Blink evse: Where in the menu can you change "Max Current" setting?

[mxp]

Hi,
I have searched all the menus on the Blink evse, and I cannot find the menu to change the "Max Current" setting on the evse.
Can someone pls point me to the menu where I can change the Max current setting?

Thanks!

 

[lkkms2]

I vaguely remember that someone discovered a hidden menu or steps not in the user manual for this (about 3 years ago? On this forum)

I think Blink actually remotely reduced the Max when there was a concern that some of the early L2 handles may not have been properly manufactured to handle the newest EVs that had greater than 3.3 kW chargers. Concern there might be over heating of the handle.

You might be able to search the forum. I may have printed the steps out but would have to "search my files" to see if I could find it.

 

[91040]

Be sure that you are not overloading your circuit!!

Settings
Device Info
Maximum Current- touch and hold for 10 seconds
Enter maintenance PIN - 906598
Amperage
Use arrows to raise or lower
Save

 

[davewill]

I will add, that if you still have the original handle, >16a is not advisable. The handles fail and overheat at a high rate. After mine failed, I changed it out, and now use 30a all the time.

 

[webfootguy]

NOTE: This procedure only works on the Residential Blink chargers. The ones setup for RFID cards that charge $$ do not use this procedure.

 

[rpmdk]

I have an original Blink WE 30-CIRE EVSE installed back in 2011 by ECOtality. It's still the same unit, same handle, there were a couple glitches in the first few weeks, but quick restarts solved those and no repairs have been necessary.

I'm looking to replace my 2011 LEAF with it's 3.6 kWh charger and I'm wondering if this Blink unit will be up to the challenge of a 6.6 kWh charger?

Will the unit need an upgrade?

Is there a simple solution for a moderately capable DIYer?

This was the most on point thread I could find for my question, if there is a more appropriate thread my apologies and please point me in the right direction.

 

[Randy]

I have an original Blink WE 30-CIRE EVSE installed back in 2011 by ECOtality. It's still the same unit, same handle, there were a couple glitches in the first few weeks, but quick restarts solved those and no repairs have been necessary.

I'm looking to replace my 2011 LEAF with it's 3.6 kWh charger and I'm wondering if this Blink unit will be up to the challenge of a 6.6 kWh charger?

Will the unit need an upgrade?

Is there a simple solution for a moderately capable DIYer?

This was the most on point thread I could find for my question, if there is a more appropriate thread my apologies and please point me in the right direction.

I think Davewill has it right...If you're going to charge higher than 16 amps with the Blink, you need to keep an eye on it and make sure that you don't have overheating issues. Tony WIlliams was the original person I remember that had issues charging his RAV4 EV, and it melted the charging port on the car as well as the J1772 handle...

Honestly, if you want to charge a new car at 6.6kW, to be safe I would recommend getting one of the new EVSE that is up to the task, such as Clipper Creek HCS-40, ChargePoint Home, etc.

 

[davewill]

I have an original Blink WE 30-CIRE EVSE installed back in 2011 by ECOtality. It's still the same unit, same handle, there were a couple glitches in the first few weeks, but quick restarts solved those and no repairs have been necessary.

I'm looking to replace my 2011 LEAF with it's 3.6 kWh charger and I'm wondering if this Blink unit will be up to the challenge of a 6.6 kWh charger?

Will the unit need an upgrade?

Is there a simple solution for a moderately capable DIYer?

This was the most on point thread I could find for my question, if there is a more appropriate thread my apologies and please point me in the right direction.

Changing the entire cable out is pretty simple. My logic in doing a repair this expensive was that if the Blink crapped out, I would reuse the new cable on an OpenEVSE build. However, my Blink is still going strong and it's the same vintage as yours.

You can get the replacement from Tony at QuickChargePower. I have this one on my OpenEVSE:

http://shop.quickchargepower.com/J-Plug-J1772-40-Amp-Plug-Cable-Assembly-JPC40A.htm

I used the Leviton one for my Blink. The handle is nicer than Tony's, but the cable is thicker and more cumbersome and it's a little more expensive. If Tony had been selling his at the time, I would have gone that way.

https://www.amazon.com/Leviton-A2034-PEV-Electric-Vehicle-Connector/dp/B00FH7EVN8/ref=dp_ob_title_hi

I think that GlennD solders the connections in the Blink ones and claims it works well. You might ask him.

Dave

 

[GlennD]

I have repaired about half a dozen cables that I purchased on eBay for less than $100 shipped. All but one were easy to solder. The last one was clearly bad. The cable was oxidized and I had to scrape the wire shiny with an exacto knife. I really think it is easier to solder the cable before it over heats.

The required things to solder the connections are a good iron and good flux. Ir really needs better flux then that that is in the solder even though I use Kester solder.

 

[rpmdk]

I have an original Blink WE 30-CIRE EVSE installed back in 2011 by ECOtality. It's still the same unit, same handle, there were a couple glitches in the first few weeks, but quick restarts solved those and no repairs have been necessary.

I'm looking to replace my 2011 LEAF with it's 3.6 kWh charger and I'm wondering if this Blink unit will be up to the challenge of a 6.6 kWh charger?

Will the unit need an upgrade?

Is there a simple solution for a moderately capable DIYer?

This was the most on point thread I could find for my question, if there is a more appropriate thread my apologies and please point me in the right direction.

Changing the entire cable out is pretty simple. My logic in doing a repair this expensive was that if the Blink crapped out, I would reuse the new cable on an OpenEVSE build. However, my Blink is still going strong and it's the same vintage as yours.

You can get the replacement from Tony at QuickChargePower. I have this one on my OpenEVSE:

http://shop.quickchargepower.com/J-Plug-J1772-40-Amp-Plug-Cable-Assembly-JPC40A.htm

I used the Leviton one for my Blink. The handle is nicer than Tony's, but the cable is thicker and more cumbersome and it's a little more expensive. If Tony had been selling his at the time, I would have gone that way.

https://www.amazon.com/Leviton-A2034-PEV-Electric-Vehicle-Connector/dp/B00FH7EVN8/ref=dp_ob_title_hi

I think that GlennD solders the connections in the Blink ones and claims it works well. You might ask him.

Dave

Thank you, I'll look into this now.

Does replacing the cable require soldering? Can it be attached any other way? I'm not great with a soldering iron.

 

[davewill]

Thank you, I'll look into this now.

Does replacing the cable require soldering? Can it be attached any other way? I'm not great with a soldering iron.

No, just a screwdriver is needed to change the cable.

 

[rpmdk]

Thank you. I think that's the way I'll go.

 

[Deleted member 770]

Question for someone who's done this: If you change the Blink's Maximum Current setting back to 30A, does it stay there if the Blink is connecting to the Blink website? IIRC, back when Ecotality made this change, it was done "over the wire" from the "mother ship", so I'm concerned that if I change the setting, the "mother ship" might just set it back in a few days.

Yes, I know I could just unplug the Blink from the network, but I like to keep stats on my system by downloading the .CSV files generated at the Blink website.

Thanks!

 

[GlennD]

As someone that has purchased Blink cables ON EbAY 0UT OF HALF A DOZEN ONLY ONE WAS BURNED WHEN i TOOK HE CABLE APART. that TELLS ME THAT MOST GOOD FOR 30a. You might be the unlucky one like Tony.

 

[Deleted member 770]

@GlennD: If your response was to me - thanks! I guess I didn't mention that I intend to either solder the connections on the Rema connector or replace it with the 40A J1172 cable from OpenEVSE.com before I start using the Blink in a higher amperage situation. I have a Tesla Model 3 on order which will use the 30A capability, but my 2011 LEAF can't, so heating has never been a problem.

I believe you said earlier that you don't have Blink, so I guess I'll have to wait for someone else's response to answer my question...

Anybody else?

 

[davewill]

As someone that has purchased Blink cables ON EbAY 0UT OF HALF A DOZEN ONLY ONE WAS BURNED WHEN i TOOK HE CABLE APART. that TELLS ME THAT MOST GOOD FOR 30a. You might be the unlucky one like Tony.

I don't think that says that at all since most Blinks were sold to people who owned Leafs and Volts that only charged at 16a.

 

[GlennD]

@GlennD: If your response was to me - thanks! I guess I didn't mention that I intend to either solder the connections on the Rema connector or replace it with the 40A J1172 cable from OpenEVSE.com before I start using the Blink in a higher amperage situation. I have a Tesla Model 3 on order which will use the 30A capability, but my 2011 LEAF can't, so heating has never been a problem.

I believe you said earlier that you don't have Blink, so I guess I'll have to wait for someone else's response to answer my question...

Anybody else?

The Quick Charge cable works fine. I have used a few on the OpenEVSE's that I build. The 24ft cable works fine at 40A and I would guess the 30 foot one would be fine at 30A but I have never used one.

Now that my B was totaled I am in the 30A camp like everyone else. In fact I changed out my 20 ft 40A cable for a 32A Bosch cable for the extra length. My eGolf has the receptacle on the far side away from my EVSE. I also used a long cable on my Leaf's to reach the center without backing in.

I also have a deposit on the 3 but since I totaled the B the timing might not work out. I had 14 months left on the B lease but the VW lease expires in Sept 2019.

 

[SeattleBlueLeaf]

I have repaired about half a dozen cables that I purchased on eBay for less than $100 shipped. All but one were easy to solder. The last one was clearly bad. The cable was oxidized and I had to scrape the wire shiny with an exacto knife. I really think it is easier to solder the cable before it over heats.

The required things to solder the connections are a good iron and good flux. Ir really needs better flux then that that is in the solder even though I use Kester solder.

Glenn - are you referring to the fixing the original cable connection that came with the blink home evse or is this in reference to installing the replacement cable?

I have a Bolt now and I have modified the EVSE using the maintenance menu to max charge at 16 amp but I'd like to fix it to allow for 30 amp charging (i am connected to a 40 AMP service line and breaker).

I am also checking sites like ebay and craigslist to see if any 30 AMP EVSE's come up cheap that I can get the cable from.

 

[GlennD]

I have never seen a complete Blink EVSE. I have purchased cables on eBay unusually less than $100 shipped. I solder the crimps to insure a good connection. The last one I received had appalling crimps but it was unburned. Setting the current to 24A seems to work.

 

[Rat]

I was about to ask how to change the max current setting with the home Blink EVSE, but after reading through this thread, it doesn't look like that's a good idea. I recently sold my Leaf and now have a Volvo XC40 Recharge EV. It can take 48A L2 charging. I'm using my Blink unit (installed 2011 by ECOtality). It's running on a 40A circuit breaker, even though I understand when the wiring was done that it was for a 50A circuit. I notice that during charging the Volvo is drawing only 23A and is taking a lot longer to charge than I anticipated. The handle (original) is not getting hot so far as I can tell. My first question is: is it safe/legal to up the amperage rating on then Blink unit using the procedure shown here, say up to 35A? Second question: is it safe to keep using it at the 23A amp it is now producing? Some posts refer to overheating cables at even lower levels.

I decided to try using the cable that comes with the Volvo. It's much heavier than the Blink one. The manual says it is capable of handling 48A and can be plugged directly into the wall socket. However, the wall socket format isn't compatible with the cable plug. The plug has four prongs counting the ground, the wall socket three holes (a 6-50P I think). Question 3: Is it safe/legal to use an adapter for that? I don't know if the different formats are for different current levels. Obviously I don't want the car to start drawing 48 amps and blow the breaker.

One added wrinkle is that I don't want to plug in every night the way I did with the Leaf so speed of charging is more important. The plug is on the wrong side for my Volvo, so I have to back in to my garage. I can do it but it's a tight fit in both length and width and the Volvo's camera/warning system screams at me when I do. I prefer to let the battery get down to 33% or so in order to minimize frequency of charging, but that means at 23A it takes 9 hours to charge with the Blink. That's usually Ok for overnight, but if I ever have to let the battery get down to 5% or so, I won't be able to use the car until midday the next day. Any advice, help, or comments are welcome.