ECOtality Level 2 charger : Blink

[Azrich]

Blink charger was installed last evening from 4:30 to 8:00 pm. His first route with the conduit didn't work, so he changed his design - more conduit than I expected. It connected easily to our wireless network. I'll post some photos tomorrow. This was only the 3rd Blink charger installed in Tucson. They have at least 97 more to install here.

 

[evnow]

His first route with the conduit didn't work...

Curious - why ?

 

[TomT]

If you don't use timers at all, or just use the timer in the Blink, you shouldn't have an issue.

They are swapping my CC out next wednesday. Reading through this thread I'm thinking I should postpone it until the firmware is updated.

 

[Spies]

If you don't use timers at all, of just use the timer in the Blink, you shouldn't have an issue.

They are swapping my CC out next wednesday. Reading through this thread I'm thinking I should postpone it until the firmware is updated.

I am supposed to have my Blink installed sometime next week and if this is their official line I for one will continue to use the reliable L1 EVSE that came with the car until the issue is resolved.

 

[TomT]

I should add that I hold Nissan partially responsible for the timer issue as requiring a timer to be set to affect an 80% charge is simply poor design. I should be able to select a charge level without having to select a timer if I don't need one for TOU metering.

 

[Spies]

I should be able to select a charge level without having to select a timer if I don't need one for TOU metering.

I agree 100% and it has been mentioned numerous times on this board. It was the very first thing I mentioned to Nissan after getting the Leaf. In fact if this option existed I would still be using the L2 EVSE I already have and just used an external timer to get around the single charge issue in my EVSE. You can read more about my EVSE adventures in this topic: http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?t=2389

I have no idea what the actual technical issue is with the Blink and the Leaf communicating and I am not blaming either of them I just want it fixed! Makes me wonder exactly how much communication is really going on between the Blink and the Leaf. If only we had standards like J1772 to avoid compatibility issues like these

 

[bowthom]

Hello,
More wonky behavior from my Blink EVSE. Got home from work last night and the screen was blank. Pressing on the screen would not wake it up. I plugged in the Leaf and it woke up but it said "ready for setup" or something like that. I went through the setup but the touch screen stopped responding during the calibration routine. Tried a couple more times but each time it stop responding at some point during data entry. So I unplugged the Leaf and cycled the power off for 20 seconds to "reboot." Screen was more responsive, it locked up a few times but if I waited long enough I could continue. Took 3 tries to get it to "see" the WiFi and connect. Oops, my WiFi was there but the internet was not so I had to reset the cable modem (possible power outage during the day). OK, now all seems normal. I re-plug in the Leaf and it did it's usual clicking and blinking (timer set). Thought I would check my timer in the Leaf to make sure I had an "end time" set so if it had problems the charge cycle would restart. At about the 5 minute mark (Blink display) the Blink screen went blank, the leaf stopped blinking it's timer lights on the dash. A big orange message displayed on the Blink "charging stopped by utility until 10:03." It was 10:02 PM. At 10:05 PM it was obvious the charge cycle had been interrupted and would not restart. All of my setup info was gone again and the Blink is requesting the setup routine. I unplugged the leaf, cycled the Blink power, reset all of my info "saving" again of course and restarted the charge cycle. I was standing next to the Blink, I reach into my pocket and activate the door locks. Just then the Blink screen goes blank again stopping the charge cycle and losing all of the setup data. It does not, however, lose the power usage data from prior charging. I then go through the entire routine again and all is well. I try the door lock fob and it does not affect the Blink this time so I call it good for the night. Woke up this morning to a "charging stopped at 1:32 AM - 10 of 12 bars" message. Sent when the Leaf reached it's 80% timer setting, hopefully. I log into the Blink IP and all seems normal. I start the climate control and get ready for work. All was good when I left.

Yowsers! I see this as three problems:
1. Lousy WiFi and routines related to it.
2. Improper programming so misunderstands what the Leaf is doing when timers are set. Might be having a problem with grid/utility related signals and restart routines.
3. My particular unit has some kind of problem retaining stored info.

Can I have my ClipperCreek EVSE back now? ..... Answer: Not until my "contract" with the EV project expires.

 

[evnow]

Just then the Blink screen goes blank again stopping the charge cycle and losing all of the setup data.

Did it really lose all the setup ?

I think when rebooted by default it goes to the setup screen. But if you skip setup (or just let it timeout off calibration screen on its own). the old setup is retained.

 

[bowthom]

Hello,
I tried that, only once did it retain the WiFi name and password but it was on one of the 3 multiple tries to get it to recognize the WiFi. I am definitely going to run a cat 6 cable out to the garage. Maybe it will be more stable that way. Although, my iPhone has no problem with WiFi in the garage.

 

[Spies]

Would someone that already has a Blink unit be kind enough to post the dimensions of the front of the main unit and cable reel?

I am laying out where I want the unit to go and its going to be a tight fit for the more desirable plan A. I have the overall dimensions from the pdf and its listed as 18" x 22" x 5 9/16" for the main unit and 18" round for the cable reel.

 

[bowthom]

Hello,
I am at work now but............. when they were installing mine there was a specification for distance from floor for both units. I will post data when I am home again.

 

[TomT]

Sounds like yours is definitely sick and you might want to start a trouble ticket with Blink. I've had no WiFi or other issues with mine if I don't try to use the timer in the car (which I don't normally do anyway since I'm not on TOU metering).

Hello,
I tried that, only once did it retain the WiFi name and password but it was on one of the 3 multiple tries to get it to recognize the WiFi. I am definitely going to run a cat 6 cable out to the garage. Maybe it will be more stable that way. Although, my iPhone has no problem with WiFi in the garage.

 

[AmarilloLeaf]

Would someone that already has a Blink unit be kind enough to post the dimensions of the front of the main unit and cable reel?

I am laying out where I want the unit to go and its going to be a tight fit for the more desirable plan A. I have the overall dimensions from the pdf and its listed as 18" x 22" x 5 9/16" for the main unit and 18" round for the cable reel.

I just had mine installed today.

The size I measure is exactly what you quoted.

The escutcheon of the reel is 18 inches, but the inside lip of the reel itself is only about 12.5 inches, so you don't need more room than 18 inches to hang up the cable.

The time on site for the electrician was 3 hours. He installed new breakers, ran wire up into my attic and down the wall in the garage. It is inside the wall so no conduit
was needed.

The start up of the unit was interesting. When we started it up, there was a loud POP, then nothing, I thought we had fried the unit. Then the screen came on, and another POP. The screen went black, and again I though the unit was fried. After about 45 seconds of black screen, the unit came to life, and in another minute or so was ready to program. It instantly found my WPA2 AES encrypted access point, and looks great. It is in dire need of a car to charge now. Also, after doing the screen calibration, I noticed that I need to tap just a little down and to he right of the intended target. I initially thought that the unit was slow. The unit is fine, I am slow. Slow to realize that the calibration was about 1/2 inch off.

Also, when I look at the unit from my web browser, the time is 1 hour fast compared to what is on the screen. It appears to synch to a NNTP server somwhere after youu enter your time zone and whether to use DST. The system logs are in GMT or UCT and appear to look for firmware updates every 15 minutes. A bit surprising, I don't think Microsoft even looks that often. Once a day would be OK with me.

 

[Spies]

The escutcheon of the reel is 18 inches, but the inside lip of the reel itself is only about 12.5 inches, so you don't need more room than 18 inches to hang up the cable.

Cool! I'm gonna guess that the main unit is also about 12.5 inches wide at the front as well and if this is the case my door to the garage should just miss whacking it where I want it installed. Yea!

 

[Coffee_Slurry]

Best-looking install I've seen yet, AmarilloLeaf. Congrats!

 

[TomT]

The main unit is 18" wide at the base, 21.5" high and 6" deep. The reel is 18" wide at the base, 12 1/2" wide at the outer reel, and 6 3/8" deep. I installed mine on the side panel of a cabinet that is exactly 18" deep and ends at the center front of my garage so it fit like a glove. The Blink display is supposed to be at about 60" off the floor.

The escutcheon of the reel is 18 inches, but the inside lip of the reel itself is only about 12.5 inches, so you don't need more room than 18 inches to hang up the cable.

Cool! I'm gonna guess that the main unit is also about 12.5 inches wide at the front as well and if this is the case my door to the garage should just miss whacking it where I want it installed. Yea!

 

[AmarilloLeaf]

I checked where the Blink was phoning home to, on my firewall/router.

It is pointing to ports 80 and 443 at 173.195.80.10.

A whois lookup confirms that this is ECOtality's IP address.

Out of curiosity, I browsed over to that address. Port 80 is HTTP, and 443 HTTPS after all.

What do I find? A mirror of the www.BlinkNetwork.com web site at both ports. However the published DNS pointer for www.blinknetwork.com is 173.195.80.9.

I don't know what all of our Blinks are doing looking at that IP address EVERY 15 MINUTES, but they will NEVER update as long as it is simply a mirrored web page.

I am assuming that the Blink is calling a FQDN that currently resolves to the 173.X.X.X address we are seeing..., and that ECOtality can either change the DNS to point to the actual firmware update server later, or load the actual updates on their 173.195.80.10 server.

Factoid: The MAC address suggests the Ethernet wireless is sourced from Unigen.

 

[bowthom]

Hello,
When I got home tonight I was able to duplicate the wonky behavior of my Blink...... sort of. I needed to charge 100% tonight so I hit the timer bypass and began charging. Everything was normal. After 1/2 hour I stopped the charge cycle by unplugging the Leaf then reinserted, starting the timer. Once again the leaf beeped twice and blinked. I powered up the car to check the timers again and at the 5 min mark the Blink made a funny bad buzzer sound and the screen went blank. After a minute or so it powered up and stopped at the configure screen. I calibrated the screen and started the setup but exited and it attempted to initialize but could not find the WiFi. I kept pressing the rescan to no avail. My iPhone verified the WiFi was good. Then the orange "Utility has stopped charging until 10:45" message appeared, it was 10:45 by the Blink clock. I sat in the car and waited. After a few minutes the Leaf beeped twice and the Blink screen went back to normal with the "system up time" starting at zero and the WiFi connected.

I am wondering if having the Leaf powered up is inducing noise on the waiting charge cable or maybe the carwings communicating somehow trips the "utility stop charging until XX:XX" message and routine in the Blink? Something that doesn't happen unless the timer is set and the car is powered up. The noise may be suppressed if current is passing to the Leaf. Perhaps the Shorepower engineer was right in predicting the susceptibility of the J1772 standard to RFI causing the cycle to stop.

I will continue my own testing until the Ecotality people I have contacted come to test it. More data points are needed.

ON EDIT: The blink crashed twice while I was sleeping, I woke up to not 1 but 3 charge complete emails 1:18 AM, 1:44 AM and 5:33 AM. Each time the "system uptime" is reset to zero. Logging in to the Blink this morning, it all looks normal and my Leaf is still plugged in.

 

[Jimmydreams]

For the past 2 days, my Blink has actually been behaving normally. I plug my car in and I get the "Countdown to charging" screen (because I use the Blink timers). Charging started both times at the proper time.....Buggy Blinks are one thing, but not being able to reproduce the weird behavior is another. The only thing I did was take out any weird characters in my SSID for my WiFi. Letters and spaces only....

When it works right, the Blink is a GREAT unit.

 

[garygid]

Apparently goor or OK for 100% no-LEAF-Timer charging, right?

But, still a problem when wanting 80% charging (needing the LEAF's timers), right?

Many seem to report R1.2a firmware in the Blink. One report said R1.8 I believe.

It would be helpful if all Blink users included their Blink's Revision number in their Signature (see Profile in the forum's User Control Panel).