Charge port overheating

[miimura]

oops, my bad. I don't have the HQ, I have the original one as shown in your first photo. Have you also experienced this charge port problem?

My wifi is spotty at the Blink, so I easily could have missed a firmware update.

I personally have not as I have a Clipper Creek unit, but I have heard about it through MyNissanLeaf forums. The pre-2013 Leafs only charged at 3.8 kW so it wasn't a problem, but another member who went with a Tesla-powered RAV4 EV (which charges even higher than 30 amps) said that his charging handle actually melted.

This is one of the early incidents in 2012 shortly after the RAV4 EV came out. There are some nice pictures in the thread below.

Blink EVSE blows out a pin on the Rav4 connector

Toyota paid to replace his charge port.

 

[GlennD]

Blink's with the 2011 and 2012 Leaf's were fine at 16A, The problems were at 30A. Blink sent a firmware update dialing down the current. The real fix is to replace the J1772 cable and connector. Excluding labor a Quick Charge Power cable is around $200 with shipping.

 

[GlennD]

On the two load testers that I have built I added a thermometer to the J1772 socket to see any overheating. Except for Remna cables it was wasted energy since I have never seen any overheating

It is unfortunate that Blink decided on their cables.. I am sere that is a factor in the companies sale.

 

[rickypam]

Checking if anyone is still reading this thread: Just had the same problem as amalik123 -- Blink charger and 2015 eGolf. Plastic melted off a pin in the nozzle/handle, and in the charge port on the car. Installed the Blink in 2011 and ran a Leaf for 4 yrs on it, almost 2 yrs on this eGolf. Using the carnet app to control the delayed charging at the max rate (what is that amperage, I assume the onboard charger controls this?). No charging schedules on the Blink unit, but it took me a year of eGolf ownership to figure out how to make the carnet app and the Blink software play nice together

The rest of the story on my experience (and thanks for the good tips on this thread):

Here's what Blink said happened: the 2011 Blink charger had indeed been derated to 24A. But since I was using the carnet app to have the eGolf onboard charger call the shots, the Blink happily supplied 30A, which is what melted teh charging nozzle and the port on my car. To underscore: their safety fix of software derating to 24A was circumvented by the eGolf onboard charger. Blink's suggestion is to buy a new charging cable and dial back the charging current thru the eGolf. However, my Carnet app offers only 5, 10, 13 and "maximum" charging rates, and while a 13A charging rate is better for the battery, that's a workaround, not a solution.

[side note: I'm assuming that "maximum"charging current thru the Canet app is 30A. Anyone have info to the contrary?].

VW replaced the melted charging port on the car for free, no questions asked. The onboard charger itself was not damaged.

Blink quoted a new cable at $380. They say it's safe to 30A. But unclear is whether the Blink unit itself can handle it, and if Blink will take any responsibility if something melts again.

Conclusion: I'm buying one of the new chargers rated to 40A so I don't have to worry. Don't want to chance what else might be a safety problem with the Blink unit. I got the original Blink charger for free from the Ecototality program, so I'll chalk this up to having an early technology that has been bypassed by advances in the state of the art, ie, 7.7kW onboard chargers.

 

[forbin404]

wow good investigation job.

 

[miimura]

Checking if anyone is still reading this thread: Just had the same problem as amalik123 -- Blink charger and 2015 eGolf. Plastic melted off a pin in the nozzle/handle, and in the charge port on the car. Installed the Blink in 2011 and ran a Leaf for 4 yrs on it, almost 2 yrs on this eGolf. Using the carnet app to control the delayed charging at the max rate (what is that amperage, I assume the onboard charger controls this?). No charging schedules on the Blink unit, but it took me a year of eGolf ownership to figure out how to make the carnet app and the Blink software play nice together

The rest of the story on my experience (and thanks for the good tips on this thread):

Here's what Blink said happened: the 2011 Blink charger had indeed been derated to 24A. But since I was using the carnet app to have the eGolf onboard charger call the shots, the Blink happily supplied 30A, which is what melted teh charging nozzle and the port on my car. To underscore: their safety fix of software derating to 24A was circumvented by the eGolf onboard charger. Blink's suggestion is to buy a new charging cable and dial back the charging current thru the eGolf. However, my Carnet app offers only 5, 10, 13 and "maximum" charging rates, and while a 13A charging rate is better for the battery, that's a workaround, not a solution.

This is just plain wrong. When the Blink chargers were de-rated, it was a firmware change in the EVSE that reduced the pilot signal from 30 amps to 24 amps. It is impossible for the e-Golf onboard charger to circumvent that. Your Blink unit was not derated. It's as simple as that. The fundamental problem with the Blink units is that they have used J1772 handles that were assembled by incompetents. The way the pins are crimped is absolutely appalling.

[side note: I'm assuming that "maximum"charging current thru the Canet app is 30A. Anyone have info to the contrary?].

VW replaced the melted charging port on the car for free, no questions asked. The onboard charger itself was not damaged.

Blink quoted a new cable at $380. They say it's safe to 30A. But unclear is whether the Blink unit itself can handle it, and if Blink will take any responsibility if something melts again.

Conclusion: I'm buying one of the new chargers rated to 40A so I don't have to worry. Don't want to chance what else might be a safety problem with the Blink unit. I got the original Blink charger for free from the Ecototality program, so I'll chalk this up to having an early technology that has been bypassed by advances in the state of the art, ie, 7.7kW onboard chargers.

The 7.2kW VW on-board charger is 30 amps. That is the max that it will draw in any situation.

You can get a new 40 amp J1772 cable from QuickChargePower for less than $200. Don't pay Ecotality for their cable.
http://shop.quickchargepower.com/J-Plug-J1772-40-Amp-Plug-Cable-Assembly-JPC40A.htm

 

[rickypam]

The rest of the story on my experience (and thanks for the good tips on this thread):

Here's what Blink said happened: the 2011 Blink charger had indeed been derated to 24A. But since I was using the carnet app to have the eGolf onboard charger call the shots, the Blink happily supplied 30A, which is what melted teh charging nozzle and the port on my car. To underscore: their safety fix of software derating to 24A was circumvented by the eGolf onboard charger. Blink's suggestion is to buy a new charging cable and dial back the charging current thru the eGolf. However, my Carnet app offers only 5, 10, 13 and "maximum" charging rates, and while a 13A charging rate is better for the battery, that's a workaround, not a solution.

This is just plain wrong. When the Blink chargers were de-rated, it was a firmware change in the EVSE that reduced the pilot signal from 30 amps to 24 amps. It is impossible for the e-Golf onboard charger to circumvent that. Your Blink unit was not derated. It's as simple as that. The fundamental problem with the Blink units is that they have used J1772 handles that were assembled by incompetents. The way the pins are crimped is absolutely appalling.

[side note: I'm assuming that "maximum"charging current thru the Canet app is 30A. Anyone have info to the contrary?].

VW replaced the melted charging port on the car for free, no questions asked. The onboard charger itself was not damaged.

Blink quoted a new cable at $380. They say it's safe to 30A. But unclear is whether the Blink unit itself can handle it, and if Blink will take any responsibility if something melts again.

Conclusion: I'm buying one of the new chargers rated to 40A so I don't have to worry. Don't want to chance what else might be a safety problem with the Blink unit. I got the original Blink charger for free from the Ecototality program, so I'll chalk this up to having an early technology that has been bypassed by advances in the state of the art, ie, 7.7kW onboard chargers.

The 7.2kW VW on-board charger is 30 amps. That is the max that it will draw in any situation.

You can get a new 40 amp J1772 cable from QuickChargePower for less than $200. Don't pay Ecotality for their cable.
http://shop.quickchargepower.com/J-Plug-J1772-40-Amp-Plug-Cable-Assembly-JPC40A.htm

Thanks. Sounds like you may know more about it than the guy I talked to at Blink. In any event, I'm still upgrading to a 40A charger.

 

[miimura]

Dumping the Blink unit is a good idea.