Wash select II locks up?

[GoBuckeyes]

Maybe someone out there can help me with this intermittent problem. I have a WSII that I upgraded in December with a new cpu board. The board is a revision G with the latest software 555. I did this so I could upgrade to a dual sided card reader. About a month or so ago the credit card reader would go dead. It wouldn't acknowledge a card swipe whatsoever. It would happen maybe once a week at first. Now it's happening every other day. I also noticed that now when this happens the MagPro Bill acceptor will take bills and not issue any credit. The bill pulses show up on the door led but the wash select doesn't give credit. The voice also stops working. I figured it was a problem with the new board so I swapped it out yesterday with a newly serviced and upgraded board. It's a revision E-s with 555 software. It was updated to be compatable with the dual sided reader I want to put in my other WSII. Well, you know what happened...sometime this afternoon it went dead again. I went down there about an hour ago, no acknowledgement of swiped cards, no voice and it would steal every bill you cared to insert. What could be causing this? Would a bad dual sided reader be a possibility? I have a new reader coming tomorrow I will put in. What about the voice board? I could swap it out with my other machine and see if it follows the voice board. I need ideas. This is probably the best car washing week of the year and it's not easy to trying to work on a machine in between washes and it's harder to just be at the mercy of this paystation when you need reliability. Thanks.

 

[Greg Pack]

I have no idea what is causing it, but I have two machines that do the same thing. It started when I installed the dual swipe readers. About every 6-8 weeks it will quit taking taking cards and steals bills. it requires a reboot. unitec has no idea. The strange thing is that when one locks up, the other almost always does too within 48 hours.

 

[GoBuckeyes]

I have no idea what is causing it, but I have two machines that do the same thing. It started when I installed the dual swipe readers. About every 6-8 weeks it will quit taking taking cards and steals bills. it requires a reboot. unitec has no idea. The strange thing is that when one locks up, the other almost always does too within 48 hours.

Well you're right that some people at Unitec have no idea. However, the tech I spoke to yesterday seemed to be quite familiar with my exact scenario. I guess the problem started when they switched to the ID tech dual sided reader. I think he said they had another brand but they can no longer get them. It has something to do with the 'pic' chip on the cpu board. Something causes the chip to lock up but they don't know what it is and they can't duplicate it yet. The 'pic' chip has something to do with telling the reader to read the data when a card is swiped and it also tells the cpu that bills were inserted. It's the only common link between the card reader and the validator according to him. I'm not real happy that I spent thousands of dollars to update two boards to make them more reliable and customer friendly and all I've gotten is the exact opposite.

I wonder how many Unitec customers are having this problem?

 

[BCWS]

Have similar problem at 3 sites. No card readers were upgraded but the main CPU boards were replaced. No problem accepting codes or money. Credit card reader stops functioning. Power down/up the WSII and all works fine again. Happens a couple times a month on average. Never had this problem prior to the CPU board replacement. The replacement boards were rebuilt from Unitec. Please update if you find out what the resolution is.

 

[SSadmiral]

I had similar issues a while back. Depending on how old your unit is you may want to remove the I/o board then the plexiglass screen and put a good bead of clear silicone around all the openings. Realized it was going down after a rain or wind blowing IBA water back onto the face of my ws2. Good luck. That problem drove me crazy for the better part of a year

 

[GoBuckeyes]

I had similar issues a while back. Depending on how old your unit is you may want to remove the I/o board then the plexiglass screen and put a good bead of clear silicone around all the openings. Realized it was going down after a rain or wind blowing IBA water back onto the face of my ws2. Good luck. That problem drove me crazy for the better part of a year

SS I may need to do that as the other day it rained and I got a ton of moisture in my one unit. Enough so that the displays are giving me all kinds of goofy hash marks, partial display in lower case only and no prices? I'm really hoping after a day or two they dry out enough and start working correctly.

As for the locking up..Unitec called me late Friday and said they were sending me new PIC chips for my boards. Not sure if they definitively know they had a bad run of them or they're throwing darts. It sounded more like they have ruled out all other possibilities and are pretty confident this will work. I'll have them Tuesday so only time will tell.

 

[BCWS]

As for the locking up..Unitec called me late Friday and said they were sending me new PIC chips for my boards. Not sure if they definitively know they had a bad run of them or they're throwing darts. It sounded more like they have ruled out all other possibilities and are pretty confident this will work. I'll have them Tuesday so only time will tell.

Please keep us updated. Thanks.

 

[GoBuckeyes]

Update. My troublesome machine had locked up on the 13th and the 17th, no cards accepted and stole multiple customers money until rebooted. Unitec sent me the new PIC chips which I installed this past Friday morning without issue. We washed a bunch of cars the rest of Friday, Saturday and Sunday and then Sunday evening it happened again for whatever reason. Card reader went dead and the bill acceptor happily would eat all the bills you can feed it. Unitec tech is stumped and is sharing all of our issues with engineering. I urge anyone with this same issue to start a dialogue with Unitec to document their experience. Maybe if enough of us blow up their phones they'll dedicate more resources to figuring out what is causing this problem.

 

[GoBuckeyes]

Another update...Unitec was thinking the problem may be related to static. They sent me an older style Panasonic dual sided reader to try which actually has a second harness on it that is a ground for the reader. I installed that reader last Friday without issue. Washed cars Friday and all day Saturday without a problem. Washed cars all Sunday morning and then it happened again, machine locked up until I could get there to re-boot it. I finally got smart last week and put a sign up that says 'No Cash, Credit Only this machine" so that when it locks up I am at least not stealing everyone's cash. This problem needs to get fixed! So far I have swapped ribbon cables between the i/o board on door and main board, new I/O board, tried two different ID TECH readers, one older panasonic reader with ground, two different computer boards and new PIC chips. Waiting on them to contact me and let me know what we're going to try next. Frustrating!!

 

[Greg Pack]

Thanks for keeping us posted.

Both of mine do this, but much less frequently than yours. It did start with the dual swipe update.

 

[HCW]

Our ws2 is doing the same, not as frequent but it started couple month ago. A reboot have been taking care of it. When it acts up, it feels like the magnet isn't operational

 

[APW]

I also updated to the dual side reader. I haven't had any problem with mine locking up. I have a dial up modem, just curious if the people with problems have high speed or dial up.

 

[GoBuckeyes]

I also updated to the dual side reader. I haven't had any problem with mine locking up. I have a dial up modem, just curious if the people with problems have high speed or dial up.

Alma, we have dial up.


"Our ws2 is doing the same, not as frequent but it started couple month ago. A reboot have been taking care of it. When it acts up, it feels like the magnet isn't operational"

HCW, you're right that a simple toggle of the power switch fixes the issue temporarily, however it doesn't fix your customer's terrible wash experience after they lose their money after waiting in line for 30 minutes. I'm not sure what you mean about some magnet being operational?

I can say that Unitec seems to be really trying come up with a solution to the problem. I will keep updating my progress.

 

[HCW]

I also updated to the dual side reader. I haven't had any problem with mine locking up. I have a dial up modem, just curious if the people with problems have high speed or dial up.

High speed internet (cox)

 

[HCW]

Alma, we have dial up.


"Our ws2 is doing the same, not as frequent but it started couple month ago. A reboot have been taking care of it. When it acts up, it feels like the magnet isn't operational"

HCW, you're right that a simple toggle of the power switch fixes the issue temporarily, however it doesn't fix your customer's terrible wash experience after they lose their money after waiting in line for 30 minutes. I'm not sure what you mean about some magnet being
operational?

I can say that Unitec seems to be really trying come up with a solution to the problem. I will keep updating my progress.

Whe CC is inserted, it feels loose like the magnetic mechanism isn't working.

 

[getnbusy]

Interesting that it happened twice on a Sunday.

This probly wont help but.....
I had a 8 bay that we put new touch select self serve meters in in 2003. Every once in awhile on a Saturday morning, the meters go bonkers and switch between functions intermittently. It happens about once a year and they still do it to this day. It always happens on a Saturday morning. I am of the belief that something is going on with the electricity that I dont know about in my neighborhood.

Please keep us posted. I want to do the upgrade also but I aint buying something that dont work. Especially from them. FWIW I called them today for parts (which they wont sell me) and got a young lady with a nice voice. She sounded pretty but she was totally clueless. I dont thnk she even knew what a WSII is. Couldnt get anybody else on the line. Bummer

 

[GoBuckeyes]

Some more updates. I updated my other WS last Wednesday to a Rev G motherboard and an ID Tech dualsided reader. It locked up sometime the next day The good news is Unitec has finally been able to replicate the problem at their facility. Apparently it took the help of a Tesla coil to produce enough static electricity. They have come up with a special cable for the card reader that offloads the static to the cabinet door and somehow blocks it from reaching the motherboard with a bunch of resistor looking things. I have been using one of the cables in my unit for at least two weeks and haven't had a lock up since. Currently they're making these Frankenstein cables by hand but are getting ready to send them out for production. I guess time will tell if it really does the trick as our business is way slow compared to 'salt' season and the air isn't nearly as dry as the winter months. One thing I'm curious about is why is the new motherboard so much more susceptible to this than their older boards? Obviously something has changed.

Another thing I learned today is that the Coinco Mag Pro bill acceptor I have can be connected either by a pulse cable or by a MDB harness. I am using the pulse mode which runs the pulses through the same chip that the CC reader runs through. That's why when the PIC chip locks up I steal any and all cash deposited. My guess is that those of you who have the CC reader lock up but don't steal cash are using the MDB harness. Am I correct? I will be switching to the MDB harness as a precaution in case this special cable doesn't in fact fix this issue.

I'm glad to hear how hard Unitec has been trying to resolve this problem.

 

[SSadmiral]

I have been having similar issues for years seems to only act up during the summer (Florida ) Last year I was fed up with all the issues so I replaced everything in the unit one part at a time hoping to find the problem child. Converted to cryptopay swiper, new power supply, motherboard, coin dispenser and cable, ribbon cables to I/O board, I/O board, new coin co bill acceptor and cable. etc... All this was done over the period of 2 months after spending countless hours with tech support with no real answers.

Fast forward to this summer at least once a week I have to reset the unit due to it locking up. (Blank screen) Or worse accepts cash but doesn't credit wash or give change. With no warning almost always on a weekend or when I leave town!

Just bought another new motherboard last week installed programmed worked great for a week and again it's down.

I had my local power co install a commercial surge suppressor at the panel hoping it would address any voltage issues from storms but the unit is still crashing.

This unit worked awesome for ten years then this.. I think my only option is to rewire all power going to unit in underground conduit and cycle switches ��


If that doesn't do it I'm going to need recommendations on a new pay station
Just beyond maddening

 

[getnbusy]

WOW.
I have a friend with a 2013 year model WS II. He bought his new with a hi speed modem and two sided reader. He tells me its been runnning since october of 2013 with no issues. he washes about 300 cars per week.

Im no master repairman by any stretch but I'm thinking the problems above are software related. I would check the revision number on the pic chip. I believe the latest revision is 1.8. I would also get a new software chip. NOt sure of the latest revision on that. Also, I wonder if using an older motherboard of Revision E-1 or F-1 is any better than the Revision G board ? just a thought

I have found Luke Hajiantoni at Unitec to be extremely knowledgable and helpful.

please post your solution if any. I too would like to have a 2 sided card reader

 

[GoBuckeyes]

S Sadmiral regarding your WashSelect stealing cash when it locks up....upgrade your CoinCo bill acceptor to the MDB cable. Apparently by using the MDB cable the bill acceptor doesn't use the PIC chip which is what locks up and you at least won't steal peoples money. Your coin acceptor still will and your card reader won't work but it's better than stealing cash until someone gets there to re-boot the machine.

Also call Unitec and ask them about the special cable they have engineered for the car reader. They were originally making them by hand but I would assume by now they have gotten them manufactured by someone. The cable is too suppress any electric charge going back to to the motherboard and locking up the PIC chip. Since I have installed them a few months ago I have only had one lock up. So while maybe not fool proof its much much better. I'm hoping my one lock up can be attributed to a bad panasonic reader. Hope this helps.