Mods for the Blink EVSE ! (was Fix)

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After 3 months I am declaring the splice replacements a proper longterm fix to the self-test faults. See my previous posts for details but I think the whole issue with these self-test failures lies in bad splices and it's a 5 min and likely $0 fix for anyone. I would try that before I would proceed with lobotomizing the blink charger because I tried that and it didn't solve the problem. It's possible other people have other issues discussed in the repair kit, but it seems most likely that the splices are the failure point because they are mechanical and were done improperly to begin with.

Try removing the splice and test the system - does it look like your failure? Now try replacing the splice with a wire nut or soldering. If it doesn't work please post your results but I think this should be the next step for anyone.
 
davewill said:
tedhtl said:
Hi All,

I have a lobotomized Blink charger. Did we ever put together a github repository or create any replacement software to control this charger? That would be a fun project. I’m a computer engineer.

User "whoami" started to do so in a project he called "Wink". He even posted a video of his efforts back on page 2, but vanished without ever sharing any of his code.

http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=43&t=3279&p=81975#p81975

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJ1_1TpDWsg

Yes, I sent that person a message. Also, didn’t DarkDave create a repository?

http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=43&t=3279&p=80613#p80613
 
Thanks for this thread. My EVSE would just go black screen after about 15 minutes of charging and be completely unresponsive until reset. Making it "dumb" made it functional again. Nice to see there is some support still out there for these.
 
Lots of original commercial pedestal L2 units are getting decommissioned these days... Does anyone know if they can be turned into dumb units after disconnecting blue cables from the Linux computer? Is that an option like on the residential units or can anything else be done with them?
 
The guts of the pedestal unit is identical to the residential units. There is a different image on the SD card for commercial units though. You can replace it with a SD image from the residential unit and remove the need for an RFID card (depending on how it was setup).
 
It's been another year since my last fix (re-soldering the CT splice) so I thought I'd give an update. My fix worked for a long while, then it had a lot of problems. I tried replacing my CT with a new one from OpenEVSE but that actually failed horribly. Even though their CT seems to be the exact same model & specs as the original, something is different with the current - perhaps the actual wires matter. So I ended up redoing the splices with the original CT and being extra careful to preserve as many strands of the wires as possible in the soldering job and it's now held up for several months. It's a real pain to keep having to do this every 6 months but at least it's still kicking. I'm quite sure it has something to do with the splices because when it was failing often, I could fix it every time by just grabbing the splices and fiddling with them for a second (I left the cover off... which isn't super safe but noone was randomly sticking fingers into it).
 
The contactor on my Blink has trouble closing lately, rattling loudly, making contact finally but sometimes not. I want to try to replace it but unsure what coil voltage I should get as there is no letter that designates the coil on the part.

Per Eaton catalog some of the coil types:
C25DNF240A - 110-120V ac
C25DNF240B - 208-240V ac
C25DNF240T - 24V ac
C25DNF2401T - 24V DC

I suspect it is the "B" 208-240V coil as there is no neutral coming in and use of lower voltages or DC seems unlikely, anyone can confirm?

j2E7VEQl.jpg
 
LeftieBiker said:
Can you test the voltage at the coil connections? I agree that it is probably the 208-240 volt unit.

Sounds like I'll have to if no one here knows but I hoped to avoid opening the unit one more time just for that :) I didn't realize it when I opened the unit to take the above picture assuming all I needed was the big part number, but looking at online pictures there should be a label next to the coil terminals with the voltage printed, so that's another option if I can see it without removing the whole thing.

Any opinions if changing the contactor is likely to help? My hunch it has something to do with not enough current from the control circuit to get positive hold, as contactors are pretty dumb devices, they either work or not, and the problem here is intermittent.
 
I confirmed it's a 208-240V coil. The coil is energized through an Omron relay, I would wager $1 that relay is the culprit, not the main contactor.

I took off the side contactor and blew compressed air through the small opening, a piece of junk came out, who knows it could have been it. Started charge like 10 times, everything worked this time. We'll see.
 
Valdemar said:
The contactor on my Blink has trouble closing lately, rattling loudly, making contact finally but sometimes not. I want to try to replace it but unsure what coil voltage I should get as there is no letter that designates the coil on the part.

Per Eaton catalog some of the coil types:
C25DNF240A - 110-120V ac
C25DNF240B - 208-240V ac
C25DNF240T - 24V ac
C25DNF2401T - 24V DC

I suspect it is the "B" 208-240V coil as there is no neutral coming in and use of lower voltages or DC seems unlikely, anyone can confirm?
Yes, that's the one you want. I had to replace the contactor on mine a while back as one of the contactor's contacts started overheating.

PS - Anyone want to buy a Blink EVSE? Works perfectly now at 30A now that the contactor's been replaced and the handle doesn't show any signs of the overheating due to poor crimps that others have reported.
 
DaveEV said:
Valdemar said:
The contactor on my Blink has trouble closing lately, rattling loudly, making contact finally but sometimes not. I want to try to replace it but unsure what coil voltage I should get as there is no letter that designates the coil on the part.

Per Eaton catalog some of the coil types:
C25DNF240A - 110-120V ac
C25DNF240B - 208-240V ac
C25DNF240T - 24V ac
C25DNF2401T - 24V DC

I suspect it is the "B" 208-240V coil as there is no neutral coming in and use of lower voltages or DC seems unlikely, anyone can confirm?
Yes, that's the one you want. I had to replace the contactor on mine a while back as one of the contactor's contacts started overheating.

PS - Anyone want to buy a Blink EVSE? Works perfectly now at 30A now that the contactor's been replaced and the handle doesn't show any signs of the overheating due to poor crimps that others have reported.

Thanks! I popped the front cover from the contactor yesterday and the contacts looked good, no signs of overheating. I guess replacing the contactor would be the easiest first attempt and they can be had for $20-30 on eBay, so that's what I'll try first if the problem persists. Not sure if it can be taken apart, it may just need a good cleaning. Of course the real fix would be to get a new EVSE, but I'm not ready to invest into one given there is a good chance we will not be getting another EV when the Leaf is retired in a couple of years. The Blink served me well so far, no major issues, I need to power cycle it to fix the frozen screen like once a year, apart from that it has been rock solid, for 16A charging anyway.
 
I have never seen a real life unit. I have just purchased cables on eBay. I think that setting the un=its t0 24A helped a lot. I received a cable with appalling Crimps that was unburned.

On the contsctor side it the contacts look clean than I would not replace it. Instead I would meter the contacts. There is no point in replacing a good unit,
 
GlennD said:
On the contsctor side it the contacts look clean than I would not replace it. Instead I would meter the contacts. There is no point in replacing a good unit,

That's what I think too. What it likely means then I'd have to take the thing apart and replace the smaller relay on the PCB, which is more work :(

8tx2ZoA.jpg
 
heck across the contactor coil to see if it has voltage first. I use keying relays on the DIY openEVSE boards and I have never had one fail. The non-DIY version has a built in solid state driver.
 
s understand it earlier in this thread there is instructions on making the unit dumb. you might want to kill its intelligence first and see what happens.
 
GlennD said:
heck across the contactor coil to see if it has voltage first. I use keying relays on the DIY openEVSE boards and I have never had one fail. The non-DIY version has a built in solid state driver.

There is definitely voltage across the coil as the contactor is trying to close when this happens. If anything I should measure current as the small relay contacts may have developed high resistance due to arcing. As I mentioned it is very intermittent, it may not happen for weeks, then suddenly it is stuttering for several times in a row, then it is fine again. Hard to troubleshoot properly. Some debris came out when I blew compressed air into the contactor, that could have been it. The "smarts" are working, it is the "dumbs" that are not.
 
Valdemar said:
GlennD said:
heck across the contactor coil to see if it has voltage first. I use keying relays on the DIY openEVSE boards and I have never had one fail. The non-DIY version has a built in solid state driver.

There is definitely voltage across the coil as the contactor is trying to close when this happens. If anything I should measure current as the small relay contacts may have developed high resistance due to arcing. As I mentioned it is very intermittent, it may not happen for weeks, then suddenly it is stuttering for several times in a row, then it is fine again. Hard to troubleshoot properly. Some debris came out when I blew compressed air into the contactor, that could have been it. The "smarts" are working, it is the "dumbs" that are not.

Replacing the relay would seem like the surest path to reliability.
 
Valdemar said:
There is definitely voltage across the coil as the contactor is trying to close when this happens. If anything I should measure current as the small relay contacts may have developed high resistance due to arcing. As I mentioned it is very intermittent, it may not happen for weeks, then suddenly it is stuttering for several times in a row, then it is fine again. Hard to troubleshoot properly. Some debris came out when I blew compressed air into the contactor, that could have been it. The "smarts" are working, it is the "dumbs" that are not.
You might have fixed it. I'd be tempted to wait for it to fail again, before replacing parts. My Blink is still going strong. I had to replace the cord and handle a few years back, but it's been charging my RAV4EV @ 30a for years with no complaints. I open it up every now and then to be sure the connections inside are ok. It's going to be charging my Model 3 once it gets here. The Rav will be using an OpenEVSE I bought from GlennD a few years back.

It's kind of trippy to log into my Blink account and see 8 years of charging history collected.
 
Yup, I'm gong to wait until it happens again, hopefully never :) My wi-fi module stopped working a while back, no charging history for me.
 
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