Wallbox pulsar plus integration?

Wallbox have just released new firmware which fixes the power reporting errors with 3-phase chargers…

The Pulsar Plus has already been pulled.

  • Pulsar Plus and Quasar are no longer compliant with the regulation so it is currently not available for sale.
  • Copper SB: The production of Copper SB will end in the first half of 2024. Copper SB sales with an enforcement undertaking will be compliant with UK Smart Charging Regulations until 30th of June 2024. To assist you in planning ahead, we would recommend contacting your sales representative or our customer service team.

It’s also worth noting that Pulsar Max and Pulsar Pro are compliant with the new regulations and are available for sale. Find out more, here.

https://blog.wallbox.com/en/new-uk-smart-charge-points-regulations-everything-you-need-to-know/

That’s specifically the UK market but it’s interesting they don’t live up to regulations. They have scheduling and random start delay so do they not live up to 3? :sweat_smile:

Finally… PSA: Wallbox decided to break offline upgrades (via Bluetooth) for rooted chargers in the v6 firmware. If someone needs them it’s fixable though

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My Wallbox app does not recognize this new version. It suggests the 6.1.19 version to me but I don’t want that since the last time I installed it, it broke the energy measurement… Or do I have to first upgrade to 6.1.19 and after that, the new version will be displayed? Any idea?

Finally, did someone upgrade to 6.4.14 that has a rooted wallbox pulsar plus? Any issues?

My Wallbox app isn’t yet offering the new version either, but still saying v6.1.19 is up to date. I expect it’s only a matter of time until the later version is offered, so you probably need to wait a bit longer.

If you’re feeling very experimental you can change /etc/apt/sources.list to

deb http://pulsar-repo.wall-box.com/6.4.14 morty main

followed by apt-get update && apt-get upgrade. Warning: completely untested.

Question for this group. I rooted my wallbox, whilst this initially seemed to solve connection issues the issues resurfaced.

WiFi continues to be very unstable. I tried a number of things:

  • link the wallbox to one specific access point to avoid roaming
  • tried both mixed (2.4/5ghz) SSID as well as pure 2.4ghz SSID

Most of the time the issue can be resolved by restarting the WiFi connection through the wall box app (BT connection works) but sometimes only a hard reboot works.

I suspect the issue could be hardware related but perhaps I overlooked something. Approaching the end of my warranty period so would be grateful for any advice/recommendations.

Have you tried static ip yet?

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I had very similar problems with WiFi comms stability, even after putting an extra access point in my garage ceiling, just 2 or 3 metres from the Wallbox. Here is how I solved the problem…

Changing the Access Point Channel Number was the parameter which made the most difference for me. For some reason, my Wallbox doesn’t like Channel 1, which was where I had it before. Channel 13 works well for me, with 20MHz bandwidth and 2.4GHz B/G/N mode.

I’m using a MicroTik router board and the Tx/Rx CCQ (signal quality) has gone from between 10% and 20% to 99% - a massive difference!

Previously, it was disconnecting every minute, almost exactly on the dot every time, as though a comms watchdog was being triggered. Now, it will run for weeks on end without any disconnections.

Maybe a different WiFi channel number will work best for you. Try experimenting and see what you find.

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Hi,

I had to disable “Fast Roaming” to maintain a stable connection on my Dlink Deco’s

/Rien

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I can confirm fast roaming has to be disabled.
Back in September 2023 I’ve asked Wallbox to help me with wifi issues and they responded by saying fast roaming must be disabled for the 2,4GHz bandwidth.

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Thanks all, will try your suggestions and revert!

That’s another nice thing with rooting, you can use common tooling to troubleshoot, e.g. look at network logs: journalctl -u NetworkManager.service

Just to add a data point, my Wallbox was purchased within the last 3 months. I updated to v6.1.19 when I installed it, then rolled back to v5.3.21 with a factory reset to try and complete the root/mqtt install. The root and install completed successfully and I’ve checked that the Wallbox shows up on MQTT.

Thanks for all of your hard work! Looking forward to getting this up and working with some automations!

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@DibbleDabble - Welcome to this page. I see you were having some issues with the ‘Red Ring of Death’. Did you manage to get those fixed?

BTW, you are quite correct in saying that a Shelly Relay would not have sufficient power handling capability to accommodate a Wallbox Pulsar at full load. In such cases, it is best to use a separate contactor, rated for 32 Amps (or whatever the maximum current is for your particular Wallbox). I hope you’ve managed to fix your problem and avoid the need for automated rebooting. It’s certainly not an ideal solution. Some users have been affected by under or over voltage, during charging, so maybe that could be a factor in your case.

Hey @GrantK, thanks!

I’ve replaced the EVSE with a new Pulsar Plus, so hopefully that will fix it! Automated reboot would be a great feature to ensure that the charger automatically restarts if it is in a fault condition for a set period of time, but it looks like none of the HA integrations support that for now.

I did just discover, to my dismay, that version 6.1.19 delays the charge start time (at least in the UK), which makes it pretty clear I need to roll back to V5.3.21. What’s the best firmware version to use with this MQTT bridge?

Also, if I want to rename the charger or change MQTT server, do you know if I can just re-run
“curl -sSfL https://github.com/jagheterfredrik/wallbox-mqtt-bridge/releases/download/bridge/install.sh > install.sh && bash install.sh”
to replace the settings on the box?

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@DibbleDabble - Once you have v6.x, the root access can no longer be installed, but since you already have it installed, that doesn’t matter. If you rollback to v5.x, I think you’ll be limited to whatever version your Wallbox shipped with - in your case v5.3.21. There isn’t any way of choosing another version AFAIK.

Last time the author updated MQTT Bridge, I wrote this post to show how I installed the update…

If you go through the same process, you should once again be asked for the MQTT Server Settings, and possibly the Charger Name.

That sounds good. Thanks!

It seems like the bridge doesn’t work so well with V5.3.21 as enabling the charge via MQTT can leave the charger thinking it is charging (dark blue halo, and charging logo in the app), but without it actually adding any power. Since applying the mod, the power reading shows 0KW in the wallbox app sometimes even when charging is taking place successfully. Sometimes it works ok until the charge is paused and resumed.

Nobody else is reporting these issues, so I assume it is tested with a different version of the firmware. I don’t really want to go to 6.1.19 because of the delayed charging, so I’ll have to keep an eye out for alternative firmware releases.

Example here, where it is charging, but shows as 0kw but the total added goes up on the app dash and car dash. Sometimes it shows charging with 0kw but actually doesn’t add charge.