Mods for the Blink EVSE ! (was Fix)

[chris1howell]

Why bother all that hacking to install a Pi? There's a fully functional Linux SBC in there already mounted and wired! =)

Ecotality used a version of the Boundary Devices Hydrogen board:
http://boundarydevices.com/products/hydrogen-board-pxa270/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

-Phil

That is one option I am looking into. It would be cleaner but could take a lot of time to figure out all the details. The pi was quick and easy with parts I already had on hand.

 

[TomT]

You can go in to the maintenance menu and set it back to 30 if you want:

Select Settings on the display.
Then select Device Info.
Then press on the 16A (or whatever it is) and hold that for about 10 seconds until the maintenance password screen comes up.
Enter 906598.
Change the max amps to whatever you like.
Press Exit.

Note that this is for the 30801 firmware and the password will almost certainly change with the next version of the firmware...

BTW, there isn't much else of any interest that you can do from the Maintenance Screen that you can't already do from the other screens,
so everyone needn't rush there to check it out...

OK, I have a question, my Blink was downgraded to 16A through the admin interface on the touchscreen. I suspect that if I dumbed it, then the EVSE would default back to 30A which is too much load for the circuit it's on (electrician put in a 20A breaker and a higher gauge wire), right?

 

[gbarry42]

chris1howell wrote:
Still, that's awesome. Is the LCD interface that straightforward? Did you have to do anything else besides steal power from inside the box? Or did you just re-purpose the enclosure ?

 

[Buddie]

My home Blink EVSE has been out of service for about a month now and, of course, with the Blink bankruptcy and CarCharging takeover, there doesn't appear to be any hope of a repair in the near term. Obviously the backlog of commercial unit repairs will come before my home unit. We have been getting by using our 110V EVSE and have had to compromise some of our plans over the last month because of the inability to rapidly recharge at home. With the Holidays coming, and guests in town, I was beginning to despair a bit about having to use the ICE car more frequently.

HOWEVER, my huge THANK YOU!!! goes out to Phil for his initial post in this thread, which I just discovered last night. Thanks to him this evening I was quickly (15 minutes) able to convert the Blink to a dumb charger, and I am now back in business with a functional full voltage home charger!! Whoo Hoooo!

 

[Donrim]

My Blink just stopped working today. The start screen displays for a few seconds on initial power-up and then the display goes dark and is unresponsive to touch. I pulled the connector as discussed here and the basic EVSE is now working again to charge my car.

However, I miss the display which tracks my monthly energy usage and cost. I'm relatively confident that I could get the display functional with a new SD card. Does anyone have a spare working card or the capability of creating a working copy? I will cover your costs.

 

[DarkStar]

However, I miss the display which tracks my monthly energy usage and cost. I'm relatively confident that I could get the display functional with a new SD card. Does anyone have a spare working card or the capability of creating a working copy? I will cover your costs.

Check out my post here: http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?p=331354#p331354" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[Donrim]

However, I miss the display which tracks my monthly energy usage and cost. I'm relatively confident that I could get the display functional with a new SD card. Does anyone have a spare working card or the capability of creating a working copy? I will cover your costs.

Check out my post here: http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?p=331354#p331354" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Thank you for the link above to the SD card image file. I loaded it on a new micro SD card and plugged it into my Blink. The display now works again with the new micro SD card installed so my Blink is fully functional again.

 

[cracovian]

My Blink just stopped working today. The start screen displays for a few seconds on initial power-up and then the display goes dark and is unresponsive to touch. I pulled the connector as discussed here and the basic EVSE is now working again to charge my car.

However, I miss the display which tracks my monthly energy usage and cost. I'm relatively confident that I could get the display functional with a new SD card. Does anyone have a spare working card or the capability of creating a working copy? I will cover your costs.

I had the same issue and they fixed it rather quickly for me. It was a loose connector as usual. They replaced my card and did a few other hardware upgrades. I hope you had called it in. It looks like today is the last day to get it covered and put your case in.

 

[TimLee]

.. I had the same issue and they fixed it rather quickly for me. It was a loose connector as usual. They replaced my card and did a few other hardware upgrades. I hope you had called it in. It looks like today is the last day to get it covered and put your case in.

Please provide further details or link to further details.
Are you saying that any warranty on the Blink units expires today :?: :?: :?:
Blink's contractor did the connector rework on mine about a year back before they went bankrupt, in fact replaced the whole unit due to overheating damage to the main power cable connections in the unit.
But some percentage of the Blink units have connector cable with bad crimps. Without a 2013 6.0 kW charger LEAF to check for overheating at the higher current, how in the world are you supposed to determine if the cable is defective and should be replaced under warranty :?: :?: :?:

 

[gsleaf]

My blink has red-screened twice in the past few days. Is it safe to turn it into a dumb EVSE and see if that fixes the issue? I'm assuming it will auto-stop on a fault even if the higher functions are disabled. Is that safe to assume?

 

[QueenBee]

My blink has red-screened twice in the past few days. Is it safe to turn it into a dumb EVSE and see if that fixes the issue? I'm assuming it will auto-stop on a fault even if the higher functions are disabled. Is that safe to assume?

Yep, just will not have the ability to report the error to you. You are probably experiencing the GFCI issue. This can likely be resolved by either adjusting the current transformer or fixing the bad terminations. If you go back through this forum you should be able to find someone that describes how they were able to repair it. Alternatively you might be able to get car charging to fix it or at least recommend the local repair tech who can fix it.

 

[GlennD]

I have been building EVSEs with Blink cables. So far I have used 3 cables and I have encountered one bad crimp. You could pull out the black wire. Since there is no problem with solder making the cords stiff ( the contacts are 6 inches away from the strain relief) I solder all of the cables I use. The only problem is getting a 5 lobe T15 style security bit.

 

[evnow]

If you go back through this forum you should be able to find someone that describes how they were able to repair it.

I've been looking for that thread to pin it. Can't find it ... can anyone point me to this thread ? Probably something with a totally unrelated title ... sigh.

 

[91040]

Is this what you are looking for?
http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=43&t=3279&start=100#p258716" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Regarding the "pink screen of death" it's a simple fix you could do yourself outside of warranty if needed. Basically there are smaller wires going in to a crimp connection going in to larger wires from the GFI loop to the board. These create a poor connection, as they are not meant to mate two different size wires, which can cause a false GFCI trip or the pink screen. Mine did this and they sent someone out as others have had. All they do is use a proper connector between the set of wires and heat shrink them, problem goes away after this. If a guy were to just remove the connectors and solder the wires together this would probably do the trick also.

Also, if you haven't already had it done yet slide the GFI loop as far left as it will go near the junction where the incoming wires connect to the internal wires.

 

[QueenBee]

Is this what you are looking for?
http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=43&t=3279&start=100#p258716" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Regarding the "pink screen of death" it's a simple fix you could do yourself outside of warranty if needed. Basically there are smaller wires going in to a crimp connection going in to larger wires from the GFI loop to the board. These create a poor connection, as they are not meant to mate two different size wires, which can cause a false GFCI trip or the pink screen. Mine did this and they sent someone out as others have had. All they do is use a proper connector between the set of wires and heat shrink them, problem goes away after this. If a guy were to just remove the connectors and solder the wires together this would probably do the trick also.

Also, if you haven't already had it done yet slide the GFI loop as far left as it will go near the junction where the incoming wires connect to the internal wires.

Yep, that's what I was referring to!

 

[gsleaf]

Is there a chance someone could post pictures of the procedure? I'm not sure I want to mess with the safety feature without very clear knowledge of what I'm doing and the safety of the procedure.

 

[evnow]

Is this what you are looking for?
http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=43&t=3279&start=100#p258716" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

oh - thanks. So, it is in this thread itself.

I think the other fix suggested has been to move the loop to a different place within the evse and tie it down.

 

[gsleaf]

Can anyone post before and after pictures of the GFI loop?

I asked Blink what they would charge to fix the GFI loop and was quoted ~$400. They did offer to sell me their new HQ charger for only $499 if I turned this one in for credit and promised that it would be more reliable than my current unit. *sigh*

 

[DaveEV]

I took some pics, just need time to upload the, hopefully tomorrow night.

 

[TomT]

Moving the CT is a crutch. If one redoes the bad crimp connection that is at the heart of the issue, it is not necessary.

I think the other fix suggested has been to move the loop to a different place within the evse and tie it down.