Big problems with new software for Juicebox EVSE

[user 1815]

I apologize for this long, rambling post. Jump to the end for my question to the community.

I have been using two Juicebox 40’s on a load group that share a common 50-amp circuit for some time now, and they have worked perfectly, charging my e-Golf and a Tesla Model Y. In late September, I received notification from Enel X that my system would be migrated to a new software system, “The New Enel X Way JuiceBox Experience.”

I dutifully upgraded but noticed soon thereafter that things were not working correctly—the EVSE would time out before a charge was complete, etc. Because of this, I was wondering if the load sharing feature was still working correctly. I hooked up both of my EVs to change at the same time and, to my horror, the two EVSEs were drawing 51 amps continuously on my 50-amp circuit. After 8 minutes, I disconnected the vehicles to avoid overheating the circuit.

I immediately called customer service and received this response three days later, “We have looked into the points raised in your communication to us on October 7, 2023, and confirm that upon further investigation, we have identified a bug with the recent software migration which may have impacted a very small handful of load-sharing customers. We are working hard to address and fully resolve this issue as soon as possible.”

On October 16, I was told that the issue had been resolved. I have yet to do another load-sharing test, but clearly the EVSE’s are still not working as advertised. For example, last night (October 17) the unit did not allow my e-Golf to charge by a set departure time in the e-Manager. I called again this morning and am awaiting a response…

Have any of you had similar issues charging your e-Golf with a Juicebox and the new, Enel X Way software?

 

[f1geek]

I use dumb clipper creek charging stations, so I can't offer any of my experience to assist. Can you go back to the previous version of the software? If Enel broke your station, they either need to fix it ASAP or send you one that works.

 

[user 1815]

I am battling with their customer service on this issue. They claim I cannot go back to the older software, and I am demanding that something be done to make their boxes work as claimed.

I feel like they are just ghosting me now. My emails have gone unanswered for two days now, and a call to customer service yesterday at noon resulted in no callback by the end of the day. I’m at a bit of a loss on whom to turn to if they keep ignoring me. I tried emailing Electrek, The NY Times EV journalist, and Tom Moloughney, the YouTube EVSE guy, but I have gotten no responses. Perhaps my state’s Attorney General…

 

[f1geek]

Hmmm. Enel x is located on 360 Industrial Road, San Carlos - if you live in the SF Bay Area you could pay them a visit.
Keep bugging customer service, I suppose.

 

[user 1815]

I live in Minnesota, so a face-to-face meeting, however tempting, is not in the cards. I spoke again with them today and was promised, again, a callback from some faceless manager (of course, I could not speak directly to this person on my call to them).

You said above, "If Enel broke your station, they either need to fix it ASAP or send you one that works." I agree with this wholeheartedly but am not sure how to make them actually do this. Thanks for your support, f1geek, and I'l post back to update my situation.

 

[f1geek]

Sounds good. I live about 5 miles from San Carlos. I am tempted to stop by and chat, but not sure when I have time. I'll see if I'm in the neighborhood next week. Best of luck.

 

[user 1815]

As of yesterday, it appears as if they have fixed their dangerous load-sharing bug. However, their new software continues to be unable to charge my e-Golf under any timed charge scenarios, whether via a departure time set in e-Manager or using the time-of-use settings on the Juicebox. The only way I can charge my e-Golf at home is to immediately start a charging session at the time of plug-in.

What is especially infuriating is that I have called the Enel X customer service four times and have twice and been promised call-backs from a manager. I received no calls from them, only unhelpful emails from a customer service tech. I'm going to try one more time, but if they keep ghosting me, I will file complaints with the Federal Trade commission and the Minnesota Attorney General's office asking for a refund of the purchase cost for these EVSE, which no longer work as advertised.

 

[user 1815]

An update: It has now been over a month and Enel X still has not fixed their software. I believe the issue is that they never implemented the load sharing feature into their new software. As one of the few who did use this feature, they kludged a fix on my units to make sure that they would not overdraw amps on the same circuit. However, this "fix" broke most all of the other features of their units, making them incapable of providing any sort of timed charging events. I will file a report to the FTC about this unconscionable behavior (forcing a software upgrade that breaks their units) and am in the process of replacing the two JuiceBoxes with Tesla Wall Connectors. What a terrible company! Please do not purchase anything from Enel X.