ECOtality Level 2 charger : Blink

[bowthom]

Hello Blinkers,
So I'm having network problems (connected via ethernet) again. Last night when I got home it had lost the network connection. I had to set it up again. Looking back through the logs it just suddenly tried to secure a new lease (DHCP) using an different IP address and could not make connection.

 

[DarkStar]

I haven't heard if Blink's network issues were resolved yet... They told me that our local networking issues will be difficult to diagnose until the backend network is stable again... I guess those 15 minute firmware requests are really starting to affect them!

 

[jcesare]

Hello Blinkers,
So I'm having network problems (connected via ethernet) again. Last night when I got home it had lost the network connection. I had to set it up again. Looking back through the logs it just suddenly tried to secure a new lease (DHCP) using an different IP address and could not make connection.

Try using a fixed IP or reserve the current IP for its MAC address in the router configuration

 

[thankyouOB]

Hello Blinkers,
So I'm having network problems (connected via ethernet) again. Last night when I got home it had lost the network connection. I had to set it up again. Looking back through the logs it just suddenly tried to secure a new lease (DHCP) using an different IP address and could not make connection.

Try using a fixed IP or reserve the current IP for its MAC address in the router configuration

How do you do this with the Blink?
and in the router, where is the MAC Address for the Blink?

 

[bowthom]

Hello,
That's the funny part, it was on a reserved IP address. I like it that way so I can have the IP ready to go bookmarked.
I cycled the power, re-setup the network and it immediately went about downloading the new update. It now seems to be stable.

I had to clear the timers in the Leaf again to stop it from cycling the pilot signal and sending me multiple "charge complete" emails. Still have not figured that part out.

 

[jcesare]

Hello Blinkers,
So I'm having network problems (connected via ethernet) again. Last night when I got home it had lost the network connection. I had to set it up again. Looking back through the logs it just suddenly tried to secure a new lease (DHCP) using an different IP address and could not make connection.

Try using a fixed IP or reserve the current IP for its MAC address in the router configuration

How do you do this with the Blink?
and in the router, where is the MAC Address for the Blink?

The procedure will vary according to the type and firmware of your router. On my Linksys WRT310N, there is a button on the setup page next to the DHCP configuration labeled "DHCP RESERVATION." It shows what IP addresses are in use along with the MAC address of the client. From this page you can reserve the IP by MAC address so the client will not loose its lease and the IP will be reserved for that client device. Consult the documentation of your router.

FYI The MAC address is usually printed somewhere on the device, near the serial number or ethernet connector. Since you cannot remove the Blink's cover, it probably isn't accessible. By looking at your router's DHCP client table (mine is on the Status Page under Local Network > DHCP Server > DHCP Client Table), you should be able to obtain the MAC address. I suggest you write it down. It might come in handy. BTW there will be two MACs, one for the WiFi and one for the ethernet.

 

[waidy]

An easier way to find the MAC addr for your Blink is to login to the blinknetwork, then click "My chargers", then click "Manage", then click the "+" sign next to "Specifications". You will see a display of MAC addresses for both your Blink's WIFI and Ethernet.

 

[thankyouOB]

An easier way to find the MAC addr for your Blink is to login to the blinknetwork, then click "My chargers", then click "Manage", then click the "+" sign next to "Specifications". You will see a display of MAC addresses for both your Blink's WIFI and Ethernet.

how do you log into the Blink network if your Blink has been installed but never found the network; that is to say, my Blink has never actually worked to communicate beyond my router, which it successfully connected to only once.

 

[evnow]

how do you log into the Blink network if your Blink has been installed but never found the network; that is to say, my Blink has never actually worked to communicate beyond my router, which it successfully connected to only once.

If your blink isn't connected to the network, you can't access it through intranet.

On the blink screen, you can see the network connection & the IP Address by going to device info.

 

[BC3]

FYI - I was having all kinds of trouble connecting to the my wireless network and I finally gave up and connected with a powerline network adapter http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833122318. Works great and I was finally able to get off of the 1.1 release last night.

 

[turbo2ltr]

Got my CC swapped with the Blink yesterday. It updated to 1.4A in the afternoon...after having to reset because the wifi disconnected on 1.2A.

Last night it started at 10pm like it should, charged 39 minutes and then stopped leaving me with a half dead battery this morning. This was after delaying the install a month because I knew (from this board) there were problems, but the contractor insisted on installing it saying it was working fine for their other customers. yeah right.

Also caused the master warning light to come up (as reported by others) but clears after a restart.

Thanks ecotality! You bunch of idiots. This is just 110% unacceptable. What a piece of junk. Ecotatliy should be ashamed of themselves. What's the benefit of a free EVSE if it doesn't even work. What a waste of government grant money.

Until ecotality lives up to their obligation of providing a WORKING EVSE, I don't think I have an obligation to live up to my end of the deal of providing data. I will be doing whatever is needed to enjoy driving my LEAF EVERY MORNING like I'm supposed to (Thanks to Ingineer).

 

[DarkStar]

Got my CC swapped with the Blink yesterday. It updated to 1.4A in the afternoon...after having to reset because the wifi disconnected on 1.2A.

Last night it started at 10pm like it should, charged 39 minutes and then stopped leaving me with a half dead battery this morning. This was after delaying the install a month because I knew (from this board) there were problems, but the contractor insisted on installing it saying it was working fine for their other customers. yeah right.

Also caused the master warning light to come up (as reported by others) but clears after a restart.

Thanks ecotality! You bunch of idiots. This is just 110% unacceptable. What a piece of junk. Ecotatliy should be ashamed of themselves. What's the benefit of a free EVSE if it doesn't even work. What a waste of government grant money.

Until ecotality lives up to their obligation of providing a WORKING EVSE, I don't think I have an obligation to live up to my end of the deal of providing data. I will be doing whatever is needed to enjoy driving my LEAF EVERY MORNING like I'm supposed to (Thanks to Ingineer).

Wow, that really is some bad luck! Fortunately my Blink has had no issues charging... It hasn't connected to my wifi for the last 5 days, but the car gets charged!

 

[whoami]

Got my CC swapped with the Blink yesterday. It updated to 1.4A in the afternoon...after having to reset because the wifi disconnected on 1.2A.

Last night it started at 10pm like it should, charged 39 minutes and then stopped leaving me with a half dead battery this morning. This was after delaying the install a month because I knew (from this board) there were problems, but the contractor insisted on installing it saying it was working fine for their other customers. yeah right.

Also caused the master warning light to come up (as reported by others) but clears after a restart.

Thanks ecotality! You bunch of idiots. This is just 110% unacceptable. What a piece of junk. Ecotatliy should be ashamed of themselves. What's the benefit of a free EVSE if it doesn't even work. What a waste of government grant money.

Until ecotality lives up to their obligation of providing a WORKING EVSE, I don't think I have an obligation to live up to my end of the deal of providing data. I will be doing whatever is needed to enjoy driving my LEAF EVERY MORNING like I'm supposed to (Thanks to Ingineer).

Welcome to my world . Luckily I've been charging for over a week with my own firmware. It doesn't have a UI besides text over SSH. I'm getting there!

 

[perpetualstudent]

I have been having similar problems. I was told the fix should be in the next software upgrade.

Got my CC swapped with the Blink yesterday. It updated to 1.4A in the afternoon...after having to reset because the wifi disconnected on 1.2A.

Last night it started at 10pm like it should, charged 39 minutes and then stopped leaving me with a half dead battery this morning. This was after delaying the install a month because I knew (from this board) there were problems, but the contractor insisted on installing it saying it was working fine for their other customers. yeah right.

Also caused the master warning light to come up (as reported by others) but clears after a restart.

Thanks ecotality! You bunch of idiots. This is just 110% unacceptable. What a piece of junk. Ecotatliy should be ashamed of themselves. What's the benefit of a free EVSE if it doesn't even work. What a waste of government grant money.

Until ecotality lives up to their obligation of providing a WORKING EVSE, I don't think I have an obligation to live up to my end of the deal of providing data. I will be doing whatever is needed to enjoy driving my LEAF EVERY MORNING like I'm supposed to (Thanks to Ingineer).

 

[davewill]

My new Blink was installed today. Things went fairly smooth, just one blip, the installer miswired his ethernet cable and the network didn't come up. Luckily, I had a laptop handy, and tried his cable (FAILED), then plugged into the wall with another cable (SUCCESS) to show him that his cable was at fault. One important thing I learned though, the Blink will happily show that the Ethernet is connected AND the IP address is OK with no Ethernet plugged in whatsoever. I know this because after he changed the cable, we forgot to plug the other end back into the wall. This bad status report is what threw the installers a curveball, once they saw those two statuses, they assumed the problem was somewhere in my network, or in the Blink. Now, I just have to get the city inspector out, and SDG&E to install the new meter...

P.S. I reported this bug to Blink support...maybe it will do some good...in version 2.8 or so...

 

[palmermd]

Does this Blink have its own forum? Man, for a simple power socket this thing has more posts than the Leaf on this forum. Makes me glad I'm not in an area for a free headache (I mean EVSE).

 

[IBELEAF]

Does this Blink have its own forum? Man, for a simple power socket this thing has more posts than the Leaf on this forum. Makes me glad I'm not in an area for a free headache (I mean EVSE).

considering that by being on EV project saved me over 1k I am ok with some headache...

Besides, don't forget that we are in early adopter crowd. Things will not be perfect from the start.

 

[syntaxerror]

Does this Blink have its own forum? Man, for a simple power socket this thing has more posts than the Leaf on this forum. Makes me glad I'm not in an area for a free headache (I mean EVSE).

considering that by being on EV project saved me over 1k I am ok with some headache...

Besides, don't forget that we are in early adopter crowd. Things will not be perfect from the start.

We all agree things won't be perfect from the start, but the Blink is far from perfect. Actually completely opposite from perfect. They did save me the "install cost", which you could argue was $1k, but the Blink is not worth the $1200 sticker price. The hardware design is awful and the software is bad as well. From the looks of the community we will just have to wait for some 3rd party firmware to fix everything up.

 

[turbo2ltr]

Ecotality just called me and apologized profusely for the problems. He also said another update will be released very soon that will address my problem. At least they are trying.

He seemed to think there were only 2 other people that had the same problem I had last night.

 

[IBELEAF]

We all agree things won't be perfect from the start, but the Blink is far from perfect. Actually completely opposite from perfect. They did save me the "install cost", which you could argue was $1k, but the Blink is not worth the $1200 sticker price. The hardware design is awful and the software is bad as well. From the looks of the community we will just have to wait for some 3rd party firmware to fix everything up.[/quote]

In my math I am not counting the sticker price of BLINK and I was referring to my savings by being part of EV Project which came up to around $1200.