Hamilton XE validadator rejecting bills

[OurTown]

Our changer started making a growling noise today and rejecting most bills. It would take some after putting it in about 5 or 6 times. I took the validator out and cleaned the heads, sensors, and rollers with alcohol. Reinstalled it and calibrated it with the white bill sized paper. It still growls and spits out the bill. We are planning on retrofitting it with a Mars soon but in the meantime does anybody have any other ideas on getting it running?

 

[MEP001]

The growling noise is usually the motor having trouble getting up to speed, which will often happen in cold weather. An old-school solution is to put a light bulb in the cabinet to keep it warm. The Mars acceptor is the best solution - they aren't affected much by heat or cold.

 

[OurTown]

We have a heater with a thermostat and it seems to be working. I check it every day it's cold outside. Are you saying we don't need the heater when we retrofit to Mars?

 

[Earl Weiss]

My Hamiltons have a Heat Pad on the underside of the mounting plate for the accepter. It is thermostatically controlled. Do you have one? Is it working? You can use the same setup that is used for SS coin boxes.

 

[OurTown]

Yes and yes.

 

[MEP001]

I've done many Mars kit installs, and since the heater is on the validator mount I have to remove it anyway. So there's never a heater with the Mars, and the cold doesn't affect them. Keep in mind we rarely see temps much below freezing here.

 

[Rudy]

The last time I had the growling noise in an XE....I fixed it by replacing ALL the belts in the unit. This includes not only the two drive belts in the bill tray.....but also the cogged belt that runs off of the drive motor. Clean the unit while you have it apart, replace ALL the belts...and you'll probably be OK.

 

[Randy]

The Mars/MEI 2600 validators have an Operating temperature range of 5° F to 140° F. With that being said I don’t think you need a heating pad when convert over to a Mars validator from a Hamilton validator. I’ve never put any type of heat in any of the ones I’ve install up in the Pacific Northwest.
Ourtown solved there XE validator issue and is in the process of installing a Mars validator conversion.

 

[OurTown]

As Randy said we resolved our growling issue by lightly lubing the drive wheel axles. He also set us up with a Mars conversion kit and should have it installed today. Thanks for everyone's replies as I think they were along the same idea.