Trek Battery Rattle - how i fixed it .

[HumphreytheBear]

My Bosch battery rattles like a bastard - i thought it was the forks , the front pads , the headset a brake lever ...No it was the battery giving me resonance on chattery ground .
So , heres how i ( hopefully ) solved it .
Couple of strips of foam tape on the inside of frame - sticking down the black plastic liner at top as it seems to wriggle about a bit .
Bit firmer to lock in but works well , so far .


trying to attach a couple of pics ...

 

[HumphreytheBear]

Righto , better late than never ....
Pic of the foam tape , my sausage finger - thats the plastic piece which also moves about and the actual tape .

 

[Telkwa]

I like your fix. The foam tape is probably a good idea even if the lock piece isn't loose.

I've got a similar problem on my 2 month old Powerfly 5 but it's the other plastic piece. The one with the electric contacts. The bolts holding the plastic pieces to the frame are Torx. They're "security" or tamper-proof Torx. The ones with the little dimple in the center that blocks a standard Torx tool.

Since I don't have any security Torx fittings I can't tell for sure, but they appear to be T20 or T25.

The bike is under warranty but the shop is two hours away. I called them. One of the service guys said there's nothing special about the security Torx bolts. Security Torx bits should be available onsite or online at Harbor Freight, Home Depot, various car parts shops, etc.

So I'm gonna go shopping for a set of Torx bits this morning.

BTW, the nut on the lowest Torx bolt appears to be inaccessible unless you drop the motor out of the frame.

EDIT: I had noted in a previous version of this post that the four nylock nuts set into recesses that were made from plastic, and had advised against overtightening. I was mistaken. The nylock nuts set into two aluminum baseplates. The lower piece, the one with the battery contacts, is partially plastic, but the baseplate is not plastic.

 

[steve_sordy]

Good fix, but isn't it a shame that these things have to be done by the owners rather than by the Manufacturers. It feels like they issued them for Beta testing by the market (ie us!)

 

[Telkwa]

Well, yeah, four dinky little bolts holding down the battery and associated parts does seem a bit under-engineered.

 

[Telkwa]

Visited Home Depot. Found a little package in the Tool section. DeWalt Security Torx set DWA1TS-7V. Worked like a charm. T-25 is the size. I tightened the two bolts just past snug but not very much.

To get to the lowest of the four security screws (two for the locking mechanism, two for the battery receptacle mechanism) you gotta take off the skid plate. The four skid plate bolts are also T-25. But they're standard Torx bolts, not security.

I was careful to properly line up the skid plate bolts, but could feel some drag on two of them while reinstalling. Took them back out. It looks to me like QC could be better. There were signs of some scuffing on the bolt threads. Like either the holes weren't tapped as carefully as they coulda been, or the bolts weren't machined consistently. Put some Never-Seez on the threads and reinstalled.

The bolts had some blue Loc-Tite on them, but I'm more concerned about corrosion than losing a bolt.

 

[Telkwa]

Coupla things I forgot to mention. The four Torx bolts get blasted with everything your front tire throws up. I'm running an SKS fender, so the upper two bolts are partially protected. The two lower bolts less so, and those are the two that were loose. Clean the mud and grit out of the Torx heads before attempting to tighten them. Compressed air, dentist pick, thin finish nail held with a pair of pliers, whatever you come up with to scratch the dirt out. I used the 90 degree pick from a Snap-on Hook & Awl set.
My bolts were about a quarter to half turn loose, which means some grit must have gotten between the bolts and the frame. I probably shoulda loosened them further, blasted some compressed air into the gap, and then tightened them, but I didn't. Any grit in the interface between bolt and frame increases the chances that the bolt will loosen again.
To protect the Torx heads from further assault, I'm going to tear off small squares of duct tape and cover them. I'm thinking about smearing a dab of grease into the Torx head, wiping off the excess, then applying the duct tape.

 

[thewildblue]

Well the battery has just started to rattle on my 2019 LT7. Its appears that there is a spring loaded mechanism that not only pops the battery outside ways when you twist the key, but also keeps the battery under a small amount of load when in place to stop rattles. My spring has gone weak and the battery now no longer pops out. So for the time being Ive wedged some foam in there and its made it a nice snug fit. I will contact Trek and see what they say.

 

[Telkwa]

The entire battery situation seems a bit under-engineered. Trek is moving on to other battery designs like RIB. Our bikes will be on an evolutionary dead-end.

 

[ronianash]

My battery on Rail 7 seems quite loose. Not loose enough to fall out but on a super bumpy trail, the computer has shut off.
Is there a way to tighten the battery closer to the frame of the bike? I'd like to do it myself instead of bringing it to my shop.

 

[MsO]

My battery on Rail 7 seems quite loose. Not loose enough to fall out but on a super bumpy trail, the computer has shut off.
Is there a way to tighten the battery closer to the frame of the bike? I'd like to do it myself instead of bringing it to my shop.

Had the same problem undo the 2 screws holding lock in place inside the frame and just move it slightly when I put my battery back in I need to keep pressure on it to move the key in the lock position haven't had any issues with it since

 

[Doomanic]

I also had the same issue and adjusting the top mount made no difference. In my case it was the bottom mount that needed to be done and it’s motor out so I’m glad I let the LBS do it.

 

[Darren]

I had a similar battery rattle on my powerfly - mine was resolved by moving the upper terminal inwards as much as possible.

I also have a similar Axminster carpet in my garage/workshop - doesn't it makes finding dropped bolts so much more engaging?

 

[Arcadyus]

Loose battery fix.

 

[Hamina]

I wonder what's different in my Trek Rail 5 2020 as I have not recognized any battery rattle. The motor has it's own CX Gen4 sound when freewheeling downhill but the battery seems to be perfect fit.

 

[Philly G]

Loose battery fix.

View attachment 33480 9

I like this idea better than velcro, where did you get the straps?

 

[Arcadyus]

I like this idea better than velcro, where did you get the straps?

Random bike shop in ID on vacation. But all they are, are black diamond straps. Any ski shop in the country will have them. I did get my keyhole allinged properly. I did have a friend who's batter flew out on his rail 9.7

 

[Philly G]

Random bike shop in ID on vacation. But all they are, are black diamond straps. Any ski shop in the country will have them. I did get my keyhole allinged properly. I did have a friend who's batter flew out on his rail 9.7

Thanks for that, I'm going to do the alignment thing too, but still don't really trust it, I'll be fitting those straps as well for peace of mind. It's a terrible issue to be having on an expensive bike, so many people on here have had the same problem or know someone who has. Also going to address the chainring issue as discussed in other threads...

 

[Arcadyus]

Thanks for that, I'm going to do the alignment thing too, but still don't really trust it, I'll be fitting those straps as well for peace of mind. It's a terrible issue to be having on an expensive bike, so many people on here have had the same problem or know someone who has. Also going to address the chainring issue as discussed in other threads...

You need 2 specific tools.
1. Park tool cwp-7
2. Park tool bbt-18

 

[Philly G]

You need 2 specific tools.
1. Park tool cwp-7
2. Park tool bbt-18

You need 2 specific tools.
1. Park tool cwp-7
2. Park tool bbt-18

Yeah, just waiting for my new torque wrench to arrive, the one I have doesn't work anti clockwise. Also need to replace the o-ring , bike shop botched the assembly and o-ring was all bunched up. When I removed the lockring I found the o-ring was split. Brand new bike