2020 Battery Failure - Unless anyone has other suggestions?

Evolution Stu

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Jun 30, 2019
455
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Blackpool. U.K.
My video tells the main story...


After that I took it to the LBS for diagnostics and to initialise a claim with GIANT.

Yep, you guessed it, the bike powered up just fine and passed all diagnostic tests. ?

They will now show GIANT the video and ask their opinion.
To be fair, what else can they do? But I can see it being a long wait and maybe a fight.

Meanwhile, I am off the trails with summer upon us! ?

Anyone know of a 625wh battery IN STOCK in the U.K.?
 

Cabby.

Active member
Apr 17, 2020
174
131
Scotland
Can't help you but what a brilliant video to illustrate the issue, there is just no arguing with that vid.
 

oldmanmx

Member
Jan 19, 2020
57
47
Camden NSW
I gather you have already tried the obvious like cleaning the terminals and putting some warmth on it to get rid of any moisture. What happens when you put it on the charger? A lot of people who have had problems say that Giant have been really good with warranty but I can tell you in Oz that's not the experience I've had
 

Evolution Stu

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Jun 30, 2019
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447
Blackpool. U.K.
Morning guys,
Yes. Connectors are spotless etc.
Also, out on the trail to try and get me home we tried our spare controller and stripped the motor covers off and did all the wiring wiggles etc.

I now have another mates battery here too and will be trying to get the fault to reproduce again on video as further evidence but with three batteries and will include footage of terminal quality etc.

I am expecting a fight to be honest. :(
 

Dgedge

Member
May 20, 2020
95
50
France
Did you go for a ride with your mate's battery to check if the bike is working properly ?

What happens if you charge your battery on the bike (with the charging port of the bike) and press the button on the remote to turn on the bike ? I never tested it but expect the battery leds to be blinking like it does on the battery leds when it is charging out of the bike.
 

MattyB

E*POWAH Elite World Champion
Jul 11, 2018
1,266
1,279
Herts, UK
Based on the video it is difficult to come to any conclusion other than the issue is internal to the battery. I personally would suggest you take it in and demonstrate that behaviour with the both batteries in front of the dealer, then once they have seen it it's up to them to deal with Giant on your behalf. Hope it isn't too much of a fight!
 

Evolution Stu

E*POWAH Master
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Jun 30, 2019
455
447
Blackpool. U.K.
I already made the two hour round trip to the LBS with my bike and batteries. The bike performed faultlessly there on my battery after its trip on the bike rack. (Loose connection inside?)

They ran diagnostics etca and of course they all passed. The video has gone to Giant to ask their advice. Not much more they can do to be fair. ?‍♂️

For now I am trying to find that new 625WH battery somewhere in stock in the U.K. I fancied a spare anyway so this is just pushing my decision forward.

For reference.
My own battery operated Steves bike perfectly, and then once placed back in my bike mine was riding fine again too.
Crappy situation! ?
 
Last edited:
Jun 16, 2019
78
68
Northants
Hi there stu... Just showed this thread and your video to a friend of mine who has had exactly the same issue with his 2020 reign. His is currently in the shop (5 weeks now) waiting for parts from giant UK to remedy the issue.
From what he said there's an issue with some bikes where the battery is not 100% tight in place which can lead to them not contacting the terminals properly which gives this problem.
Again from what he's said, Giant UK have said that it needs a shim of some sort to sit on one end of the battery which should force the battery to contact the frame terminals properly.
 

Evolution Stu

E*POWAH Master
Subscriber
Jun 30, 2019
455
447
Blackpool. U.K.
Hi there stu... Just showed this thread and your video to a friend of mine who has had exactly the same issue with his 2020 reign. His is currently in the shop (5 weeks now) waiting for parts from giant UK to remedy the issue.
From what he said there's an issue with some bikes where the battery is not 100% tight in place which can lead to them not contacting the terminals properly which gives this problem.
Again from what he's said, Giant UK have said that it needs a shim of some sort to sit on one end of the battery which should force the battery to contact the frame terminals properly.

Hello mate.
Thanks for the reply, I had the shim issue with last years bike actually. it sits under the contact plate in the image below and raises it about 1mm. I’ve got the Giant instruction sheet for it somewhere. 5weeks! Could do it in under 5 minutes. :(

I’ve measured the contact on this one and it’s fine as far as I am concerned.

In fact, you can see the contact points on mine.

8D875B51-59CF-4AE4-9200-0F1D1CC9D61F.jpeg


You can however see how We’re they 1mm lower it would be on the bevelled edge and therefore unreliable.

I say this a lot...
The “engineering“ on these bikes is absolutely appalling. ?
 

Evolution Stu

E*POWAH Master
Subscriber
Jun 30, 2019
455
447
Blackpool. U.K.
Here you go. Shin plate PDF is in this topic.

 

Chuggz

Member
Dec 13, 2019
104
83
Australia
Morning guys,
Yes. Connectors are spotless etc.
Also, out on the trail to try and get me home we tried our spare controller and stripped the motor covers off and did all the wiring wiggles etc.

I now have another mates battery here too and will be trying to get the fault to reproduce again on video as further evidence but with three batteries and will include footage of terminal quality etc.

I am expecting a fight to be honest. :(
My video tells the main story...


After that I took it to the LBS for diagnostics and to initialise a claim with GIANT.

Yep, you guessed it, the bike powered up just fine and passed all diagnostic tests. ?

They will now show GIANT the video and ask their opinion.
To be fair, what else can they do? But I can see it being a long wait and maybe a fight.

Meanwhile, I am off the trails with summer upon us! ?

Anyone know of a 625wh battery IN STOCK in the U.K.?
My 2020 reign 1 does this on off crap when I wash it,
Definatley battery related
 

Evolution Stu

E*POWAH Master
Subscriber
Jun 30, 2019
455
447
Blackpool. U.K.
My 2020 reign 1 does this on off crap when I wash it,
Definatley battery related

let’s hope you never get caught out 3000ft Of ascent and 9 miles from the nearest dwelling or your car like me mate. It’s less than funny. ?

Cured of these damn bikes I must admit!
 

skypony

Member
Jun 15, 2020
7
4
Grand Junction CO
Stu is correct, but to be more specific, the shim goes under the black piece in the photo. I originally made a silicone shim and put it under the larger metal piece. That was before I saw a shim and only read about it. It worked but still momentarily lost power on rare occasions. The Giant shim under the black piece has performed perfectly.

Hello mate.
Thanks for the reply, I had the shim issue with last years bike actually. it sits under the contact plate in the image below and raises it about 1mm. I’ve got the Giant instruction sheet for it somewhere. 5weeks! Could do it in under 5 minutes. :(

I’ve measured the contact on this one and it’s fine as far as I am concerned.

In fact, you can see the contact points on mine.

View attachment 34406

You can however see how We’re they 1mm lower it would be on the bevelled edge and therefore unreliable.

I say this a lot...
The “engineering“ on these bikes is absolutely appalling. ?
 

Saint_Viper

Member
Nov 15, 2020
15
27
UK
Just started with this same issue today.

Been out on ride, no issue - got home cleaned, battery on charged, showing full when you press the battery button.

Press the power button when on bike, and sometimes it flashes on and then straight off, other times nothing at all.

:(
 

Saint_Viper

Member
Nov 15, 2020
15
27
UK
Tried that as well :(

Hopefully get it back to the LBS today for them to have a look at - Just hoping it aint going be stuck in the shop for to long.
 

Wootism

Member
Jun 1, 2020
27
20
Trails
I already made the two hour round trip to the LBS with my bike and batteries. The bike performed faultlessly there on my battery after its trip on the bike rack. (Loose connection inside?)

They ran diagnostics etca and of course they all passed. The video has gone to Giant to ask their advice. Not much more they can do to be fair. ?‍♂️

For now I am trying to find that new 625WH battery somewhere in stock in the U.K. I fancied a spare anyway so this is just pushing my decision forward.

For reference.
My own battery operated Steves bike perfectly, and then once placed back in my bike mine was riding fine again too.
Crappy situation! ?
Any update on this issue? Did Giant respond to the video? Did you manage to fix the problem, or just bought a new battery?
 

cappuccino34

Active member
Nov 24, 2020
530
328
Helmshore
Hi Guys
I've got a Trance 0 and the wife has a Trance 3. Both have had similar battery problems to yours Stu. It was fortunate that we had the same basic bike because that meant I could easily swap things around; batteries and chargers wise.

I bought my bike from the local bike shop, but they couldn't get one in Small for the wife so I had to buy that elsewhere.

The wife's battery fault was blamed on the charger, because it was claimed "Giant have never had a battery fault but they've had lots of faulty chargers" for about two months back and to the LBS (though I never believed it to be the charger because it didn't follow with what was going on). After insisting that it couldn't be the charger I borrowed one from the shop, and her bike still did the same thing, turning off immediately after turning on, the the LBS conceded and put in a claim for a battery, which still hasn't arrived after maybe six weeks now of her not being able to ride it.

My bike has been more reliable than hers, but when it has done this thing of turning off immediately after turning on, it has been doing so after doing a relatively short ride from the battery being fully charged (typically then, but not always, showing four battery lights on the remote).

So Charge up, ride 2-10 miles, turn off, then the next ride it won't turn on again, despite showing plenty, though not full, battery level. Sometimes I charge it up again and it works ok, but I shouldn't keep part charging the battery like that because it isn't good for them.

I feel awkward keep going to the shop because they have been as helpful as they can be with the wife's bike battery problems, despite the fact that I didn't buy the wife's bike from them.

I'm just wondering if you got your fault sorted by Giant ok? With the wife's new battery still not having arrived I still don't know if Giant have fixed whatever the problem is that they have got with them or not.
 

oldmanmx

Member
Jan 19, 2020
57
47
Camden NSW
Hi Guys
I've got a Trance 0 and the wife has a Trance 3. Both have had similar battery problems to yours Stu. It was fortunate that we had the same basic bike because that meant I could easily swap things around; batteries and chargers wise.

I bought my bike from the local bike shop, but they couldn't get one in Small for the wife so I had to buy that elsewhere.

The wife's battery fault was blamed on the charger, because it was claimed "Giant have never had a battery fault but they've had lots of faulty chargers" for about two months back and to the LBS (though I never believed it to be the charger because it didn't follow with what was going on). After insisting that it couldn't be the charger I borrowed one from the shop, and her bike still did the same thing, turning off immediately after turning on, the the LBS conceded and put in a claim for a battery, which still hasn't arrived after maybe six weeks now of her not being able to ride it.

My bike has been more reliable than hers, but when it has done this thing of turning off immediately after turning on, it has been doing so after doing a relatively short ride from the battery being fully charged (typically then, but not always, showing four battery lights on the remote).

So Charge up, ride 2-10 miles, turn off, then the next ride it won't turn on again, despite showing plenty, though not full, battery level. Sometimes I charge it up again and it works ok, but I shouldn't keep part charging the battery like that because it isn't good for them.

I feel awkward keep going to the shop because they have been as helpful as they can be with the wife's bike battery problems, despite the fact that I didn't buy the wife's bike from them.

I'm just wondering if you got your fault sorted by Giant ok? With the wife's new battery still not having arrived I still don't know if Giant have fixed whatever the problem is that they have got with them or not.
I've had a similar problem were it switches itself off and found that it's dirty terminals on the battery. I've cured it by getting a blade ( a piece of hacksaw blade works well) with some paper towel wrapped around it and with the aid of some contact cleaner run it in and out to clean the contacts. When this first happened to me out on the trail I fixed it by unlocking the battery and rocking it in and out about a dozen times so that the terminals rubbed against each other and that got me through the rest of the day and 60 k's with no problems. I'm thinking if it happens again I'll put some washers on the screws and under the lower terminal so it lifts it in the same way as the shim that Giant was using
 

cappuccino34

Active member
Nov 24, 2020
530
328
Helmshore
I've had a similar problem were it switches itself off and found that it's dirty terminals on the battery. I've cured it by getting a blade ( a piece of hacksaw blade works well) with some paper towel wrapped around it and with the aid of some contact cleaner run it in and out to clean the contacts. When this first happened to me out on the trail I fixed it by unlocking the battery and rocking it in and out about a dozen times so that the terminals rubbed against each other and that got me through the rest of the day and 60 k's with no problems. I'm thinking if it happens again I'll put some washers on the screws and under the lower terminal so it lifts it in the same way as the shim that Giant was using

Thanks for your reply but I've made triple sure that the contacts are clean and dry. We've had six months of this now, and very few rides where we've actually been able to ride together, which was the whole reason for buying the bikes in the first place.

I'm increasingly leaning towards a 'not fit for purpose' action. I didn't spend the thick end of £10k to have to walk and the situation is pretty ridiculous. The wife's bike has been not working for a much greater amount of time than it has been working, which isn't acceptable.
 

Evolution Stu

E*POWAH Master
Subscriber
Jun 30, 2019
455
447
Blackpool. U.K.
I clean forgot I had made this topic. Just came across it by chance.
i figured anyone reading it would likely be interested in the REAL solution to this problem that was discovered over a year later in January 22 after this problem carried on randomly even with the new battery…

 

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