D500 Battery Cover Door

hark

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The battery cover door to my D500 was lying inside my camera bag and seems to be extremely loose after reinstalling it (wobbly from side to side). Nikon has the part listed for sale on their website. Since I haven't used my D500 much - around 5k actuations - I'm wondering if I should order 2 or 3. The cost of one is only $5-$6. Just wondering if anyone else has run into this problem. That might help me decide how many doors to get.
 

Marilynne

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Neither of my battery door covers has ever broken. Got the first one in 2017 and the second in 2020.
 

lucien

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Hi Cindy, did you look if there are prongs on either side and one could have broken off? And if there are tabs who's going to know if you order from China at 1/3 the price : )
 

hark

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Hi Cindy, did you look if there are prongs on either side and one could have broken off? And if there are tabs who's going to know if you order from China at 1/3 the price : )

Both prongs are there yet it freely slides sideways quite a bit. I looked on ebay. Not all are original Nikon brand but many cost at least that much if not more. These aren't overly expensive so I'd rather stick with OEM. However, I will say I was surprised to see Nikon sells the part directly. Makes me wonder if it is a common enough issue. :rolleyes:
 

lucien

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Cindy as a precaution, it would be nice to see an image of the said issue, with both sides clearly visible. The bottom of the battery bay and the actual battery door

please and thank you, sound fair?
 
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nickt

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How wobbly? Mine wobbles a little. If you think its excessive, try to figure out exactly why. Hopefully not, but maybe the base is damaged. Looks like hefty shipping so I might be inclined to buy a couple if I was ordering.
 

nickt

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I just looked at mine. With the door open to 90 degrees from the base, I can wobble it a bit up and down. Side to side movement is almost none. The 'stem' of the hinge cannot be moved enough to touch either side of the base. if yours does move, I'd bet one on the tabs is broken. Not completely broken off, but broke and shortened. I'd remove it and compare the two tabs.
 

hark

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Cindy as a precaution, it would be nice to see an image of the said issue, with both sides clearly visible. The bottom of the battery bay and the actual battery door

please and thank you, sound fair?

I am going with the Nikon brand cover, lucien. Several years ago I had an SB-910 that had corrosion inside the battery chamber due to Duracell batteries leaking. Although I cleaned it out myself as did an employee of a local camera store, the metal inside the chamber was pitted from the corrosion.

I sent the flash to Nikon for repair at a cost of $225. When I got it back, I took about 110 flash images. The Nikon sync cord I was using on a Stroboframe flash bracket cracked exposing the wires. Instead of paying for another Nikon brand one, I purchased one by Vello. I went to take the first photo with the Vello cord, and got an error code. That was the end of the flash. So for something like this that conducts power through the body, I don't want to take any chances.

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hark

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How wobbly? Mine wobbles a little. If you think its excessive, try to figure out exactly why. Hopefully not, but maybe the base is damaged. Looks like hefty shipping so I might be inclined to buy a couple if I was ordering.

I just looked at mine. With the door open to 90 degrees from the base, I can wobble it a bit up and down. Side to side movement is almost none. The 'stem' of the hinge cannot be moved enough to touch either side of the base. if yours does move, I'd bet one on the tabs is broken. Not completely broken off, but broke and shortened. I'd remove it and compare the two tabs.

I posted photos in my response to lucien above. Honestly the tabs look fine. When the door is flipped up as it is in the last image, there is very little wobble. But when the door is unlocked but lying flat down, it is really loose and somewhat easy to pull out. It might not be the battery cover itself. Perhaps it is made that way to be able to insert the tabs of the flap into the body. But if it comes off and I lose it or damage it, I want to have a spare. And looking at their shipping -->:unconscious:. Definitely getting more than one. :beguiled:
 

nickt

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I posted photos in my response to lucien above. Honestly the tabs look fine. When the door is flipped up as it is in the last image, there is very little wobble. But when the door is unlocked but lying flat down, it is really loose and somewhat easy to pull out. It might not be the battery cover itself. Perhaps it is made that way to be able to insert the tabs of the flap into the body. But if it comes off and I lose it or damage it, I want to have a spare. And looking at their shipping -->:unconscious:. Definitely getting more than one. :beguiled:
Interesting. I watched a you tube video and just gave mine a little pull as instructed and it came out easier than I expected.
 

hark

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Interesting. I watched a you tube video and just gave mine a little pull as instructed and it came out easier than I expected.

:nightmare: Ugh - definitely not what I want to hear. Does yours wobble when it is unlatched but almost closed? When mine is open, it doesn't move nearly as much.
 

nickt

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:nightmare: Ugh - definitely not what I want to hear. Does yours wobble when it is unlatched but almost closed? When mine is open, it doesn't move nearly as much.
Mine wiggles just as much open or nearly closed. At no point can I move it so much in any direction that it would interfere with closing. I tried my d7200's and d7100 and they all feel exactly the same if that helps.

If it latches closed without needing to wiggle it AND it does not fall off when you open it AND does not rattle if you tap on it when latched, its probably fine.
 

hark

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Mine wiggles just as much open or nearly closed. At no point can I move it so much in any direction that it would interfere with closing. I tried my d7200's and d7100 and they all feel exactly the same if that helps.

If it latches closed without needing to wiggle it AND it does not fall off when you open it AND does not rattle if you tap on it when latched, its probably fine.

Since this one fell off for some unknown reason but at least came off here at the house, I needed to get a couple for backup. It's just that if the latch is unlocked, the cover will almost come right off with so much movement - kind of like oscillating it clockwise and counter-clockwise if that makes sense rather than a side-to-side movement. The only way I will be able to tell if one tab end is compromised is to put a new one on. Neither tab end looks damaged though. When comparing to the door on my D750, this one has far more movement.

Thanks for checking and letting me know how yours works. :encouragement:
 

lucien

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Does the loose tab also affect your weather sealing aka water tightness? I hope that the replacement fits better because that's a whole new can of worms if moisture gets into your camera body.
 

hark

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Does the loose tab also affect your weather sealing aka water tightness? I hope that the replacement fits better because that's a whole new can of worms if moisture gets into your camera body.

There isn't any type of rubber seal on the door or around the inside of the battery chamber so I really don't know. This morning I received a notification that the replacement doors have been shipped. It will be interesting to see if a new door will alleviate how much oscillation movement exists.
 

nickt

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There isn't any type of rubber seal on the door or around the inside of the battery chamber so I really don't know. This morning I received a notification that the replacement doors have been shipped. It will be interesting to see if a new door will alleviate how much oscillation movement exists.
I can't see it without my reading glasses, but there is a flat rubber seal around the edge of the door. Its flat and sandwiched against the plastic, so its hard to spot. You can feel it with your fingernail once you spot it.
 

hark

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I can't see it without my reading glasses, but there is a flat rubber seal around the edge of the door. Its flat and sandwiched against the plastic, so its hard to spot. You can feel it with your fingernail once you spot it.

And I stand corrected after touching the underside the door edges! Here I thought the entire door was hard plastic with the metal.
 

Marcel

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Hi Cindy, in a previous post you mentioned that you didn't want to take any chance because this part could conduct electricity to the body, but in reality it doesn't. All the connections are in the bottom of the battery compartment. There is no connection at all between the battery door and the camera. The battery is "clipped" in from the yellow latch inside the battery compartment. My wobbles too but I'm not concerned at all. You might want to check what in your bag could have opened the latch...
 
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