JuiceBox Woes

Discussion in 'Clarity' started by bfd, Apr 4, 2018.

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  1. Nanewnanew

    Nanewnanew New Member

    Bought a Juice box Pro 40 and it started going offline. Would only go back online after unplugging and plugging it back in. They sent me another unit, same problem.

    The new unit has a different faceplate but also a much thinner cable. Does that sound right? Did wire gauge technology make exponential progress in the last 6 months?
     
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  3. V8Power

    V8Power Active Member

    Me too. Mine even started blinking and beeping and stopped charging until rebooted. Had to replace with newer unit too with thinner cable. I checked and they are using lighter gauge wire now. They did have very fast and friendly customer service to replace.
     
  4. Nanewnanew

    Nanewnanew New Member

    Okay thanks. Yes nice people although I never knew a charger could be such a pain. I regret buying it but it was so expensive that I guess I'll just live with the inability to use the app. Lame.
     
  5. V8Power

    V8Power Active Member

    Have you tried a wifi extender?
     
  6. Nanewnanew

    Nanewnanew New Member

    I haven't. The signal strength is decent there, but I'll try it. Can you recommend one?
     
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  8. MrFixit

    MrFixit Well-Known Member

    Yes, don't give up yet... Your connectivity problem could very well be related to the robustness of your home network and radio propagation effects between the JuiceBox and your router. Adequate signal strength is sometimes elusive and it may not be obvious when you have a weak area. A WiFi extender is definitely worth trying.

    Earlier in this same thread, I offered some thoughts along these lines:
    https://www.insideevsforum.com/community/index.php?threads/juicebox-woes.1062/page-5#post-66581

    Somebody else found some kind of interaction with other WiFi devices and fixed it by invoking a 'guest' network that was only used by the JuiceBox, and therefore it mitigated interaction with other devices.

    I would bet (especially since you tried another unit) that the JuiceBox is OK, and you can fix this by tweaking your network a little. I can't speak for a specific extender device. In my case, I had another router lying around and it was easy for me to connect the second router closer to my garage with a hard ethernet running to it. Extenders are quite common, and solve a lot of problems.
     
    Domenick likes this.
  9. Nanewnanew

    Nanewnanew New Member

    Thanks for the suggestions, I'll give them a shot.
     
  10. Ken7

    Ken7 Active Member

    Yes, don’t give up yet. My initial Juice Box Pro has connectivity issues, but the replacement has been perfect since I got it at the beginning of August.
     
  11. V8Power

    V8Power Active Member

    Trial & error. Can pick one up at your local Best Buy or another favorite store with refund policy and you should be good.
     
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  13. bfd

    bfd Active Member

    Well, after a few months of fairly flawless operation, the "Deuce" (as in big #2) Box here has once again gone missing online for more than a week. Nothing seems to work for long with this POS box. Completely unreliable. Skip the obviously flawed wi-fi feature if you must buy - or better yet, buy a different product. I wish I had done that… as apparently others do as well. If it can't decipher a signal in a moderately congested wi-fi environment (which most residential areas are) then it makes better sense to find a box using a radio that can do so.
     
  14. Ken7

    Ken7 Active Member

    Sorry to hear. Mine is still going strong after they sent me the replacement. We'll see how long it lasts.
     
  15. Mowcowbell

    Mowcowbell Well-Known Member

    Too bad they didn't have a ethernet port on the box so you could hardwire it to your network and not bother with wifi. I think I'm going to skip on the Juicebox altogether and buy a Chinese $300 32amp evse from Amazon that does display the amount of power consumed for each session.
     
  16. KentuckyKen

    KentuckyKen Well-Known Member

    Or you could spend a little more and get a ChargePoint Home in either direct wire or plug in. I’m in the “buy once, cry once” camp myself. Mine hasn’t skipped a beat or given me a problem in almost 2 years and their customer service (when I caused the problem) was excellent.

    I thinks it’s the EVSE equivalent of crossing Marilyn Monroe with the Maytag Repairman.

    Here’s the proof and a look inside. It comes with all the mounting hardware including a drill bit and nut driver. And it doesn’t need a neutral so you save on 8-2 instead of 8-3 wiring. If you don’t hardwire, you hook up the plug to the 4 connections on the right.
    That soft green glow greets me when I pull in the garage and lets me know she’s ready to go. The green glow changes to white if it loses the WiFi connection and to blue when charging so you know at a glance from across the garage.
    6AFAD250-AAE9-4F29-AE11-010280174283.jpeg C2C5E111-92F5-4E92-BC05-8E2386D1E163.jpeg
     
  17. Oceans2

    Oceans2 New Member

    I have had a Juicebox for 2 years for another car. No problems.


    Sent from my iPhone using Inside EVs
     
  18. bfd

    bfd Active Member

    Lucky you. The one here is a POS. YMMV.
     
  19. Mowcowbell

    Mowcowbell Well-Known Member

    Too many reports of Juicebox issues for me. I ended up buying a 32amp evse that doesn't have WiFi for $240.
     
    B_Jazz likes this.
  20. B_Jazz

    B_Jazz New Member

    I bought my Juicebox Pro 40 in 2016 for my Nissan Leaf. I've had constant problems with it ever since. Luckily, the company has a great warranty and great customer service during the warranty. Enel-X has replaced my juicebox pro 40 twice under the three year warranty. Most recently in December 2019. It's like clockwork that the device lasts only 18 months. In March 2021, this week, my juicebox pro 40 shorted out and bit the dust. Enel-x will not help me replace it since it's outside the original 3 yr warranty but the device is less than 2yrs old. Like a clock, they are designed to fail.
    Here's what failed in mine (see image)
    20210325_111823.jpg
     
    turtleturtle likes this.
  21. B_Jazz

    B_Jazz New Member

    20210325_112037.jpg
     
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  22. NeilBlanchard

    NeilBlanchard Active Member

    Bummer - the Pro 40 do seem to be very problematic. I had 2 fail - the first lasted about a year, and the second much less time. It is some sort of ground fault failure. Luckily, the older cylindrical model has worked for 6+ years.

    I only got the Pro 40 to get the wireless data function. The old one has the optional wireless board, but it required WMA and I never got it to work.
     
  23. NorCalPete

    NorCalPete Active Member

    @B_Jazz, I'm sorry that your Pro 40 failed and that Enel-X isn't supporting a replacement. What are you considering for a replacement? I had connection issues with my first Pro 40 (see #52 and #155 above) but the replacement they sent me has worked flawlessly for the past 2 years. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it will continue to do so -- I regularly use the wifi access so, in that regard, it has worked well for me.
     

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