Trouble with bill acceptor in vac

[slash007]

I have a bill acceptor in one of my JC combo vacs that keeps acting up. It will take the $1 and then not send the pulses to the timer to start. After taking the $1 it stays in service and doesn't shut down, so that makes it worse as other people can lose their money as well. Resetting the breaker on the vac fixes the issue, but then it happens again in a couple of days. Would the problem be with the bill acceptor, the wiring, or something else? If it is the bill acceptor, what part would most likely be defective?

Thanks.

 

[Randy]

What kind of validator is it Mars/MEI or Coinco? Is it 24 volt or 110volt? It could be the wiring from the validator to the timer or it could also be the timer. By turning off the power and rebooting the validator this lets me believe that there’s something wrong with the main board on the validator. I’d install my spare validator to see if that doesn’t correct the problem. The reason it continues to take money when there is a problem is validator in coin boxes, vacuums have to be set up in “Always Enabled” there isn’t a inhibit signal to turn off the validator when there is a problem like in a bill changer.

 

[slash007]

Sorry, I should have been more detailed. It is a MEI 2412 24v bill acceptor. I thought it might be wiring, but the fact that a reboot fixes it without having to touch the wiring made me eliminate that. I do have a spare that I can try. When you say the main board, is that the small green board at the bottom where the bills go in, or the long rectangular board?

Thanks for explaining about the "always enabled", I get why it keeps working now.

Unfortunately it already caused some vandalism as last week someone put a hole where the timer screen is and ripped off a large section of the decal. I couldn't find anything wrong with the vac at the time but now I think it took a $1 and that is what ****ed them off.

 

[slash007]

I put in my spare acceptor today and it ended up doing the same thing. Worked for about an hour or so then it would take the bill and not activate the timer. A reset of the vac breaker fixes it. I tried a different timer and it did the same thing. I checked the wiring and all good there. What else could cause this issue?

 

[MEP001]

It's probably a voltage issue.

 

[slash007]

It's probably a voltage issue.

What can I check in order to find out/fix the issue? Thanks.

 

[slash007]

Just wanted to check back in and see if anyone else had any suggestions. So far I have tried replacing the bill acceptor, the bill acceptor wiring harness, the timer, and checked all wires for corrosion. Still the same issue, bill acceptor only sends the coin pulse signal for a few minutes/one hour then quits and just takes the money.


Thanks.

 

[2Biz]

Have you checked the voltage to the vac and your transformer voltage?

 

[slash007]

I have not, but can do that today. Am I just looking for the standard 110v coming in and at then 24 out of the transformer?

 

[MEP001]

If the vac is working fine, I'd start with the transformer, maybe just change it if you have a spare.

 

[slash007]

Yeah, vac works perfectly fine otherwise. The same issue just popped up on another vac at a different location. Both vacs work fine otherwise and when the bill acceptor stops sending the coin signal, the coin acceptor still works fine, so I'm not really sure what could cause that. Would the bill acceptor be extra sensitive to any voltage irregularity?

 

[Randy]

Slash007, are these factory installed bill validators or are they retro-fit validators? If they are retro-fit validator how are you wiring them into the timer? What timer are you using?

 

[slash007]

They are retrofit, but should be the same as if from the factory. They are Mars 2412 validators, timers are 1034R. I was told how to wire them from Jim Coleman.
Wiring is:
black/orange to black
white to white
brown to orange/black stripe + red/green stripe

I installed them on 9 vacs. All worked fine for a while until one started acting up a few weeks ago. Now a second vac. Both work fine if I reset the breaker, but then quit working after maybe an hour or a little longer. While it's working, I can throw as many dollars or coupons in there and it works as it should. Then it just takes the money and doesn't start the vac. Coin acceptor still works fine though, so timer is getting the coin pulse as it should. On one vac, it has swipe n clean and that still works even when the validator quits. Only explanation is that the validator is no longer sending out the coin pulse, but why? I put the same validator in other vacs and it keeps working fine and doesn't quit. So it has to be some variable with the vac. I wasn't able to test the voltage today, but hopefully tomorrow.

 

[Randy]

The 24 volt Mars validator is wired like this, 24 volts Hot or Black on the plug – Connects to 24 Volt Hot, 24 volts Neutral White on plug - Connects to Common, Credit Relay (N.O) Orange wire on plug – Connects to Coin Pulse or Coin Signal, Credit Relay (Comm) Brown wire on plug – Common Connects to coin Common or common

 

[slash007]

So I have the black and white wires wired up like you wrote, but the others are different. Are you saying to connect the brown wire from the validator harness to the white/common wire of the vac, then hook up the orange wire to the coin pulse which is the orange/black stripe + red/green stripe?

 

[Randy]

That would be correct.

 

[slash007]

Just to update, I wired it the way you suggested and it didn't work at all. Just took the money and didn't start the vac. So I wired it back like I had it and it works, but of course of only an hour.

 

[Randy]

That's really odd. What kind of coin acceptor are you using?

 

[slash007]

I have Sensotron acceptors in the two that are acting up and also in most of the other vacs. I do have MicroCoin in a couple of them. Honestly none of it makes sense as to why it just quits.

 

[2Biz]

Slash, you say you haven't checked input and output voltage of the transformer? I would think this would be the first place to start trouble-shooting...Especially when you say you moved the bill acceptor and it worked fine in another vac. Maybe you could swap a known good working timer in the problem vac? Just a thought....