Rowe Changer Issue

[slash007]

One of my Rowe changers has an intermittent issue where it will only dispense .75 when putting in a $1 and sometimes only gives out .25. You can get 4 quarters 4-5 times in a row, then you might get .75. After getting shorted, if you put in a $5 bill you will get the $5 in quarters plus what was previously short. That means the hoppers are filling correctly and explains why I am not getting an error. All I can think of is that maybe one of the bucket solenoids is getting weak and not opening the door all the way sometimes? Anything else it could be? Thanks.

 

[MEP001]

Can you hear if it's filling properly? I've had a small piece of paper get hung in the sensor eye just right to cause erratic counting. You'll have to test it a bunch of times and listen to see if it's counting properly into the escrow buckets. It's unlikely that some coins are getting stuck in it.

 

[slash007]

I did watch and listen as over 50 bills were put in and it seems to be filling properly. One side fills slightly slower than the other, but the count seemed correct. Also, whenever the count is off, I would get the L or R Coin detector error. I just fount it unusual that after getting .75 once followed by only .25 the next time, when I put a $5 bill in after that, I got $6 indicating that the previous missed quarters were in the bucket.

 

[Ghetto Wash]

explains why I am not getting an error.

whenever the count is off, I would get the L or R Coin detector error.

I'm confused.

If no error I would lube the escrow buckets.
If you get the L or R error, I would replace the hopper motor.

 

[slash007]

No errors currently since this issue started. What I meant is that in the past I would get a coin detect error so it was easy to diagnose that a hopper wasn't filling the bucket with the correct number of quarters. I'll try some lube. Thanks.

 

[Randy]

It might be time to replacee the guts of your Rowe change with the guts of a Standard MC series changer. Standard has put together a nice kit for doing just that. I sold a couple of kits to a guy here on the forum and he seems to be pretty happy with them.

 

[slash007]

I found 2 backup sets in storage and gave them a try. The first one gave me the coin detector error as the laser was weak, but the 2nd fired right up and seems to be working fine after testing with multiple bills. Not sure what it's actually called, but what I replaced was the main thing that houses the lasers and solenoids/motors. Since the replacement works, I can take my time figuring out what was wrong with the original.

Since it only shorted people when a $1 was inserted, I think the coins for the $1 come from the middle bucket. If that's the case, would a bad solenoid be the culprit? I did try lubing it before replacing and had the same issues.

 

[MEP001]

Since it only shorted people when a $1 was inserted, I think the coins for the $1 come from the middle bucket. If that's the case, would a bad solenoid be the culprit? I did try lubing it before replacing and had the same issues.

I don't think so, if you ran ten bills through and it's always either short or even, it would have to be a sensor issue and it's not counting correctly. If it was a solenoid issue it might miscount the first bill but the rest would either be correct or it will dispense high and low but average out correct maybe short some. It could also be a broken spring on a diverter gate and some of the coins are going into the wrong bucket, easy enough to check because the $5 or $10 will be over by the missing coins from a $1 bill.

 

[slash007]

Putting in a $5 after being short always results in getting the missing quarters. So short .25 would give you $5.25. So you the broken spring on a diverter gate does sound very plausible. Thanks.

 

[Keith Baker]

Putting in a $5 after being short always results in getting the missing quarters. So short .25 would give you $5.25. So you the broken spring on a diverter gate does sound very plausible. Thanks.

My Rowes have never miscounted the coins without setting an error code and shutting down. Once the coins go past the sensor they are counted. The uneven count comes after they get put in the escrow buckets.
If its giving an uneven vend without shutting down it is most likely the linkages under the three solenoids. It could be one of the solenoids not opening or closing but not likely. There is also a control board with three large diodes that I've replaced. This controls the amount of time that the trap stays open.
When this has happened to me, most times I just take the linkages apart and wipe them clean. If you oil them at all use just a little.

 

[toddmullens]

I have a Etowah Valley retrofit kit that I will sale for cheap if interested. It’s still in the box it was shipped in unopened. It allows you to bypass the buckets all together. If your hoppers are
in good shape, it will eliminate some of the moving parts. The hoppers I had were terrible worn out so I never installed the kit at this location. I did install one at another location and it worked fine.

 

[MikeJoe]

Ran into this issue as well. inside my solenoid housing were two trap doors one of mine was loose and wouldn’t stay in one specific position. There’s spring loaded buttons that hold them in a specific position as seen in pic. Happy Hunting Fellow Car Wash Warriors.