Didn't charge last night!?!

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mikek

Well-known member
Joined
May 13, 2010
Messages
48
I picked up my leaf on May 5th and painfully trickle charged for a few weeks while I waited for my "free" Blink to be installed. After about a week we set up the timers on the leaf.

The blink is set to "Always charge immediately when I plug in". The car is set to charge between 12:01am and 9:00am. It has worked consistently until last night when it just didn't. This sucked. Any ideas?
 
You've probably already checked this, but----I assume you're using the Leaf timer #1? If so, be sure you have it activated for all 7 days of the week. If you don't need to charge on a specific night, just don't plug it in. When you exit the car, be sure the timer is activated. It will show briefly on the display in front of the steering wheel. When you plug in the blink, be sure the three blue lights on top of the dash sequence off and on---I think they do this for about 15 minutes.
 
mikek said:
I picked up my leaf on May 5th and painfully trickle charged for a few weeks while I waited for my "free" Blink to be installed. After about a week we set up the timers on the leaf.

The blink is set to "Always charge immediately when I plug in". The car is set to charge between 12:01am and 9:00am. It has worked consistently until last night when it just didn't. This sucked. Any ideas?

I don't have any idea but I can tell you that I had a very similar experience but mine happened on tuesday. Blink tech support didn't have any ideas. It was also the first time I ever had a problem with my nightly charging. I'm in San Diego too.
 
I just double-checked the charging timer. Timer 1, every day.

I don't remember if the blue lights blinked in sequence last night or not... I'll be sure and watch for this.

My co-worker thought that perhaps Blink did a software push and that the unit did not properly reset? I now have Firmware Version: L2R.1.6A, 035A, , 1.10

Going through the Blink system log there are a bunch of errors. Most recently there are quite a few MINIKIT "Could not open ad loop file" errors?!?

-Mike
 
mikek said:
Going through the Blink system log there are a bunch of errors. Most recently there are quite a few MINIKIT "Could not open ad loop file" errors?!?
Check your "Plug-in event" and "Charging event" and "Power event" log on the Blink network reporting as well--it might give you an idea about what happened. If there is no plug-in event at the time you remember connecting the Leaf that night, it may be that the plug did not get pushed in all the way to lock or something? Then see if the Blink tried to start charging when the Leaf timer triggered and if any electricity at all was passed. I have the same firmware, am also in SD, and had no problem with charging last night (or any night, for that matter, even when the Blink log shows lots of errors like yours), FWIW, but my Blink is hard-wired to my TWC router.

TT
 
Whenever I have a night where charge is really critical I use the Nissan modified EVSE so I know there are no Blink issues. I have to hand it to Blink for making something so unreliable, if they rushed the build at least they could have had them all installed in the public on time or at least more than zero in the bay area. They must be working on their next design:)
 
My Blink failed to overnight charge once, and refused to charge the Leaf at all after that. I pulled its AC plug, waited a few seconds, plugged it back in, and it has been OK since.
 
mikek said:
I just double-checked the charging timer. Timer 1, every day.

I don't remember if the blue lights blinked in sequence last night or not... I'll be sure and watch for this.

My co-worker thought that perhaps Blink did a software push and that the unit did not properly reset? I now have Firmware Version: L2R.1.6A, 035A, , 1.10

Going through the Blink system log there are a bunch of errors. Most recently there are quite a few MINIKIT "Could not open ad loop file" errors?!?

-Mike
Odds are that your J1772 nozzle wasn't plugged in all the way into the LEAF. That usually ends up being 95% of the problem.
 
DarkStar said:
Odds are that your J1772 nozzle wasn't plugged in all the way into the LEAF. That usually ends up being 95% of the problem.
Great point. One of the problems with using the timers is that you don't get that immediate feedback, which is why I've gone to immediate charging. If for some reason I don't want to plug in at certain times I don't plug in then. It's a less sophisticated approach but 100% reliable. Not so workable of course if you want to start charging at one in the morning.
 
DarkStar said:
Odds are that your J1772 nozzle wasn't plugged in all the way into the LEAF. That usually ends up being 95% of the problem.

Just so. The key feedback elements when plugging in are:

Audible thunks from relays in the car
Blink comes to life momentarily (couple of seconds), says Charging, then Not Charging
Blue dashboard LEDs start blinking in sequence, for 15 minutes

Also, if you've got carwings set up for alerts and you don't successfully plug in, an email or text will be sent saying you are parked near a preferred charging location (your home EVSE) but not plugged in. This comes from the car, not the Blink.

Verifying the first 3 above when you plug in will go a long way toward ensuring a successful charge. The basic ability of the Blink to deliver a charge seems somewhat insulated from issues with communication, networking, etc.
 
SanDust said:
... One of the problems with using the timers is that you don't get that immediate feedback, which is why I've gone to immediate charging...
Of course you do. If using a LEAF timer you get cycling dash lights, and if using the Blink's you get a countdown to charge. It's very clear when you've plugged in.
 
Yes, the 2 most commom Blink-use problems:

1. Getting the "nozzle" plugged into the car sufficiently well (far in).

2. Needing to reboot (Power completely OFF, wait, Power back ON) the Blink after some software push/update.
 
The only Blink failure scenario I'm aware of that can cause the car to not get charged is a spontaneous reboot that interrupts a charge in progress when you're using either the timer override button, or a LEAF timer with only a start time specified. After the reboot, the charge doesn't resume. If not that, I agree that it probably didn't get plugged in successfully.
 
davewill said:
Of course you do. If using a LEAF timer you get cycling dash lights, and if using the Blink's you get a countdown to charge. It's very clear when you've plugged in.
Yes, you're right. Having given up on timers a while ago, I completely forgot about the lights. The problem with the series of sequential flashing lights is that it only tells you that charging may start at some point in the future. It doesn't tell you "when" the charging will start or "how long" it will continue. If you start charging whenever you plug in you can be absolutely sure you'll charge to either 80% or 100%, absent some catastrophic breakdown, which I haven't heard of. Using timed chargers simply introduces another failure point.

There is a reason why electronic devices don't use timers for charging. Too fussy. Too clumsy. Too bothersome to change in special circumstances. Nothing is simpler and more intuitive and less prone to error than just plugging in and having the device start charging. You plug in. You get the confirmation. The charger starts humming. And you're guaranteed to have it work.
 
planet4ever said:
SanDust said:
Nothing is simpler and more intuitive and less prone to error than just plugging in and having the device start charging.
Yes, and if you are in my situation (TOU billing) you pay an extra 7 to 18 cents for every kWh you use. I'll stick with the timers, thank you.

Ray

Different strokes for different folks. My situation is similar to planetforever's. My peak rate under TOU is $0.38+ per KWH, while super off peak is $.06+ per KWH. Unless it's an emergency, I will always charge on the Leaf timers from midnight-5AM.
 
davewill said:
The only Blink failure scenario I'm aware of that can cause the car to not get charged is a spontaneous reboot that interrupts a charge in progress when you're using either the timer override button, or a LEAF timer with only a start time specified. After the reboot, the charge doesn't resume. If not that, I agree that it probably didn't get plugged in successfully.

i've had an occurrence where i got partially charged so there is a scenario that could impact a normal timer charge despite good plugin and start & stop specified. blink guy told me that there is a slim chance that when an interruption occurs (power outage?) and subsequent loss of network connectivity, then charging would not be restarted despite a valid charging timer setup.
 
Like I said, after a failed charge against a start-time-only Leaf timer, my Blink failed to charge manually at all the next day (with the Leaf's timer overridden and just plugging in the nozzle), until I rebooted the Blink. The Nissan 120V EVSE charged the Leaf fine after the failed Blink charge attempts, which gave me the idea to reboot the Blink.
 
My Blink is very unreliable, even with the latest firmware 1.6A. I need to power cycle it almost on a daily basis due to all kinds of problem with charging. I wouldn't be surprised one bit if my Blink fails to provide the necessary charge when my Leaf timer kicks in. Also all the failures on my Blink are inconsistent and not easily reproducible, although they do repeat themselves often.

Because of this, I don't trust it and must make sure it's operational when the Leaf timer kicks in. Fortunately, my off peak summer hour starts at 8pm, so I'm able to confirm that it works before I have to go to bed.
 
derkraut said:
Different strokes for different folks. My situation is similar to planetforever's. My peak rate under TOU is $0.38+ per KWH, while super off peak is $.06+ per KWH. Unless it's an emergency, I will always charge on the Leaf timers from midnight-5AM.
+1, though my TOU rate spread isn't quite as extreme as yours. I have a start and end time set on the Leaf, immediate charging set on the Blink, and I have never had it fail to charge. It has always finished well within the super-off-peak time, though if it needed more time it's allowed to charge an extra hour of off-peak from 5am to 6am. I've never needed to charge other than overnight.

However I wouldn't worry about giving it an extra hour or two of charge if I think I might need it. Half an hour more charging in the morning raises the charge from 83% to 92%, still low enough to get some regenerative braking benefit, but possibly just enough to give peace of mind from range anxiety if some extra trips are on the agenda. (My range anxiety steadily lessens as time goes on, and it's proven over and over to be without basis.)

Miles driven on off-peak charge are twice as expensive, but still cost just 4 cents a mile. And if a peak charge would make a trip practical in the Leaf, that would still cost considerably less than the alternative of driving the gas burner.
 
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