Grizzl-e Charger just stopped working...

[ipizzaipizza]

The Smart/Wi-Fi version has been problematic since it was launched back earlier in year. Had charging issues constantly, which they did eventually fixed with firmware update (manual update). It also appears they are now auto updating the charger with latest firmwares which potentially cause more issues. I have disconnected charger from network and do not ever intend to reconnect it. Useless feature, incomplete UI. So much for Smart.

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[MaskedRacerX]

*sigh*

I have a been a huge advocate of the Grizzl-E product from day one, and now ours is f-ed.

It had been working really well, a couple of hiccups a month or so ago and the firmware update fixed it.

I've seen this issue reported elsewhere too: it starts charging, stops in 30 sec to a couple of minutes, light blinks white.

I have reset the WiFi & set it up again (many times), I've run it with no WiFi configured (aka "dumb mode"), same issue. It does this on both our Wrangler 4xe & our Tesla M3P, so it's not specific to one vehicle.

On top of that. I'm also no longer able to update firmware, it shows completed, but it's stuck on 5.43, 5.53 never really flashes. Just put in a ticket with them, I'll see how they respond.

I'm a software engineer, I've spent 1000s of hours debugging systems, I have a pretty good approach when it comes to isolating issues, I've tried all combinations of WiFi, no-WiFi, different cars, soft reset, hard reset, etc.

 

[MaskedRacerX]

I contacted United Chargers, as I started having issues with the Smart charger. I requested a replacement with a non-smart version, and they agreed and gave me a refund for the price difference, and shipped a new non-smart one. I then shipped back the old smart on their dime.

When did you buys your originally? I'm wondering what the window is, we've had ours for several months. Heck, I even got it before the price hike, so to go from dumb-to-smart was only $40 (ours was $479 delivered), but I think at this point, I just want consistency.

So the non-WiFi models don't have any mechanism to update the firmware, right? That's a factory only service[?]

 

[ipizzaipizza]

When did you buys your originally? I'm wondering what the window is, we've had ours for several months. Heck, I even got it before the price hike, so to go from dumb-to-smart was only $40 (ours was $479 delivered), but I think at this point, I just want consistency.

So the non-WiFi models don't have any mechanism to update the firmware, right? That's a factory only service[?]

Purchased in mid May (around the time that I saw it available for ordering). Now the Smart version no longer chargers properly, Jeep shows 35 hours to charge. Plugging in OEM 120V charger shows the typical 14 hours.

 

[MaskedRacerX]

Purchased in mid May (around the time that I saw it available for ordering). Now the Smart version no longer chargers properly, Jeep shows 35 hours to charge. Plugging in OEM 120V charger shows the typical 14 hours.

Gatcha. Same purchase date as me (I was May 11 specifically). If that's an option I might bail and go with the dumb version too.

The only reason I got the smart version is the price difference was only $40 and thought it was kind of future-proofing it a bit, but now that I see what it adds (for my use case, effectively nothing), I'd prefer less hassle.

 

[OINC]

*sigh*

I have a been a huge advocate of the Grizzl-E product from day one, and now ours is f-ed.

It had been working really well, a couple of hiccups a month or so ago and the firmware update fixed it.

I've seen this issue reported elsewhere too: it starts charging, stops in 30 sec to a couple of minutes, light blinks white.

I have reset the WiFi & set it up again (many times), I've run it with no WiFi configured (aka "dumb mode"), same issue. It does this on both our Wrangler 4xe & our Tesla M3P, so it's not specific to one vehicle.

On top of that. I'm also no longer able to update firmware, it shows completed, but it's stuck on 5.43, 5.53 never really flashes. Just put in a ticket with them, I'll see how they respond.

I'm a software engineer, I've spent 1000s of hours debugging systems, I have a pretty good approach when it comes to isolating issues, I've tried all combinations of WiFi, no-WiFi, different cars, soft reset, hard reset, etc.

They are clearly not a software company.

But they are decommissioning their acharger.ca CSMS and are switching over to ChargeLab (theoretically around 01 February). I started having issues with charging back in early November, and ran it in dumb mode on firmware version 5.53 until I joined their ChargeLab beta. So far (just got it connected on Tuesday) it's worked fine.

I'd be most concerned that you can't update to 5.53, because that's the version required for their new service...

Edit: Not being able to charge in dumb mode sounds like it may be a hardware issue rather than a software issue. I'll be curious to see what they say about that.

 

[MaskedRacerX]

They are clearly not a software company.

But they are decommissioning their acharger.ca CSMS and are switching over to ChargeLab (theoretically around 01 February). I started having issues with charging back in early November, and ran it in dumb mode on firmware version 5.53 until I joined their ChargeLab beta. So far (just got it connected on Tuesday) it's worked fine.

I'd be most concerned that you can't update to 5.53, because that's the version required for their new service...

Edit: Not being able to charge in dumb mode sounds like it may be a hardware issue rather than a software issue. I'll be curious to see what they say about that.

Well, their first reply was "Run it in dumb mode", which I had clearly documented in my service post that I had already tried (goddam, do I hate tech support that doesn't read your actual post and/or just posts some automated response ...) and zero reply to my weird portal situation of some other charger SN showing up (I can delete, it comes right back).

So here's what has worked for the last 24 hours and 3 different charger sessions:

You know how you power down, move dipswitch #1 down, 30 seconds, power down, move switch back up and then you're ready to reconfigure the WiFI?

That "dumb mode" was the same issue as connected mode, however, yesterday, on a whim, I powered down, moved dipswitch #1 down, powered up and left it like that, with the switch down.

That has worked perfect. Maybe I was misinterpreting the "dumb mode", I read it to mean do a WiFI reset per page 24 of the manual, which indicates move that switch back up to regular operation.

 

[jcompton]

I suggest that you try charging at a public level 2 charger. I had the same experience ... I was able to charge my 4xe using my Grizzl-e unit for two months, then error messages appeared on the Jeep and I could no longer charge. I replaced the original EVSE three times - eventually installing a ChargePoint unit. The problems persisted. After two months my dealership eventually did the testing and concluded that the vehicle's Integrated Charging Module had failed. I am currently waiting for a replacement. Meanwhile, the Jeep runs fine and I continue to charge using the stock level one charger.

 

[MaskedRacerX]

I suggest that you try charging at a public level 2 charger.

Not a bad idea for folks without a way to cross check.

In our case, we also have a Tesla that's doing the exact same thing (and works fine with my Tesla Mobile + N6-50 adapter). In my case, it's definitely the EVSE.

That has worked perfect.

Still working as expected, again, I powered down, dip switch #1 down, turn back on, leave it that way - the manual indicates to let #1 stay down for 30 seconds, then power down move it back up, which was still causing my issue.

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