Slot three!

[Ridewithme38]

You guys have been so great with all the help! i don't know how i could ever repay any of you!!

These should be my final Questions...on this machine  '>
Here's what happens i put in my money press the button for slot three and nothing happens(I can hit a different button and that one will vend)....I switched the button behind the selector with a different button and that definatly wasn't the problem...
I believe..just guessing cause i don't really know any better that slot three isn't vending because of this part...(Little Red thing)



Can anyone help me identify this part so maybe i can find a replacement? Or maybe tell me what i can do to find the real problem?

[Skeleton Man]

Does it take your credit when you hit button 3 or just do nothing ? If it's the latter then the microswitch under the sold out paddle might not be making contact or it may be faulty. Check for loose wires, etc also.

[Ridewithme38]

it doesn't take the credit when i hit the button...it just acts as if i never pressed the button...thats why the first thing i did was switch out the button...but that wasn't the problem

[Skeleton Man]

Is the sold out light lit for that column ?

[Ridewithme38]

No the sold out button isn't on...i wish i could figure this out...so far i know...its not the selection button or the sold out switch...theres a wiring digram on the back but it's hard to get a good pic...I'm thinking it may be the soleniod switch thing...




Zoom of part of it

[Skeleton Man]

The solenoid switches I think are used to reset the vend cycle.. when the vend gate opens it trigges the switch and the whole cycle starts over again. The only real way to test is to pull the whole assembly out and check the switch with a DMM.

Wiring diagrams are hard to decipher.. it helps to have everything removed and infront of you so you can compare lines on the diagram to real wires, etc..

Another thing to check is the solenoid itself..  get a DMM and put it onto ohms..  you should get some kind of reading be it ohms, megohms, etc..  if it reads unlimited, then you have an open circuit and the coil is damaged (I should point out this test should be done with the power off !).

[Ridewithme38]

You've been amazing with you help Skeleton Man! how'd you learn so much?

I'm going out tomarrow to buy a Digital MultiMeter...just for this machine =)
I wish i could figure out how to pull this whole section out...i thought the Solenoid switch is what actually caused the soda to vend..
Basicly i thought it went...change..selection button...cancel yes/no...soldout yes/no...and the solenoid switch physically hit the bar to vend the soda...
You guys are all so awesome here! thank you guys for everything so far!!!

[Skeleton Man]

The solenoid is really no more than a coil with a plunger in the middle..  when you apply power to the coil, the plunger goes down, when power is removed the plunger springs back up.

The plunger is simply attached to the vend gate so it raises/lowers the gate as power is applied/removed, which in turn lets the next can of soda roll out.

When the vend gate goes all the way down, it activates the solenoid switch, and then releases the switch when it pops back up, this is what controls credit/coin acceptance. There is a sold out microswitch in there too, which stops it from vending when sold out and controls the sold out light.

Your machine appears to have a cancel switch and two sold out switches per column.. the latter might simply be one switch controls the vend mech, the other controls the sold out light.. but the purpose of the cancel switch I'm not sure..

I learned what I know from trial and error and pulling stuff apart   The vend mech in my machine works off exactly the same principle as yours, the parts are just slightly different..

[collecture]

My best guess is that you have a bad switch. Test each one in the # 3 circuit. You could switch them out like you did the pushbutton, but a simple voltmeter should do the trick.