Mtl_Biker
Active Member
For those of you who have Giant bikes with head- and taillights, have you had any problems? If so, have you made any modifications to improve things?
When I received my Explore E+1 GTS on Wednesday I had to assemble it because it had been shipped across Canada to me. The headlight wasn't working and I think that is because it had been dangling in the shipping carton at the end of the wire and it got bounced around pretty darn much judging from the damage on the carton. Anyway, I found that the connection into the light (not the wire back into the frame) was where the problem was, and there wasn't a way of opening the light to make a more secure connection. As a temporary fix, I found that by pushing the wire up into the headlight it would work, and I fixed it in place with a zip tie. The dealer is sending me a replacement light which I'll hopefully have next week.
But yesterday we went on a 72km ride and halfway through it, the taillight stopped working. No amount of wiggling wires would make it come back on again. Today I took a close look at it and I'm disappointed with how Giant has done the wiring and connections:
You can see the two wires for the taillight going to the connection on the fender. Well, that "connection" is really poor. What it is, is just what looks like a brass-color insert like a washer, where a wire is simply pushed into the hole and then fixed in place with that plastic cap. Not very secure at all. And it's the same kind of connection at the front of the fender close to the motor. I tested and found there was no power at the back end connection and then found the front connection at the fender to be bad. I removed the plug, found the wires coming from the motor had power so I pushed the wires back into the holes trying to make sure the bare wire was in contact with the brass-color insert and then replaced the plug. I doubt very much this connection is going to last long term, especially if the bike is ridden in the rain and/or over rough ground.
I don't know how this could be improved, but I'm thinking of a small bolt that I could put through the hole and attach the wire around it. But the head of the bolt will have to be very thin so as not to touch the tire or be affected by road grit.
Giant really should have made better connections there in my opinion.
Anyone have better ideas about this?
When I received my Explore E+1 GTS on Wednesday I had to assemble it because it had been shipped across Canada to me. The headlight wasn't working and I think that is because it had been dangling in the shipping carton at the end of the wire and it got bounced around pretty darn much judging from the damage on the carton. Anyway, I found that the connection into the light (not the wire back into the frame) was where the problem was, and there wasn't a way of opening the light to make a more secure connection. As a temporary fix, I found that by pushing the wire up into the headlight it would work, and I fixed it in place with a zip tie. The dealer is sending me a replacement light which I'll hopefully have next week.
But yesterday we went on a 72km ride and halfway through it, the taillight stopped working. No amount of wiggling wires would make it come back on again. Today I took a close look at it and I'm disappointed with how Giant has done the wiring and connections:
![i-3VJW92n.jpg](https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-3VJW92n/0/ceda8cb1/O/i-3VJW92n.jpg)
You can see the two wires for the taillight going to the connection on the fender. Well, that "connection" is really poor. What it is, is just what looks like a brass-color insert like a washer, where a wire is simply pushed into the hole and then fixed in place with that plastic cap. Not very secure at all. And it's the same kind of connection at the front of the fender close to the motor. I tested and found there was no power at the back end connection and then found the front connection at the fender to be bad. I removed the plug, found the wires coming from the motor had power so I pushed the wires back into the holes trying to make sure the bare wire was in contact with the brass-color insert and then replaced the plug. I doubt very much this connection is going to last long term, especially if the bike is ridden in the rain and/or over rough ground.
I don't know how this could be improved, but I'm thinking of a small bolt that I could put through the hole and attach the wire around it. But the head of the bolt will have to be very thin so as not to touch the tire or be affected by road grit.
Giant really should have made better connections there in my opinion.
Anyone have better ideas about this?