Tell me why this is on a Dixie Narco 501E !

I am trying to understand the workings of this Dixie Narco 501 since I was thrown into keeping up with it in our employee break room. This machine was acting up and it kept getting worse. You would push any selection and it was a crap shoot as to what it would vend. I had another coin mech and changed it out, not thinking that it would do any good, but to my amazement it is working better than it ever has. I sure would have thought that the board would have been the thing to tell which item would vend.... I guess I'm trying to find out why the coin mech made everything work, and a kind of sense of how the electronics flow in this machine for future reference, if that makes sense.

Thanks in Advance,

B.K.

Your coin mech should have no bearing on the product selection - it only tells the control board that money has been deposited thereby enabling it to vend.

A bad coin mech will shut down the bill acceptor as it cannot give change.

Assuming that you haven't mixed up your products in each column, the problem does lie in your control board or the wiring harness. Make sure all of your connections are tight (power down first) - a loose connection can cause various problems. If that doesn't work there are a number of sources that will rebuild your board ($100 to $150). The Dixie 501e is a pretty good machine and well worth repairing. .

If your connections are all good - call in a repairman before buying any parts just to make sure you know which component is bad.

When you changed out the coin mech, you probably shifted the harness just enough to reestablish proper connection - double check all your connections as one of them is probably still slightly loose.

I am trying to understand the workings of this Dixie Narco 501 since I was thrown into keeping up with it in our employee break room. This machine was acting up and it kept getting worse. You would push any selection and it was a crap shoot as to what it would vend. I had another coin mech and changed it out, not thinking that it would do any good, but to my amazement it is working better than it ever has. I sure would have thought that the board would have been the thing to tell which item would vend.... I guess I'm trying to find out why the coin mech made everything work, and a kind of sense of how the electronics flow in this machine for future reference, if that makes sense.

Thanks in Advance,

B.K.

Your Space to Sales is screwed up. Check the Options for column setup on the inside label to see the options and set it up to the one you want to use. Typically the first two slots are tied together. I havnt used a 501E in a while but you can check the motor switches to see if they are landing in the valley after a vend. Sometimes a Dixie will miss the valley and on the next insertion of money it will vend that column, it could be the switch or motor brake. You can test switches with a voltage meter by doing a continuity test.

yes.. def. space to sales, happen to me many times.... also check the wires to the push buttons behind the coin mech , check for broken wire or cut

Just an update on this problem, in case anyone else has a similar issue. Thanks to sphincorp and Broncho. Seems both of you are somewhat right, it is a space to sales issue it seems. This machine after 4 or 5 months tends to start losing its space to sales, seems the longer you let it go, the worse it gets. All I have to do is go in and reprogram the space to sales and it is good for another 4 or 5 months. Even though when I go into the space to sales everything is set right, just have to go through every selection and it is good. Thanks for the help again from sphincorp and Broncho.

B. K.

Bobcat,

A space-to-sales issue will not be intermittent. If it's programmed wrong, it will always be programmed wrong, not intermittent. I think the actual cause of the problem is that you may have a bad selection membrane. The membrane can exhibit intermittent weird issues like you describe.

On later 501Es, the individual selection switches behind the selection buttons were replaced with a long strip of plastic containing pressure operated touch points, like a ribbon cable. This is called a membrane switch and it runs down behind all the pushbuttons with its only connection to a ribbon cable from the control board above the top button. If you decide to replace it, pay attention to the order the parts come off the door so you can reinstall them in correct order. The order of parts is: select buttons, then grey rubber keypad strips (2) that hang off the mounting studs (notice which way the bumps face, toward the button or away from the button), then the selection membrane switch, then the metal backing plate. Please note that there is a round metal standoff on each mounting stud, don't lose them.

How many selection buttons do you have on the door? The machine has 9 columns, but if the machine was built for Coke, it will only have 8 selection buttons, meaning cols. 1 & 2 run off of the top selection button in standard STS configuration. If you have 9 select buttons then you have a generic or Pepsi originated machine. The selection membrane is different for 8 or 9 selection doors.

I have the selection membranes in stock if you need one. I hope this is a correct diagnosis for you.

I agree with AZ. I had the same problem with an older model 501 8 selection can vendor and it was the selection switches.