ECOtality News 8/12/13 - DOE Stops payments

[wsbca]

Bleh...I guess no reason to call now for my similar issue (do you have to power cycle yours?). Perhaps the local contractor who installed it (they also did our solar system), who I assume Ecotality would have sent on the service call, would be willing to be contacted directly to recrimp ours for a reasonable fee. And worst case, if it dies, buy the new Bosch?

You can't recrimp. Once it's done wrong, you have to cut off the ruined pins, and use new ones. For most of us mere mortals with ordinary tools/skills, that means buying a whole cable and J1772 handle assembly and replacing that. Even if I could find the pins and the right crimp tool, I know that's the only way I'd feel confident that I had a good result. And that's what Blink has their repair contractors do. Replace the whole cable assembly. I assume the old one goes back to the manufacturer for rework or recycling.

What's puzzling to me about this error (assuming we're all talking about the same thing - red screen every other charge or so that won't reset with a screen touch despite the displayed suggestion to do that) is that power cycling the whole unit resolves it for the next charge cycle, without touching anything else. That is to say, once I power it off and back on, I can plug in, get a dialog between the car and the Blink, and later on that night it charges fine. Anyone have any more insight into what's going on that would result in this regular, but somehow transient behavior? Seems to me if it was a flaky physical connection I wouldn't be able to get around it in such a repeatable way by just power cycling.

 

[QueenBee]

Bleh...I guess no reason to call now for my similar issue (do you have to power cycle yours?). Perhaps the local contractor who installed it (they also did our solar system), who I assume Ecotality would have sent on the service call, would be willing to be contacted directly to recrimp ours for a reasonable fee. And worst case, if it dies, buy the new Bosch?

You can't recrimp. Once it's done wrong, you have to cut off the ruined pins, and use new ones. For most of us mere mortals with ordinary tools/skills, that means buying a whole cable and J1772 handle assembly and replacing that. Even if I could find the pins and the right crimp tool, I know that's the only way I'd feel confident that I had a good result. And that's what Blink has their repair contractors do. Replace the whole cable assembly. I assume the old one goes back to the manufacturer for rework or recycling.

There are two widespread issues. One being the poor crimp in the J1772 plug and the other being on the ground fault CT sensor or something like that. The red error message/etc. is caused by the ground fault crimpo. The heat and melting of the J1772 plug and inlet at 30 amp draw are from the bad crimp there.

If you need the Blink sooner rather than later I'd definitely give them a call as I bet they have the proper parts to apply the various TSBs and wouldn't charge too much to come out, it's really quick. Maybe if Blink comes back and starts honoring their warranties the contractor could help you submit the support request/etc. to get reimbursed.

 

[eHelmholtz]

eHelmholtz
Is your unit the new Blink HQ or older blink unit?

Mine is the older one from the EV Project.

 

[eHelmholtz]

Bleh...I guess no reason to call now for my similar issue (do you have to power cycle yours?). Perhaps the local contractor who installed it (they also did our solar system), who I assume Ecotality would have sent on the service call, would be willing to be contacted directly to recrimp ours for a reasonable fee. And worst case, if it dies, buy the new Bosch?

I have 2 issues. For the first, the orange/red screen - yes, I have to power cycle to get it to work again; the problem is that this now needs to be done with nearly every use. This is apparently a well known problem and often caused by a ground fault error from a poor connection or crimp in the box at the CT connection. I'm told this is an easy fix with some solder. The other issue with the warm J1772 plug is a poor crimp on that end which is a different issue. The red screen ground fault should not require replacing the J1772 cable.

I'd call them anyway - it's pretty quick so you don't waste much time; besides, they might start service again soon (I'm not holding my breath on this though ;-) )

 

[DaveEV]

The ground fault false alarm is fixed by moving the CT's away from the terminal block, not by a flaky connection or soldering. Or at least that's how mine was fixed.

 

[eHelmholtz]

The ground fault false alarm is fixed by moving the CT's away from the terminal block, not by a flaky connection or soldering. Or at least that's how mine was fixed.

Thanks the information Dave! May have to try this but was going to wait on Ecotality since I have the problem with the J1772 connector too.

 

[walterbays]

The ground fault false alarm is fixed by moving the CT's away from the terminal block, not by a flaky connection or soldering. Or at least that's how mine was fixed.

The technician may have done that to mine and that may have been what fixed it. It was very unreliable the first 6 months or so. But my power faults mostly stopped when I did another fix, though it may have been coincidence. In the settings menu I set it to use hardwired Ethernet instead of WiFi, but I didn't bother to plug in an Ethernet cable. The unit continued to communicate with blink via a cellular radio that was built in all along but which I had no idea of, nor had any Blink troubleshooter ever mentioned it.

 

[davewill]

Bleh...I guess no reason to call now for my similar issue (do you have to power cycle yours?). Perhaps the local contractor who installed it (they also did our solar system), who I assume Ecotality would have sent on the service call, would be willing to be contacted directly to recrimp ours for a reasonable fee. And worst case, if it dies, buy the new Bosch?

You can't recrimp. Once it's done wrong, you have to cut off the ruined pins, and use new ones. For most of us mere mortals with ordinary tools/skills, that means buying a whole cable and J1772 handle assembly and replacing that. Even if I could find the pins and the right crimp tool, I know that's the only way I'd feel confident that I had a good result. And that's what Blink has their repair contractors do. Replace the whole cable assembly. I assume the old one goes back to the manufacturer for rework or recycling.

There are two widespread issues. One being the poor crimp in the J1772 plug and the other being on the ground fault CT sensor or something like that. The red error message/etc. is caused by the ground fault crimpo. The heat and melting of the J1772 plug and inlet at 30 amp draw are from the bad crimp there.

If you need the Blink sooner rather than later I'd definitely give them a call as I bet they have the proper parts to apply the various TSBs and wouldn't charge too much to come out, it's really quick. Maybe if Blink comes back and starts honoring their warranties the contractor could help you submit the support request/etc. to get reimbursed.

I see the confusion. I was referring to the overheating J1772 handle. The ground fault issue is a simple fix. They come out and replace the crimp on connectors to the current sensors, and move them. Apparently the old connectors are problematic. You could do it yourself if you were handy.

 

[wsbca]

Bleh...I guess no reason to call now for my similar issue (do you have to power cycle yours?).

The ground fault issue is a simple fix. They come out and replace the crimp on connectors to the current sensors, and move them. Apparently the old connectors are problematic. You could do it yourself if you were handy.

Good news (so far) - I went ahead and called (Ecotality, not Baker) today and they picked up right away, and I got a case number from the courteous operator, who also seemed to have at least some familiarity with the problem I was describing. He noted in the case that I can still charge, but that I have to power cycle constantly - so, I doubt it will be interpreted as an all out emergency with possible liability, but at least it's in the system.

He did say there is a "backlog" of cases right now and it might not be right away that field service would contact me, perhaps that's code for things being in limbo but overall I was encouraged - if they can see themselves clear to pass the case on to Baker or the other San Diego regional contractor maybe it will get worked out!

 

[phxsmiley]

This is nice - just was fumbling with this yesterday. Glad to see they are still working on some things. Got a email message from Blink:


We know that when you're plugging in for a charge every second counts. That's why, starting tomorrow we are eliminating the zip code authorization on all publicly accessible Blink charging stations.

Now all you have to do is waive your card, plug in and press the charge button.

What will you do with all that extra time?

Thanks for being a Blink member and charging in public. We sincerely appreciate your support.

Charge on.
Blink

 

[TomT]

Moving the CT is actually a fix for the result, not the symptom. The correct and permanent fix is to replace the connectors on the CT wires.

The ground fault false alarm is fixed by moving the CT's away from the terminal block, not by a flaky connection or soldering. Or at least that's how mine was fixed.

 

[Deleted member 8423]

What will you do with all that extra time?

That just allows them to bill us for a full hour even faster. :evil:

On the plus side, it removes one more link to Blink's backend servers, which might make things easier when they end up going under.

 

[DaveEV]

This is nice - just was fumbling with this yesterday. Glad to see they are still working on some things. Got a email message from Blink:

We know that when you're plugging in for a charge every second counts. That's why, starting tomorrow we are eliminating the zip code authorization on all publicly accessible Blink charging stations.

Nice. Now if only they'd bill by the minute instead of by the hour or session.

But I think the real reason is that at least a couple times I've come across a Blink which is non-responsive to touchscreen presses, but did respond to waving the Blink card in front of it. Eliminating the need to touch the screen will make the stations in effect more reliable.

Moving the CT is actually a fix for the result, not the symptom. The correct and permanent fix is to replace the connectors on the CT wires.

How does moving the CT fix a flaky connector? Just lucky?

 

[walterbays]

But I think the real reason is that at least a couple times I've come across a Blink which is non-responsive to touchscreen presses, but did respond to waving the Blink card in front of it. Eliminating the need to touch the screen will make the stations in effect more reliable.

+1

Not to mention many units sited so that bright sunlight makes the screen unreadable so you have to enter your zip code mainly by guesswork.

It would be a nice parting gift from Blink to the EV community if they would change their per-hour and per-session fees. I'd rather pay $1.50/hr L2 billed per minute than $1/hr rounded to the next hour. And I'd rather pay $10/hr QC billed per minute than $5/session.

 

[DaveEV]

Not to mention many units sited so that bright sunlight makes the screen unreadable so you have to enter your zip code mainly by guesswork.

Yep, it seems worse on QC stations - perhaps because the screen is not vertical like on L2 stations?

It would be a nice parting gift from Blink to the EV community if they would change their per-hour and per-session fees. I'd rather pay $1.50/hr L2 billed per minute than $1/hr rounded to the next hour. And I'd rather pay $10/hr QC billed per minute than $5/session.

Agree with you on the L2. If you look at the only other public QC in southern CA, the EVoasis in San Juan Capistrano, it charges $15/hour between 11am-7:15pm and $10/hour all other times. And that's only a 25 kW unit, so a Blink capable of 50 kW should be worth more in theory - and the SJC unit gets a lot of use!

 

[davewill]

... It would be a nice parting gift from Blink to the EV community if they would change their per-hour and per-session fees. I'd rather pay $1.50/hr L2 billed per minute than $1/hr rounded to the next hour. And I'd rather pay $10/hr QC billed per minute than $5/session.

Heck, for L2, 15 minute intervals would work just fine.

 

[TonyWilliams]

.... EVoasis in San Juan Capistrano, it charges $15/hour between 11am-7:15pm and $10/hour all other times. And that's only a 25 kW unit, so a Blink capable of 50 kW should be worth more in theory - and the SJC unit gets a lot of use!

Well over 1000 charge events now.

Very, very few people spend $10 or $15... it's almost always less because it's by the minute prorata.

 

[eHelmholtz]

I got a call from Paul Gordon, Ecotality's CTO, yesterday regarding the J1772 heating issue. After questions about the heating in my cable, he said that Ecotality is working with REMA and they have a next gen cable that addresses the hitting but will implement it selectively since only 10% of cables have the hitting issue. Anyway, he also told me that he would get a replacement out to me ASAP; I shared with him that there's already a replacement cable waiting for me with a local tech but that service calls had been on hold. He says that they are back doing service calls and will get it fixed for me within a week.

When asked about ecotality's future, he indicated that it intends to be around for many years.

 

[wsbca]

He says that they are back doing service calls and will get it fixed for me within a week.

As I was reading this I fished my phone out of my pocket and sure enough I had a fresh voicemail from Ecotality from a few mintues ago, wanting to set up a service call for tomorrow morning for my pink screen of death issue, for which I had called a couple of days ago (and the rep had said it might be a while). So...yay.

 

[walterbays]

.... EVoasis in San Juan Capistrano, it charges $15/hour between 11am-7:15pm and $10/hour all other times. And that's only a 25 kW unit, so a Blink capable of 50 kW should be worth more in theory - and the SJC unit gets a lot of use!

Well over 1000 charge events now.

Very, very few people spend $10 or $15... it's almost always less because it's by the minute prorata.

I'm not sure how much more a 50 kW charger is worth. Since QC ramps down so quickly the Blink units aren't all that much faster than the EVoasis unit - probably not worth the exorbitant 50 kW demand fee for the operator. I haven't charged often enough with meticulous records to say just how much time is needed for how much charge, but it seems like my typical Blink charge is 20 minutes and my typical EVoasis charge is 25 minutes.

The biggest value difference among stations is the facilities not the time. Blink's SDSU station has free Wifi - a big plus. So does EVoasis' Residence Inn station, as well as restrooms, snacks and drinks, and a comfortable lobby. I imagine Blink's Best Western station offers similar amenities. I'd rather relax for 25 minutes on a sofa with a beverage and surfing the net than sit in a parking lot staring at the pavement for 20 minutes.

Below was a recent Blink charge from 46% to 80% SOC. (I didn't really need the charge; it was just a "show of support" for Blink's infrastructure.) Plotted are the state of charge as reported by the Blink unit, as reported by the Android OBDII app, and the maximum battery temperature as reported by the app.



Tony, since Nissan installed quick charge stations, many of them free, has that impacted the paid customer volume at EVoasis? San Juan Capistrano is ideally located for travel between the LA and San Diego areas, but a couple of Nissan dealers seem to offer plausible alternatives. More importantly, can you say whether those Nissan stations have delayed EVoasis plans to open other locations? I certainly don't mind Nissan building some infrastructure where everyone else had mostly failed to do so. Nor do I object to getting anything for free. But I'd much rather have something paid and available, than hypothetically free and unavailable.