NASHVILLE TENNESSEE - LEAF

[JPWhite]

I just got off the phone with Blink and after about 15 minutes of checking the operator advised that all 3 QC L3 chargers (Murfreesboro, Manchester and Monteagle) are "off-line at the moment waiting on repairs and software changes". I told the nice lady that having a QC half-way between Nashville and Chattanooga was essential and I reinforced that by explaining all about my trip to the Bluegrass Festival and how when the kids were small we would always stop in Monteagle so they could run around and mom and I could fill up on cases of wine and then on to the Aquarium in C-Town. Turns out that when the operator "was little" she used to go there too. Awwww ...

The reliability isn't that great. I went to Stewarts Ferry Pike Thursday afternoon, only to find the unit saying it was 'out of service'. It seems that Blink are having trouble figuring out what's wrong with the units. Heer's an email I got from them Thursday evening

Hello JP,

Can you please advise as to exactly what behavior you are seeing from the unit on Percy Priest Dr? Our Field Services unit has visited recently and found that there were no issues with the unit, but if something is failing repeatedly we’d like to be able to determine what is going wrong.

Were you able to attempt charging on the 2nd Port/Nozzle? Were there any error codes or messages the unit displayed when you tried to use the station?

Please feel free to call us while onsite to help troubleshoot or identify issues in future, as we are available 24 hours a day to assist you and ensure a timely response in the instance of such problems.

Thank you for your support of the Blink Network!

Jon
Blink Network Contact Center
e: [email protected]| d: +1.888.998.2546

Out of 3 attempts to use the DC Fast charge at Stewart's Ferry, it has worked just once. It's fantastic when it does, but I wish I could rely upon it.

JP

 

[jimtubbs]

I was in Murfreesboro 2 weeks ago and had to ask a nice lady to move her SUV so I could charge. The Blink card only worked with the (((( upside down opposite what the card shows. Jim Tubbs 19,000 miles Delivered May 11 2011. wonderful car Blink L3 not so much.

 

[ralphmc]

I just got off the phone with Blink and after about 15 minutes of checking the operator advised that all 3 QC L3 chargers (Murfreesboro, Manchester and Monteagle) are "off-line at the moment waiting on repairs and software changes". I told the nice lady that having a QC half-way between Nashville and Chattanooga was essential and I reinforced that by explaining all about my trip to the Bluegrass Festival and how when the kids were small we would always stop in Monteagle so they could run around and mom and I could fill up on cases of wine and then on to the Aquarium in C-Town. Turns out that when the operator "was little" she used to go there too. Awwww ...

The reliability isn't that great. I went to Stewarts Ferry Pike Thursday afternoon, only to find the unit saying it was 'out of service'. It seems that Blink are having trouble figuring out what's wrong with the units. Heer's an email I got from them Thursday evening

Hello JP,

Can you please advise as to exactly what behavior you are seeing from the unit on Percy Priest Dr? Our Field Services unit has visited recently and found that there were no issues with the unit, but if something is failing repeatedly we’d like to be able to determine what is going wrong.

Were you able to attempt charging on the 2nd Port/Nozzle? Were there any error codes or messages the unit displayed when you tried to use the station?

Please feel free to call us while onsite to help troubleshoot or identify issues in future, as we are available 24 hours a day to assist you and ensure a timely response in the instance of such problems.

Thank you for your support of the Blink Network!

Jon
Blink Network Contact Center
e: [email protected]| d: +1.888.998.2546

Out of 3 attempts to use the DC Fast charge at Stewart's Ferry, it has worked just once. It's fantastic when it does, but I wish I could rely upon it.

JP

JP, I know that you know how to use the DC Fast.chargers, but for all those that have not had a lot exposure to it.here is bitter througth to the usage:
1. The DC Fast charger will display an ”unknown error”, if start the charging process, and the car is in either the ACC or the ON position. The only way to get to it to work again is to replace the nossel or to tab the upper hang-up bar, and turn the car off.

Ralph

 

[Eleafgrrl]

Hi all, just checking in to say hello.
I'm sorry I missed the Earth Day event, I have had two surgeries this year and the second occurred right before that event so I wasn't able to make it.
Hope everyone is doing well and enjoying their Leafs, I'm not, as the hubs is driving it on a daily basis now with the ridiculous gas prices. :evil:
It makes it even a sweeter treat when I DO get to drive it but I have been down for the count for a few weeks and he is taking full advantage...
Looking forward to next meet up!
Jill

 

[JPWhite]

Hi all, just checking in to say hello.
I'm sorry I missed the Earth Day event, I have had two surgeries this year and the second occurred right before that event so I wasn't able to make it.
Hope everyone is doing well and enjoying their Leafs, I'm not, as the hubs is driving it on a daily basis now with the ridiculous gas prices. :evil:
It makes it even a sweeter treat when I DO get to drive it but I have been down for the count for a few weeks and he is taking full advantage...
Looking forward to next meet up!
Jill

Sorry to hear you had to go through two surgeries. glad you are on the mend. u were missed at the Earthday event. both Ralph and I started to loose our voices. we needed more spokespeople!

I think I may have found the replacement for Karen's car which will resolve conflicts over the LEAF. Check out the upcoming 2013 Mitsubishi plug-in Outlander SUV. It's like a Volt in SUV format

http://www.egmcartech.com/2012/02/09/2013-mitsubishi-outlander-first-look/

I have my name down with the dealer in Madison to get the first look at one when they arrive.

 

[bryan38401]

@jpwhite and tnleaf, I was at nissan today and schneider electric. nissan will be moving the av level 3 to there parking garage and installing nissan dc quick charger for testing out front ,new unit does not need key fob just plug in and charge should be ready to use sat. they need some real world testing ill let yall know so we can break it in properly!!! and look for(2) schneider level 3s too be south I-65 and at ala state line (per request of very nice nissan employees) and others.

 

[ralphmc]

@jpwhite and tnleaf, I was at nissan today and schneider electric. nissan will be moving the av level 3 to there parking garage and installing nissan dc quick charger for testing out front ,new unit does not need key fob just plug in and charge should be ready to use sat. they need some real world testing ill let yall know so we can break it in properly!!! and look for(2) schneider level 3s too be south I-65 and at ala state line (per request of very nice nissan employees) and others.

Bryan38401,

Thanks for sharing!

As soon as you can post some pictures please let us know,

Ralph

 

[JPWhite]

@jpwhite and tnleaf, I was at nissan today and schneider electric. nissan will be moving the av level 3 to there parking garage and installing nissan dc quick charger for testing out front ,new unit does not need key fob just plug in and charge should be ready to use sat. they need some real world testing ill let yall know so we can break it in properly!!! and look for(2) schneider level 3s too be south I-65 and at ala state line (per request of very nice nissan employees) and others.

Sounds like a good excuse for a meetup

 

[CWO4Mann]

@jpwhite and tnleaf, I was at nissan today and schneider electric. nissan will be moving the av level 3 to there parking garage and installing nissan dc quick charger for testing out front ,new unit does not need key fob just plug in and charge should be ready to use sat. they need some real world testing ill let yall know so we can break it in properly!!! and look for(2) schneider level 3s too be south I-65 and at ala state line (per request of very nice nissan employees) and others.

Sounds like a good excuse for a meetup

I agree ... but I'll believe it when I see it and plug into it.

Dave

 

[JPWhite]

@jpwhite and tnleaf, I was at nissan today and schneider electric. nissan will be moving the av level 3 to there parking garage and installing nissan dc quick charger for testing out front ,new unit does not need key fob just plug in and charge should be ready to use sat. they need some real world testing ill let yall know so we can break it in properly!!! and look for(2) schneider level 3s too be south I-65 and at ala state line (per request of very nice nissan employees) and others.

Sounds like a good excuse for a meetup

I agree ... but I'll believe it when I see it and plug into it.

Dave

I'll believe it when I plug in and hear Beep (pause for effect) Beep Beep and see a blue flashing charging light.

 

[kg4bec]

Hi all, just checking in to say hello.

Hey Jill!

I hope you're feeling better after the surgeries! I'm having a great time with the LEAF as I've just rolled over 5000 miles.

We had a small meetup here in Birmingham as well for Earth Day, which was really fun. Missed you, though.

Get well soon, so you can grab your LEAF back from your hubby and play in it!

Cheers, Bert

 

[ralphmc]

@jpwhite and tnleaf, I was at nissan today and schneider electric. nissan will be moving the av level 3 to there parking garage and installing nissan dc quick charger for testing out front ,new unit does not need key fob just plug in and charge should be ready to use sat. they need some real world testing ill let yall know so we can break it in properly!!! and look for(2) schneider level 3s too be south I-65 and at ala state line (per request of very nice nissan employees) and others.

Sounds like a good excuse for a meetup

JPWhite, and all Nashvegas EVers...

This would be something we should do - in place - of a meetup:

Quote: A caravan of fanfare is expected to draw EV enthusiasts from around the state Friday, with EV enthusiasts casting off range anxiety and shuttling from podium to podium with revelry planned through much of the early afternoon. UnQuote

This is an extract out of an article http://www.sustainablebusinessorego...3/oregon-unveils-its-electrified-highway.html talking about EV infra structure along I-5

We could do something like that here in TN along the I-24, I-40 and I-70 stretch maybe in 3 phases, or so.

If we plan it ahead well, we could probably get some media attention, and with that be able to put some pressure on Ecotality - the BLINK guys - to have there DC Fast chargers working once and for all.

 

[hill]

How are all the Q.C. doing back there in TN .... up and runninig I hope? We've been hearing rumors.

.

 

[ralphmc]

How are all the Q.C. doing back there in TN .... up and runninig I hope? We've been hearing rumors.

.

...strange you would ask...

My wife and I went on a trip last week to Gatlinburg, TN...

4 out 5 of the Cracker Barrel installed DC Fast chargers along I-40 where working.
The one thing I cannot understand, is that more than 2 months ago, I reported to 800 service number of BLINK, that the DC Fast charger's TV is not playing the ”educational” video, since the PC has a windows error, that has not been addressed by anyone from the ”tech” department. BLINK may not realize that this is Cracker Barrel's ”Flagshio” store, and this type of stuff will not support the contiuation of BLINK being the provider, when the contract between CB and BLINK will be negotiated again.

Now to add some more to the negative publicity... When we came back we did not expect to all chargers, yes including L2 charger not to be working in Lebanon, this was reported to Blink a few days before we arrived, so we could make it home, so we had to move on to Mt. Juliet.

I believe that BLINK has some real probles running there show, which is the potential ”out” for our Cracker Barrel DC Fast.chargers.

Ralpmc

 

[TimLee]

Blink is proceeding with modification of all their L2 commercial EVSE.
I watched the Broadway Service Company electrician do the modifications on the two Blink L2 EVSE at Cracker Barrel in Ooltewah on Monday afternoon, 05-07-2012.
They're redoing the power supply to the RFID commercial card. It originally was powered by extremely small gauge wiring through 3 different cards. Loss of power to the RFID commercial card was the cause of most of the reliability problems with the L2 commercial EVSEs.
The L2 modification is now direct wiring power to the RFID commercial card.
They're also changing the software to require zip code validation which all of the Blink DCFC have required from the beginning.
I asked him about the reported problems with Blink L3 DCFC between Manchester and Nashville, and in the Nashville area in general. He said they are being worked on.
He thought their problem may have also been with the power supply to the RFID commercial card.
I've used the Blink DCFC at Cracker Barrel in East Ridge and Cleveland a total of five times.
These two Blink DCFC have worked on all five occasions.
But on one of the instances at East Ridge I partially charged to what the LEAF tells the DCFC is 80%, and then tried to charge further to 100%. Would not work. I don't know if this was a problem with the DCFC, or whether there is something in the LEAF that prevented it from further charging to 100%. Battery temperature was normal.
Note that the % charge that the LEAF tells the DCFC is different than what the LEAF software uses for control of its charging to nominal 80% with L2 EVSE.
If you want to use DCFC to charge to the same nominal 80%, 10 out of 12 bars on the LEAF display, you have to set the Blink DCFC to 100% charge.
And then turn the LEAF on and monitor the LEAF bars display and then stop the Blink or Eaton DCFC when you get 10 out of 12 bars. (Or monitor with GID meter if you have one, or soon to come a LEAFSCAN from Phil.)
It is a bit strange that the % charge the LEAF uses for L2 and L3 are different, but they are different.
If the Blink DCFC is set to charge to 90% it stops charging with the LEAF bars display at only 9 out of 12 bars.
The Eaton DCFC doesn't have selection of % charge, it just proceeds to charge towards 100%, and displays the % charge on a very rough % charge bar graph, with only 0, 50%, and 100% marked on the bar graph.
But it reads the same data from the LEAF while charging that the Blink unit does. Roughly 90% on the Eaton DCFC bar graph will only be 9 out of 12 bars on the LEAF display.

 

[hill]

As bad as ChargepointDotNET is around here, I do notice that they're a cut above Blink. My Blink's I.D. chip died, and they told me that they had no way to remotely enable the L2 station. Jeez. At least chargepoint can do some of that kind of stuff if/when other elements of their network fail.

 

[JPWhite]

Blink is proceeding with modification of all their L2 commercial EVSE.

I can confirm this process has started here in the Nashville area. The Gallatin Cracker Barrel L2 EVSE's were upgraded yesterday after I called in a fault with an RFID reader.

Hello JP,

Thank you for the below notification.

Upgrades and maintenance work were performed on the Gallatin Cracker Barrel units overnight. This is not typical, but a member of the field services team happened to be in the area completing related work and he was able to include these units in his rounds.

Please let us know if you see any further issues at this location.

Thank you,

Jon

Blink Network Contact Center

e: [email protected]| d: +1.888.998.2546

The units now require a ZIP code to activate charging, evidence of the software upgrade.

 

[bryan38401]

ok every body the new nissan charger is up and running at nissan headquarters told john we will be by sat to try it and let him know what we think no key fob just plug in and charge he said ignore rate on screen it wont be on production model.the quicker they get some user feed back the faster they will allow production so lets wear it out!!! ill be there sat around 8am.

 

[ralphmc]

ok every body the new nissan charger is up and running at nissan headquarters told john we will be by sat to try it and let him know what we think no key fob just plug in and charge he said ignore rate on screen it wont be on production model.the quicker they get some user feed back the faster they will allow production so lets wear it out!!! ill be there sat around 8am.

And she is a beauty... follow the link below for some nice pictures of it:

https://plus.google.com/photos/1059...ms/5741072669852541921?authkey=CKHC5-_3na-aWQ

did not have a chance to plug her up yet, since my LEAF just got fed at the Whole Foods Market, while shopping...

But will probably swing by there tomorrow and check it out, and let my LEAF have some solar assisted juice...

Ralph

 

[bryan38401]

it might not be avilable tomorrow some kind of filming for pbs documentery