Stopped Vending

[JDAugie]

Hi all,
    My USS-8-64 has stopped vending.  Over the winter there was a power outage and when the power came on the USS-8-64 would no longer release a soda.  It powers on and cools but the quarters drop right through the coin mech to the coin return.  The coin mech is a Mars TRC-6200.  I bought a replacement off Ebay but it didn't work either.  Is there any other possible cause likely or do you think the problem is with the coin mech and I just got another bad one off ebay? Thanks for any input.

John

[tkaz]

1. Have you tried turning the bottle cams over to see if it's stuck in a vending cycle?  That would hopefully reset the switch at the bottom to put it back into 'coin accepting' mode

2. An easy way to troubleshoot the coin mechanism vs. the machine is to build a free vend switch, or wire the plug to match.  If it vends then, it's the coin mech, if it doesn't then it's the electronics inside the machine (solenoid or switch)  http://soda-machines.com/discussions/index.php/topic,871.0.html

[JDAugie]

Thanks.  I'll try the free vend thing.  Do you know if my machine needs the connection to pin 7 too? Could I just use a jumper and do a short connection to 3 to see if the vend happens?  not sure what the "bottle cams" are. 

[tkaz]

You don't need the connection to pin 7, just remember you are dealing with 120V so don't mess around with live wires.

The vending cams are just the tumblers that rotate the product out, so just try to vend product, see if that resets it.

[JDAugie]

Thanks.  The cams seem all locked, won't turn to vend.  I'll try the free vend after a trip to Radio Shack to get a switch, in the morning.  Thanks for the advice.

[JDAugie]

Okay.  So I made the "free Vend" switch.  When I push the switch, it fires the vending solenoid to unlock the bottle cams and I can get a soda from the machine.  So, I think that means the problem is in the coin mech. It appears the top solenoid in the slug rejector is not withdrawing the steel gate that keeps the quarters from dropping through and redirects them to the coin return.  Any suggestions to track down the problem.  Are there any continuity tests I can do from the Jones plug to the ribbon connector in the Slug rejector to test for broken wires.  Is it possible that something is "fried" on a circuit board? Thoughts?

[tkaz]

Do you have enough nickels in the change tube?  There is a switch about halfway up that has to be engaged, that will pull in the CREMs ('steel gate').

If that doesn't work, then it could still be the vending switch, do you have a way to test voltage?  Using the free play switch, check pin 7 of the Jones plug before hitting the button and after, you should see it off before and on after (or vice versa).

[ajf5577]

I would check the change tubes first. Since the issue is the same with the replacement coin mech, I would look into the switch like tkaz says. The only circuit board is in the coin mech. There may be a stuck relay. Keep fiddling......

[JDAugie]

Thanks for the ideas.  I just got busy at work and may not get to test the machine for a few days.  I never have had nickels in the tubes as long as I have owned the machine and never had a problem with it for years.  I'll try adding some, and try to test the 7 pin and get back to you.  Thanks!!

[johnieG]

Okay.  So I made the "free Vend" switch.  When I push the switch, it fires the vending solenoid to unlock the bottle cams and I can get a soda from the machine.  So, I think that means the problem is in the coin mech. It appears the top solenoid in the slug rejector is not withdrawing the steel gate that keeps the quarters from dropping through and redirects them to the coin return.  Any suggestions to track down the problem.  Are there any continuity tests I can do from the Jones plug to the ribbon connector in the Slug rejector to test for broken wires.  Is it possible that something is "fried" on a circuit board? Thoughts?

Download a manual, follow the programming instructions, & see how it goes, fun fact, if you disconnect the ribbon cable with the power on, the coinmech will forget which coins it was programed to accept. MARS ha s manuals online to download for free on the older mechs.