Rexracer Posted January 29, 2015 at 06:11 PM Report Share Posted January 29, 2015 at 06:11 PM I have a Blink card, but never used it as the cost to charge is actually greater then the cost of gas (well probably not now).But on 2 occasions I have plugged in at the local store since there are 2 chargers. With no parking anywhere, and the charger spots always empty, I plugged in ran my 2 minute errand came out and un-plugged.Both times when I get in the left screen says "Are you plugged into charger?" I check "NO" and when I pull away I have a check engine light. Has anyone else experienced this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hybridbear Posted January 29, 2015 at 06:42 PM Report Share Posted January 29, 2015 at 06:42 PM I have a Blink card, but never used it as the cost to charge is actually greater then the cost of gas (well probably not now). But on 2 occasions I have plugged in at the local store since there are 2 chargers. With no parking anywhere, and the charger spots always empty, I plugged in ran my 2 minute errand came out and un-plugged. Both times when I get in the left screen says "Are you plugged into charger?" I check "NO" and when I pull away I have a check engine light. Has anyone else experienced this?The left screen in the car? I've never seen that message before. ChargePoint stations don't like it if you just disconnect the car without turning off the charging session first. Perhaps the Blink chargers behave similarly? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rexracer Posted February 4, 2015 at 12:31 AM Author Report Share Posted February 4, 2015 at 12:31 AM Sorry for slow responce.Yes the left screen, only seen it the 2 times. And since I didn't pay to start a charge, I assumed it wouldn't actually start charging. Maybe its programed to mess with your car in case you do just what I did, plug in, not pay, not charge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hybridbear Posted February 4, 2015 at 01:09 PM Report Share Posted February 4, 2015 at 01:09 PM Sorry for slow responce.Yes the left screen, only seen it the 2 times. And since I didn't pay to start a charge, I assumed it wouldn't actually start charging. Maybe its programed to mess with your car in case you do just what I did, plug in, not pay, not charge.How could you plug the J1772 plug into your car without paying to unlock the station? jeff_h 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
openair Posted February 4, 2015 at 10:55 PM Report Share Posted February 4, 2015 at 10:55 PM (edited) I take it, since this has happened twice, the check engine light turns off at some point? Doesn't show on the next start up? I wouldn't be surprised if the car doesn't exactly like being plugged into a dead charge cord like that. It's expected something from it. Power. Communication about what type of charger it is. Something. When it gets nothing instead and can't decide if it's even plugged in or not it may throw the check engine as a precaution. It knew something was plugged in but what was expected next by the software never occurred. You then told it nothing is plugged in. This could likely also be what the software would see if there was an issue with the charge port. As a precaution, it is throwing the check engine light so you'll have a dealer check the charge port. But next time you charge it see normal behavior and dismisses the check engine? Or maybe there is something wrong with your charge port. But if it only does at non-active chargers like this, I doubt it. Edited February 4, 2015 at 11:06 PM by openair Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rexracer Posted February 5, 2015 at 12:01 AM Author Report Share Posted February 5, 2015 at 12:01 AM How could you plug the J1772 plug into your car without paying to unlock the station? I don't know how your stations are setup, but the Blink stations just have the cord coiled on a hanger anyone can grab.https://www.google.com/search?q=blink+charging+station+images&biw=1761&bih=829&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=prLSVO-WDsPfoAS474HoAQ&ved=0CAkQ_AUoBA&dpr=0.9 There is no lock, or automated unlock thing going on, just like your charger at home. The difference is it has a interface for you to scan your BLINK card, to activate it to actually charge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rexracer Posted February 5, 2015 at 12:05 AM Author Report Share Posted February 5, 2015 at 12:05 AM I take it, since this has happened twice, the check engine light turns off at some point? Doesn't show on the next start up? I wouldn't be surprised if the car doesn't exactly like being plugged into a dead charge cord like that. It's expected something from it. Power. Communication about what type of charger it is. Something. When it gets nothing instead and can't decide if it's even plugged in or not it may throw the check engine as a precaution. It knew something was plugged in but what was expected next by the software never occurred. You then told it nothing is plugged in. This could likely also be what the software would see if there was an issue with the charge port. As a precaution, it is throwing the check engine light so you'll have a dealer check the charge port. But next time you charge it see normal behavior and dismisses the check engine? Or maybe there is something wrong with your charge port. But if it only does at non-active chargers like this, I doubt it. The check engine light does go off after 3-5 cycles or something like that. What your saying could be true, though by the point I am saying "nothing is plugged in" i have unplugged the car, so nothing is plugged in. And I often do plug my home charger in, without it being plugged into the garage (only 1 outlet in all my garage! so i have to unplug it to do other things, like saw/weld, then forget to plug the car charger back in). This has never caused a problem, BUT it could be because when my home charger is unplugged it shows the car nothing, where-as the blink charger is saying "hey car I am about to charger you" and the says "Oh ok" then nothing ever happens, so when I get in the car goes "is there a charger plugged in, or am I imagining things again?" ;-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeff_h Posted February 5, 2015 at 01:19 AM Report Share Posted February 5, 2015 at 01:19 AM There is no lock, or automated unlock thing going on, just like your charger at home. The difference is it has a interface for you to scan your BLINK card, to activate it to actually charge.Yeah that's different than the Chargepoint stations, which won't let the plug out of the holder until user authenticates with a valid RFID from Chargepoint... and they don't always read so well, so it's easy to get the "Auth Failed" message and have to scan the keytag again (and sometimes again), and once the authorization passes a loud click is heard and the plug can be removed from the holder. That's why I had the same thought as hybridbear, about how could one get an inactive plug... Hybridbear 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric4539 Posted February 5, 2015 at 02:36 AM Report Share Posted February 5, 2015 at 02:36 AM I charged at a Blink station once just to see how it worked. I had driven about 2 hours away from my house so I used EV Later for most of the Interstate driving. There were 2 stations available so when you park in the space you face the other charger. One station had a Chevy Silverado "charging" while the passenger sat staring out the windshield. I drove around to the other and plugged in. At first I could not figure out how to get the charging station to work. I did not find the instructions very clear, or was it because I did not want to look like I had never done this before. :shrug: I finally figured it out. Meanwhile a Leaf owner was trying to get the Silverado to move out of the space. That was far more entertaining and the passenger in the Silverado finally moved into the driver's seat and moved the truck. I only charged for about 1 hour after shopping at a WalMart and having lunch nearby. I waited to see how I would be billed for that 1 hour charge. I never was! That probably won't happen again but I have never charged at a Blink station again. I don't know what would have happened had I not "paid" to charge and just plugged in without swiping my card or entering a code. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hybridbear Posted February 5, 2015 at 01:33 PM Report Share Posted February 5, 2015 at 01:33 PM I waited to see how I would be billed for that 1 hour charge. I never was! That probably won't happen again but I have never charged at a Blink station again. I don't know what would have happened had I not "paid" to charge and just plugged in without swiping my card or entering a code.What did you do to activate the station? We don't have Blink chargers around here, only ChargePoint. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric4539 Posted February 5, 2015 at 11:36 PM Report Share Posted February 5, 2015 at 11:36 PM My dealer activated Blink for me and gave me 2 "charge" cards. You create a membership, enter a form of payment, and then if you use a Blink charger you are billed monthly. You scan your Blink card at one of their stations and then charge away. At least I think that's how it operates but since I only used it once and never was billed..... Their network is not very large but you can search by zip code. I don't show Blink in MN. https://www.blinknetwork.com/blinkMap.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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