Blink 2.1

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DaveEV

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 23, 2010
Messages
6,253
Location
San Diego
Not sure how many of you guys have noticed, but Blink 2.1 firmware is rolling out now. My Blink is now running 2.1.20120404B E1.10.

I had one of the early Blinks that got "stuck" upgrading to 2.0 firmware with the error "Version 2.0 Update Failed: Invalid MMC card ID detected.".

My Blink has always worked mostly OK (never a blink charge problem in a year), except that the wifi connection stopped working so I "hard" wired it using a wireless bridge and that it often lost charge data.

I sent an email to Blink Thursday and today a tech came out to swap the flash card and check the unit over.

Things I've learned:

1. Tech wasn't sure what was wrong with the bad flash cards - but the replacement card was the same size (2GB)
2. The 2.0 firmware update can cause false alarms with the self-test routines if the current sensor is positioned too close to the input jumper blocks as they pick up extra noise. Apparently the 2.0 firmware checked current more frequently (his words) which can cause the issue.
3. Removed the RFID reader - wasn't sure what the real reason behind this was, but since it's not needed for residential units anway...
4. Wifi is generally just flaky. The Wifi antenna is tiny and sometimes the plug loosens up. Only works reliable up to about 30 ft when it works and is sensitive to Wifi security settings. He thinks its there could be a firmware issue given the number of units he's seen where the wifi used to work but stopped. In generally best to just go with PLC or Wifi bridge to resolve the issue.
5. Each unit has a Sprint CDMA cellular unit in it.

We'll see how reliable it is! So far it seems that the touch screen / UI is more responsive than the old version and there are a few small changes to the UI, but otherwise that's it.
 
TonyWilliams said:
Maybe thats why my new Blink locked up for the first time since install in April-ish.
I'm pretty sure that's why mine went down a couple of weeks ago. It was fubared to the point where a power-cycle would show the initial Ecotality splash screen, but never anything else. The backlight stayed on, but the screen was black (an expensive handwarmer).

Called Ecotality - they sent a technician out who replaced the SD card. I didn't check explicitly, but I'm pretty sure it had 2.0 on it when he left, but within 48 hours it had updated itself (successfully) to 2.1.

So I'm reasonably sure that 2.1 was pushed to my Blink previously and the upgrade failed and fubared the SD card. It had never gotten itself into that state previously in just under a year of ownership.

On the plus side, it's been rock solid since the upgrade (he said with fingers crossed), but it was quite good ever since the 2.0 install, too.
 
TonyWilliams said:
Still 2.0, so the back-to-back locking up issue wasn't related.
The extra sensitive self-check was introduced in 2.0, not 2.1. Open your Blink up and take a pic and I'll show you what CTs need to be adjusted...
 
I have 2 Blinks, one of which was installed less than a week ago for my Volt. Both are still on firmware 2.020120112

Drees, are you a beta tester? I actually was a few months ago for the 1st Blink with my LEAF, but I figured that ended when 2.0 was released.
 
Got my memory card swapped out on Friday and the technician forced it to check for an update and it installed 2.1 (2.1.20120404B). He told me that the wifi antenna is junk and that is why it doesn't work properly, they don't plan on replacing them. I did learn that the way they switch to cellular communications isn't via a setting on the Blink, they contact Sprint to activate the modem and the Blink will automatically prioritize to that modem. The problem is that it is a very, very slow connection (CDMA2000 1X - or up to 153 kbit/s) and isn't very reliable.
 
I have 2.1.20120404B.

Don't know if the technician that was out today forced it or not. I actually got someone to come look at the unit and fix it today:

http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=43&t=9026&p=205788#p205788" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

arnold
 
Blink replaced my entire charger this week, and installed the new firmware.
I'd noticed the original device was rarely hooking up to my wifi and had notified them. It didn't bother me though.
One evening though the charger rebooted,.. or rather it tried to but got stuck in a loop during start-up. Blink arranged for a technician to come out in a few days, but before then i opened it up (disconnected the power first of course) then unplugged every connector i could find, reconnected it all and it fired up fine.
 
I understand that the Blink provides much more information than the AeroVironment unit and that is probably necessary for analysts to get a real idea of the charging patterns that may develop and the implications for the electric utilities. Having said that, my AeroVironment unit has performed flawlessly and that includes several outages/surges from thunderstorms and I would recommend it to anyone that wants trouble free charging.
 
Here's what my Blink system log says

Code:
Jul 7 09:36:12 blink-charger user.notice BackOfficeUpdateDaemon: [BlinkCode:1][BackOfficeUpdateDaemon.cpp,423]Update check complete, software is up-to-date.

However the device info tells me otherwise.

Code:
2.0.20120112
E1.10

Any idea on how to force the update. I'd be glad to download the update file and flash it using a locally attached PC.
 
ahagge said:
I'm pretty sure that's why mine went down a couple of weeks ago. It was fubared to the point where a power-cycle would show the initial Ecotality splash screen, but never anything else. The backlight stayed on, but the screen was black (an expensive handwarmer).

Called Ecotality - they sent a technician out who replaced the SD card. I didn't check explicitly, but I'm pretty sure it had 2.0 on it when he left, but within 48 hours it had updated itself (successfully) to 2.1.

So I'm reasonably sure that 2.1 was pushed to my Blink previously and the upgrade failed and fubared the SD card. It had never gotten itself into that state previously in just under a year of ownership.

On the plus side, it's been rock solid since the upgrade (he said with fingers crossed), but it was quite good ever since the 2.0 install, too.
I just experienced the exact same failure symptoms. I didn't pay close attention to whether my Blink EVSE was working with a 2.1 upgrade before this event, but it seems like it has suffered an unsuccessful software installation of one version or another. I've contacted Ecotality for service. I had many trouble free months on 2.0 before this happened, and this is the first time for me that power cycling the EVSE won't clear the hang.

Howdy
 
I just experienced the exact same failure symptoms. I didn't pay close attention to whether my Blink EVSE was working with a 2.1 upgrade before this event, but it seems like it has suffered an unsuccessful software installation of one version or another. I've contacted Ecotality for service. I had many trouble free months on 2.0 before this happened, and this is the first time for me that power cycling the EVSE won't clear the hang.

Howdy[/quote]

I also had the same problem. Ecotality Tech had to come out to resove issue. The Technician said that they are having problems with the SD Cards in the early units. He said they have switched to SanDisk Brand SD Cards. The brand they were using in the earlier units were getting a high failure rate. I've had no problem since they switched it out.
 
speedracer said:
hgoudey said:
I just experienced the exact same failure symptoms. I didn't pay close attention to whether my Blink EVSE was working with a 2.1 upgrade before this event, but it seems like it has suffered an unsuccessful software installation of one version or another. I've contacted Ecotality for service. I had many trouble free months on 2.0 before this happened, and this is the first time for me that power cycling the EVSE won't clear the hang.

Howdy

I also had the same problem. Ecotality Tech had to come out to resove issue. The Technician said that they are having problems with the SD Cards in the early units. He said they have switched to SanDisk Brand SD Cards. The brand they were using in the earlier units were getting a high failure rate. I've had no problem since they switched it out.
Yeah, the SD card treatment coaxed my Blink into reopening its eye, too. It was originally installed in August of 2011 if that helps anyone peg the problem vintage.

Howdy Goudey
 
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