, I'm sure your dealer could help you with it. And if the casing was open, the old ones could be easily removed.

Where in the world are you (you haven't set a location in your profile)? Do you perhaps have a friend who's more mechanically adept?

Personally, I wouldn't hesitate to open (carefully) the battery casing. But then again I've opened many things before that maybe I shouldn't have. And for anything more complicated, I film (video or stills) every step so there's no question of how things go back together.

You don't need to do anything with any of the internal wiring... just get access to the back where the flap attaches.

Good luck!

 

[Readytoride]

For what it's worth:

My rubber covering to my battery's top port on my LaFree E+1 slouched off from doing its job after 3 months, and decided to go on extended vacation from ever being a charging port cover again. I fooled with it a bit but never felt it would reliably stay on going down the road.

So I did the easiest and most reliable fix I know.

Waterproof duct tape.

Same color as the battery. Long enough to wrap around to the side of the battery on one end, the other end easily covers the port and stays plyable and sticky enough to cover and uncover the port for daily charging. When the duct tape loses its "stickability", I simply tear off a new piece off the tape roll and replace the tired worn-out piece of tape on the battery with new.