ECOtality Level 2 charger : Blink

[garygid]

"Software & Hardware Integration Testing" is now spelled S**T?
Oh well, I am always one of the last to know. :lol:

I thought the universal pronoun for she, he, or it was ...
s**t, pronounced by some as "sheee...it".

Surprise, will I never really grokk humanoids!!

 

[waidy]

It would be useful to know the proportion of people having trouble getting a full charge with their Blink. I'm seriously wondering if I should buy a Leviton or SPX as a backup, but not if 90% of Blink users are OK.

The Blink never works well for me. I have the LAN hookup but the charge still drops. Given the high standby power it consumes, I now turn it off until they come out with a fix. If you were to get another charger, use the Blink as a backup (not primary use

 

[waidy]

I have a detached garage, and can't run cat6 to it. Wifi reception (while ok for my iphone) is not as good with the blink.
I ended up installing a range extender and connecting the blink to it via Ethernet. With this setup the connection is nice and reliable.
Would you give me a pointer to the range extender? I, like you, have a detached garage. Thank you so much.

 

[IBELEAF]

Woohoo finally scheduled Blink install. Is WPA really not supported?

 

[AmarilloLeaf]

Woohoo finally scheduled Blink install. Is WPA really not supported?

I am using WPA2 with AES encryption, and it is working fine. Found and recognized the access point instantly, and accepted PSK first try. It was easy.

 

[derkraut]

Woohoo finally scheduled Blink install. Is WPA really not supported?

I am using WPA2 with AES encryption, and it is working fine. Found and recognized the access point instantly, and accepted PSK first try. It was easy.

AmarilloLeaf:

I'm a "senior citizen"; I'm not very bright regarding computers, etc, and I'm not trying to be a "wiseass". But what are WPA2, AES encryption, and PSK??

 

[AmarilloLeaf]

Woohoo finally scheduled Blink install. Is WPA really not supported?

I am using WPA2 with AES encryption, and it is working fine. Found and recognized the access point instantly, and accepted PSK first try. It was easy.

AmarilloLeaf:

I'm a "senior citizen"; I'm not very bright regarding computers, etc, and I'm not trying to be a "wiseass". But what are WPA2, AES encryption, and PSK??

Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) and Wi-Fi Protected Access II (WPA2) are two security protocols and security certification programs developed by the Wi-Fi Alliance to secure wireless computer networks.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wi-Fi_Protected_Access

Generally devices that can use WPA2 can also support the original WPA. WPA2 certification is mandatory for all new devices to bear the Wi-Fi trademark.

You have 2 options for encryption usually, TKIP and AES. AES is generally felt to be more secure.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_Encryption_Standard

PSK is your 'pre-shared key' or password. It can be an 8 - 63 character phrase. Avoid stuff like 'default' , 'password', 'netgear', 'linksys', etc.

These can usually be set up when you set up your access point / router. Many of the home devices have setup programs that make these decisions for you, but you should really supply your own psk or password. Hackers all know what the default passwords are.

 

[syntaxerror]

Woohoo finally scheduled Blink install. Is WPA really not supported?

I am using WPA2 with AES encryption, and it is working fine. Found and recognized the access point instantly, and accepted PSK first try. It was easy.

AmarilloLeaf:

I'm a "senior citizen"; I'm not very bright regarding computers, etc, and I'm not trying to be a "wiseass". But what are WPA2, AES encryption, and PSK??

Security protocol names. Its how your computer (or blink) establishes a secure channel with your access point.

WEP was "old school" and is extremely easy to "crack".
WPA was the newer protocol that was extensible with the authentication method, but there was a flaw in this. Therefore its fairly easy to "crack".
WPA2 is a fix to WPA. There are cracks to WPA with a PSK (preshared key, i.e. password), but its harder to break than WPA-PSK.

Overall don't assume anything on your wireless/Wifi is secure.

 

[Fabio]

I purchased a NetGear WN2000RPT for about $70.
I have weak range in the garage (which has 4 concrete walls), but my iphone can connect. The NetGear has been working well -- I wish I could say the same for the blink. And their customer support gave me the "I've never heard this one before" line, while I know of at least 5 other people who had my same exact problem (reboot stuck on welcome screen).

I have a detached garage, and can't run cat6 to it. Wifi reception (while ok for my iphone) is not as good with the blink.
I ended up installing a range extender and connecting the blink to it via Ethernet. With this setup the connection is nice and reliable.

Would you give me a pointer to the range extender? I, like you, have a detached garage. Thank you so much.

 

[TomT]

Unfortunately, I suspect that you will find, like most of the rest of us, that Carwings data is so inaccurate as to be nearly useless...

The Leaf's charging UI is great. I can see my charging habits, behaviors, SOC, etc via Carwings. Because all this capabilities is in the car and the car is connected, the Blink UI is fairly worthless.

 

[Azrich]

My Blink seemed to have some features missing ever since it was installed. It charged my LEAF with the LEAF doing the scheduling but there was no option to set a timer or enter kWh rates and there was not STATS tab. I called the network yesterday and they said it had not updated the firmware as it was suppose to, so they did that for me remotely. When I came back from having the windows tinted, it was updated and everything seems to be in order. I have had to call the network service number about 5 or 6 times so far and find them very professional and helpful. If the person I'm talking to can't help me, he finds someone who will. I've been impressed with them so far.

 

[waidy]

I purchased a NetGear WN2000RPT for about $70.
I have weak range in the garage (which has 4 concrete walls), but my iphone can connect. The NetGear has been working well -- I wish I could say the same for the blink. And their customer support gave me the "I've never heard this one before" line, while I know of at least 5 other people who had my same exact problem (reboot stuck on welcome screen).

Thanks for the reference. Did you put the extender in your garage where weak signal? Did the extender pick up good signal? Does it fix the weak wi-fi signal to the Blink problem?

 

[derkraut]

I am using WPA2 with AES encryption, and it is working fine. Found and recognized the access point instantly, and accepted PSK first try. It was easy.[/quote]

AmarilloLeaf:

I'm a "senior citizen"; I'm not very bright regarding computers, etc, and I'm not trying to be a "wiseass". But what are WPA2, AES encryption, and PSK??[/quote]

Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) and Wi-Fi Protected Access II (WPA2) are two security protocols and security certification programs developed by the Wi-Fi Alliance to secure wireless computer networks.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wi-Fi_Protected_Access

Generally devices that can use WPA2 can also support the original WPA. WPA2 certification is mandatory for all new devices to bear the Wi-Fi trademark.

You have 2 options for encryption usually, TKIP and AES. AES is generally felt to be more secure.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_Encryption_Standard

PSK is your 'pre-shared key' or password. It can be an 8 - 63 character phrase. Avoid stuff like 'default' , 'password', 'netgear', 'linksys', etc.

These can usually be set up when you set up your access point / router. Many of the home devices have setup programs that make these decisions for you, but you should really supply your own psk or password. Hackers all know what the default passwords are.[/quote]

AmarilloL eaf: I thank you----I guess this old dog needs to learn a few new tricks, eh?

 

[bowthom]

Good morning Blinkers,
Yesterday my Blink lost it's connection over ethernet. I had to power cycle it to get it to re-aquire. After the tests 2 days ago I had to clear all timers out of the Leaf to get it to behave. I then returned to a 10:00 PM to 6:00 AM timer in the leaf and no Blink timer. For 2 nights the car has been charged to 80% and I received a single "charging stopped" email each time.

Knock on wood.

Have any of you that have your Blink connected via ethernet noticed that running the network test routine will always return FAIL because it is testing the WiFi you have disabled?

Did more charger testing at Shorpower where the Leaf exhibited it's tendacy to cycle the pilot signal between 9V & 6V, at one point every 15 seconds. Hence the 2 days of std charging to be sure all was back to normal. At this point I'm waiting for a Blink firmware update, not sure what further test are needed and how much more data I can provide.

We tracked the current draw of the Leaf as it completed a 100% charge and saw no evidence of a low current cell balancing routine. It drew 3.6kWh right up until the end.

 

[DarkStar]

Plugged in the LEAF last night to charge. No timer on the car, started charging at 10pm per the timer on the Blink. It kept the wireless connection right when it started, but I noticed that 8 minutes into charging it stated it had no connection.

On my computer though, I was able to start loading the intranet page, however no information could be displayed.

I'm out of the house all day today, but will play with it more tomorrow.

 

[garygid]

bowthom,
I believe that the cells balance while there is NO charging current being used. But, I could be wrong.

 

[ttweed]

Have any of you that have your Blink connected via LAN noticed that running the network test routine will always return FAIL because it is testing the WiFi you have disabled?

Does this have other effects on the Blink functionality when it fails the WiFi test? Does it need to be reset then? I don't have my Blink yet, but I was thinking of running a cable from my router out to the garage for it and not using my WiFi, since it is close and would only need one hole to be drilled. I thought from reading previous posts that this LAN connection might be superior, since there seems to be so many bugs with the Blink's WiFi connection. Is this symptom you're reporting a real problem with that strategy, or a nuisance? What is the best way to connect the Blink to the home network, in the opinion of those of you who are already using it?

Thx,
TT

 

[jcesare]

Have any of you that have your Blink connected via LAN noticed that running the network test routine will always return FAIL because it is testing the WiFi you have disabled?

Does this have other effects on the Blink functionality when it fails the WiFi test? Does it need to be reset then? I don't have my Blink yet, but I was thinking of running a cable from my router out to the garage for it and not using my WiFi, since it is close and would only need one hole to be drilled. I thought from reading previous posts that this LAN connection might be superior, since there seems to be so many bugs with the Blink's WiFi connection. Is this symptom you're reporting a real problem with that strategy, or a nuisance? What is the best way to connect the Blink to the home network, in the opinion of those of you who are already using it?

Thx,
TT

I'm curious about this too. My cable modem and switch is in the garage a couple of feet from where the install will occur. I finally got a call yesterday and the install is scheduled for 4/6.

 

[evnow]

The Leaf's charging UI is great. I can see my charging habits, behaviors, SOC, etc via Carwings. Because all this capabilities is in the car and the car is connected, the Blink UI is fairly worthless.

Even if Carwings showed correct data, it doesn't show your energy consumption at the wall.

 

[bowthom]

Hello,
The Blink is 10 times more stable when connected via ethernet. I'm posting these bugs because I know Ecotality and EVP members monitor this board for data. When I called in my "trouble ticket" they already knew who I was and what I had been posting. They asked permission to distribute my post as an official work around. Anyway, that's why the bug posts to make sure they know about the programming error. I want this next firmware update to be a good one.

To that end here is my list of bugs:
1. WiFi connection too high in programming priority. It should be able to re-aquire the signal with no interuption to charge cycle.
2. WiFi too unstable when connected to the Leaf.
3. Time and date display along with DST conversion (& possible calculations) not uniform / consistant throughout the screens and access software.
4. Internet connection test attempts to verify wifi even though unit is connected via ethernet.
5. Last charge info that floats into the right side of the main screen should also include kWh consumed. (ok, this isn't a bug)
6. Overall Internet connection stability needs to improve (hardware / PS noise?).
7. Touch screen unstable, possible power supply noise issue or programming problem.
8. Overall stability seems to suffer when connected to the leaf verses when not.
9. Unit should indicate "Connected / ready" when connected and not charging. Should only say "charging" when supplying current (contactor closed) and only accrue charge time during that phase. It should say "charge complete" when contactor opens or pilot returns to 9V.