Need help diagnosing a failed Blink EVSE

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twingo

Active member
Joined
Jul 19, 2010
Messages
42
Location
Escondido, Ca.
I'm thinking of repairing my unit myself since service seems to be non-existent. Mine is around 4 years old. When I returned from a recent trip, the screen was blank and unit not working. After searching around here, I tried the disconnection of the blue cables to create a dumb unit, but when I plugged it into my Leaf, the upper dash lights did not go into their sequence and when I pushed the manual charging button on the dash, nothing happened. Anyone have any ideas what to do next? Any help is much appreciated.
 
If all else fails, and use the housing and cable and tear out the rest.
Buy an OPEN EVSE board, and stick that in there.
Good luck.
I have a Blink, and I hope it keeps on chugging, but I have an Open EVSE board already so when it dies, I'm ready :D
 
I'd open it up, and check connections. Look for anything that looks like it got hot or burned. I would also echo KillaWhat, and go the OpenEVSE route if a solution is not forthcoming. I know that Chris was specifically experimenting with refitting Blinks and I'm sure he'd know exactly what you'd need to rebuild it with OpenEVSE parts.

http://store.openevse.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
 
KillaWhat said:
..I have a Blink, and I hope it keeps on chugging, but I have an Open EVSE board already so when it dies, I'm ready :D
That is one option.
But the old Blink units have multiple risks.
My SD card corrupted several months back, and currently is working as a dumb EVSE.
But other thread indicates 43% eventually have main board failure which the OP probably has.
They also have bad REVA cable crimp concerns, and inadequate power connection concerns.

For me if mine dies either evseupgrade or an Open EVSE new build by GlennD is probably a better choice.
 
I looked around inside for signs of anything overheating or loose connections and could not find anything. If there is no other way to narrow it down, I may have to bite the bullet and get a new unit which I need to research. Seems the Open EVSE gets positive remarks here and I think the Clipper as well.
 
TimLee: You wrote: "But other thread indicates 43% eventually have main board failure which the OP probably has.".

IMHO how could anyone but the truly gullible believe "43% [of Blinks] eventually have main board failure" be true in any meaningful way?

On the other hand there IS some truth in "100% of electronic circuit boards eventually fail", but it is not very meaningful to me in my lifetime.
 
MikeD said:
... IMHO how could anyone but the truly gullible believe "43% [of Blinks] eventually have main board failure" be true in any meaningful way?
...
I don't know if it is accurate or not.
In the other thread:
http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=43&t=3279&start=160#p406349" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
braebyrn said:
I spoke to a rep at blink who said 43% of that model are defective, and he said it's a matter of when and not if it will stop working.
...

So the Blink representative said 43% failures per braebyrn.
But that may be all failures, not just primary circuit board failures.
 
Chris of OpenEVSE fame did awesome conversion using the case and J1772 cable. He did custom graphics and it looks factory. Silk screening is beyond me but I can admire the results.

Currently you can get a OpenEVSE ver 2.5 board for $69 shipping included. This is a stand alone board that just requires a GFCI coil and a J1772 cable and both can be salvaged.

All it takes is some basic skills and a little bit of common sense. We have a preponderance of tech geeks on this forum. Help is readily available.
 
TimLee: You wrote "I don't know if it is accurate or not.". Then why do you repeat the statistic (INACCURATELY, as you seem to admit: "But that may be all failures, not just primary circuit board failures."), without questioning it? Do you really believe everything you read (especially from people you don't know) and then repeat it, no matter how unbelievable their statements are?

I would strongly suggest that you read up on what it means to use Critical Thinking methods employing logic and reasoning, otherwise you will be easily bamboozled and chumped -- and because people who do think critically won't respect anything you write -- and those who don't may also end up bamboozled and chumped.

Warning to readers: always be skeptical of everything you read on this website, INCLUDING anything I write.
 
MikeD said:
Warning to readers: always be skeptical of everything you read on this website, INCLUDING anything I write.
+10.

I never said the original Blink units having 43% failures was fact.
Just a reporting by one individual which I did initially state incorrectly, and which I corrected when you questioned the 43%.
But there are multiple threads on the old Blink units that outline several different means of failure.
Based on all of that 43% does seem plausible.

Not sure why you want to jump to the defense of the old Blink units when you have been so contrarian on so many things that Ingineer put you on his Ignore list?
Maybe you just want to be contrarian about the Blink :?:
 
GlennD said:
Chris of OpenEVSE fame did awesome conversion using the case and J1772 cable. He did custom graphics and it looks factory. Silk screening is beyond me but I can admire the results.

Currently you can get a OpenEVSE ver 2.5 board for $69 shipping included. This is a stand alone board that just requires a GFCI coil and a J1772 cable and both can be salvaged.

All it takes is some basic skills and a little bit of common sense. We have a preponderance of tech geeks on this forum. Help is readily available.

Are you talking about using the existing Blink case and swapping in some parts?
 
TimLee said:
MikeD said:
... IMHO how could anyone but the truly gullible believe "43% [of Blinks] eventually have main board failure" be true in any meaningful way?
...
I don't know if it is accurate or not.
In the other thread:
http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=43&t=3279&start=160#p406349" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
braebyrn said:
I spoke to a rep at blink who said 43% of that model are defective, and he said it's a matter of when and not if it will stop working.
...

So the Blink representative said 43% failures per braebyrn.
But that may be all failures, not just primary circuit board failures.

If someone wants to speak to the Blink rep that told me the 43% figure, pm me and I will give you his contact info. I have two blink units. One defective and the other still operational. What does it matter anyway if its 43% have failures (weather it was circuit board, power supply, etc.) or even that 57% are still working without failures? That still is a problem.
 
Question: What percent of people who are in the business of selling a product will be "less than honest" in the pursuit of making money, including hyping the product, not giving information about flaws in the product, denigrating competing products, etc, etc? That is but one of the many reasons to be skeptical about the statements of others -- it that so difficult to understand?
 
MikeD said:
Question: What percent of people who are in the business of selling a product will be "less than honest" in the pursuit of making money, including hyping the product, not giving information about flaws in the product, denigrating competing products, etc, etc? That is but one of the many reasons to be skeptical about the statements of others -- it that so difficult to understand?


Point taken, however cynical I am (and after driving a rotor wing aeroplane for many years you can believe that I am uber cynical) I believe that it is important for us to be considerate of our fellow posters herein. Certainly, I am the first one to distrust a person whose sole interest is to sell a product (viz. used car salespeople), but the folks on this board have every appearance of doing their designs and sales out of the goodness of their hearts -- with the added benefit of making a small profit to cover expenses. For sure, all you have to do is read Consumers' Reports magazine (which I have for some 50 years) and each and every issue reveals manufacturers and products pimps who have Feet of Clay.

My experience with people on this BBS has been very favorable. Even in the off-topic "Gun Ownership" sub-forum (some 250+ pages now) the give and take of opposing viewpoints are relatively polite.

With respect to those herein who are selling products, you can only rely upon what other people here have said about their experiences with those products. Personally, I think the recommendations of a diverse group of users is the paradigm of consumer faith.

It behooves people here who have purchased and who are using a product from members of the BBS to post their experiences and the likes and dislikes. I know they already have, all you need do is use the search function.

Remain Cynical, read the top two lines of my signature block, and keep your powder dry.

Dave
 
Definitions from Google:
cynical (adjective)
1) believing that people are motivated by self-interest; distrustful of human sincerity or integrity. "her cynical attitude"
2) concerned only with one's own interests and typically disregarding accepted or appropriate standards in order to achieve them. "a cynical manipulation of public opinion"
skeptical (adjective)
1) not easily convinced; having doubts or reservations. "the public were deeply skeptical about some of the proposals"
ad hominem (adjective)
1) (of an argument or reaction) directed against a person rather than the position they are maintaining. "vicious ad hominem attacks"

My reason for posting here in the first place is that I see no evidence of a current massive failure of Blinks on the order of 50%, which I take to mean more precisely "~50% of residential Blink EVSEs (provided under the federal "The EV Project") can no longer be reasonably made to normally provide power to 2011-2012 Leafs".

My experience from an admittedly small (but "random") sample of my own Blink and of one other Leaf owner (plus all the commercial outdoor Blinks that I have encountered in the last 6 months that all seem operational) cause me to seriously doubt my Blink is likely to irreparably fail anytime soon. I monitor this forum regularly for problems owners have with their Leafs, etc (and try to offer relevant information when I can and when seems appropriate on issues mostly limited to EVSEs). I have seen that Blink owners have had various problems over time (I myself had my SD card replaced by Blink tech support), but the number of posts from owners who had no recourse but to replace their Blink EVSE with another of a different type altogether seemed to me relatively small, certainly not what I would expect to see if anywhere close to 50% of Blink owners (BTW over 8000 distributed to residential owners, I understand).

It would probably help to have a poll (although not "scientifically" accurate) of forum members who have a normally functional Blink versus those who had one but who had to buy a replacement non-Blink EVSE to objectively determine a useful "Blink Inoperable Failure Ratio".
 
My "first hand" experience is limited too.
Neighbor bought on second had in 2013 that is still working trouble free on a 2013 SL. Don't think it was ever networked to Blink and is charging at 6.0 kW, 27.5 amps from the wall.
Another acquaintance advised theirs quit. But it may have been SD card corrupted.
My first was replaced under warranty due to overheated power conductors. Second died in last few months from SD card corruption, but is back working as dumb EVSE.
Don't understand why they were pushing software that corrupted the SD card.

Oh, they want all the residential units back for upgrade and use in commercial service ;)
 
TimLee: "...they want all the residential units back for upgrade and use in commercial service" -- that is what I thought as well. Unfortunately, no current retail EVSE that I know of has the nice features of the Blink. I hope there is more competition in this area to match that of the coming EVs in 2017 (and beyond).
 
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