On-Going Problems with Blink 240 Volt Chargers

[fjungman]

Ok, getting some data points on my Blink unit.
First, it didn't charge overnight Sun night/Mon morning. No text from the car or the Blink, just 1/2 a battery charge in the morning. That night it wouldn't charge when I plugged it in and I switched to the 120V unit. No indication of any problem, just no juice. I realized while paging through the menus that I had swapped out WiFi routers on Saturday. When I reconnected it to the WiFis, it downloaded new software, rebooted and after it was up and running, I plugged it back into the car and it started charging.
Second, at totally random times I get texts from the car saying "Charging was interrupted". I can go straight to the car and see it is still plugged in and charging, but it will say only a minute or two of charging (even if it was plugged in for hours). No resolution to this, but it has not happened since Monday.
Now, I just installed and air conditioner in my garage and it plugs into the 220V line (separate circuit from the Blink). I shut the A/C off a minute ago and the car started beeping 3 quick beeps followed by a pause a few times, then stopped. I think maybe the Blink is sensitive to load-dumps on the 220V line and needs some capacitance and maybe protection diodes on the front-end. Anyway, the car still shows charging for almost three hours, so it did not cause a reboot. Just documenting what happened...

[montgom626]

The charger is named "blink" so it is doomed ;-) as in always on the blink?

[eHelmholtz]

These units are well known to be very buggy - both the home units and the public ones. Couple this with the interesting accounting that SPX has for installations and it's difficult to justify its use.

[jfkirk]

I have chosen not to take the subsidized Blink based in part on the above (my wifi is an iffy Verizon mifi) , and secondly on my conversation with the installing electrician who obviously had no clue. He started with I needed a 40 amp circuit (I have a 60 amps dedicated for car charging with two 30 amp breakers and NEMA 630 jacks in the car shed. ) He only backed away from running a new line when I argued the Volt only could use 16 (more or less) amps, and 30 amps was overkill given the Blink could be dialed in. Then it turned out he was going to have to drive 200 miles which obviously was going to be billable and further indicated that maintenance/trouble shooting would be expensive and delayed given my "remote" location.

I am using a portable SPX Power Xpress and have no issues with it. The installation was dirt simple and I avoided taxes and inflated installation costs.. I did notice that when I ordered the Power Express on Amazon it was the last unit, and now Amazon shows 2 to 5 months delivery. The unit is built well.

[Joule Thief]

Well Tennessee might have got a bad bunch of Blinks. Memphis here and got my charger installed on Thursday. Friday rolled around and it seemed to lock up, so I did the unplug from 240v plug, wait and plug back in. It would not go past the calibration screen. It still charged so the next Thursday, July 5th a repairman from Nahsville 3 hours away comes to fix it. The cover was on too tight and was pressing on the touch screen, after removing a screw and a few test he was back on the road to Nashville. So last Thursday everything is grand. Last night, July 10 i hear a big pop from the garage. I walk out the car starts honking, the blink is dead. I unpluged it and reset the breaker, it is dead now. So now no fast charging, till the guy from Nashville comes back to Memphis.

I got a Blink installed 2wks ago and had the exact same problem right away. The screen would lock up and the unit would occasionaly reboot itself. After rebooting it would get stuck in the calibration screen. I figured out on my own that the shroud was pressing against the touch screen which was causing the lockup so I loosened it and that seemed to fix the problem. Blink still sent a tech out because I had called it in and he said the shroud pressing against the touchscreen is a wide problem, he loosened it even more! Then he proceeded to perform a series of TSBs (about 10 or 12!). There are apparently many known issues they have found with these units. Amongst the items addressed I observed him replace 2 cables, swap the SD card, replace some butt connectors with crimp connectors, remove the RFID scanning board (I guess they install these on residential units even tho they only need them on commercial units) and he upgraded the firmware. No problems since (knock on wood). So I would recommend anyone having issues call Blink and have a service tech perform all of the TSBs.

BTW just as an FYI I also had to buy a wireless repeater to extend my network so the Blink could connect.

I am using a portable SPX Power Xpress and have no issues with it. The installation was dirt simple and I avoided taxes and inflated installation costs.. I did notice that when I ordered the Power Express on Amazon it was the last unit, and now Amazon shows 2 to 5 months delivery. The unit is built well.

I also have a Power Xpress. I have to agree it it an excellent EVSE! It doesn't have all the fancy features of the Blink (i.e. touch screen, network connectivety, power monitoring, etc.) but it works and it's reliable. It seems all of these bells and whistles are the cause of most of Blink's problems - I'm reminded yet again of the KISS philosophy...

[drbruns]

I had the same touchscreen problem with my Blink. Fortunately, I really didn't need to enter anything into the unit. I discovered it when attempting to display the monthly usage stats, but the unit still charged fine.

Blink sent somebody out who fixed the touchscreen problem and also replaced some connectors as well. I guess I was lucky in that SPX provided me for free with a new Cisco N router.

Overall, I have been happy with the unit. There are also two Blinks at my downtown garage that seem to be working fine as well.

[jh26]

I also have a DOA Blink, over 2 weeks now, due to a touch screen problem. It worked for an hour when it was first installed, then the screen locked up. I rebooted at the request of Tech Support, and now it won't charge the car and just sits at the "calibrate screen" page. I've been on the phone repeatedly with Blink, but so far zero progress on getting it fixed.

Update: I finally got a call from "Rogers Electric" who had been assigned to fix my Blink. But they only have one blink guy and he's out of town this week and next week, so Nov 5th is the earliest I'll see him. By then it will be 3.5 weeks since the installation of a DOA charger. Good thing I have the 120v as a backup!

Last night I tried the "loosen the case" fix and I was able to get the screen to calibrate. Surely the case is no longer water-tight, but mine is indoors so no worries about that. Fingers crossed and we'll see if this "fix" holds...

[katman]

This is all interesting to me since I just got a quote from SPX. It is interesting to see how they calculate the install--in my case I have a service panel in my pole barn, empty slot and maybe 30 feet of wire to run to the location where I would want the unit. Everything is open where the wire would have to be run so it is a pretty simple install. SPX priced it at $1192, but with the credit and a "promotion" it ends up being $542. So, I'm a bit on the fence. I can run the line myself for about $150-$175, but by the time I buy a charger I'll end up speding a bit more than going with the Blink. I did speak with SPX about some of the performance problems noted above and the agent was mystified, especially when I said I was concerned about the quality of my wireless connection.

[daryllafferty]

My Blink went out a few days ago, after 5 months of daily use. I called Blink, who forwarded me to Ecotality. They scheduled an appointment for the next day, and the service technician showed up on time.

He said he replaced an SD card, and also replaced 2 cables that in his experience are problematic. He told me that after making these upgrades on other units he has never been called back to fix any of them. So I'm hopeful that this will be the last time I see him.

I am completely happy with Ecotality's timeliness and the results (so far).

[Joule Thief]

katman, I would recommend you go for the Blink. In reality, the handfull of issues in this thread represent a VERY small percentage of units installed. Overall they are quality units. Other than the shroud pressing a little too tight against the screen I don't think there are any "real" problems. For $542 you won't be able to buy another 30A EVSE. You could buy a Voltec for $490 but it's only 15A. And with the Blink's network connectivity and power monitoring, you can remotely check your charger status and track your charging costs.

Daryl, I'm sure it was the same tech that came to my house and did the same upgrades. I forget the name, but he's the only field service tech they have for Phoenix.