Dixie Narco Entray combo

[Lbfrozen]

Great machine when it works correctly.

Snacks vend fine. Put in a dollar or coins, credit shows on display, make a selection, product vends, retrieve product and change, enjoy snack.

Drinks are messed up. On any selection on either drink shelf, put in money, a credit displays, make a selection, product vends, ERROR shows on display, credit remains on the display, and the product number (e.g. E1) will not attempt any more vends. The existing credit can be used on a snack (which vends fine) or on an attempt for another drink (which then also vends and then displays ERROR).

"List Errors" in the Test Menu shows "Vend Err". Test vends of a drink selection results in an HC 186 error. The voltages coming from the power box are all seem good, although a little high (14 V, 28 V, 115 V).

I have another board (somewhere) that should be good. Before I perform surgery and also reprogram the entire machine, I wanted to ask if anyone knows specifically what the numbers on an HC error mean.

The electrical service should be sufficient. It seems unlikely to be a harness issue, since it happens with both drink shelves. The power box tested okay (or, at least, close to okay). The manual discusses HC errors for "Selection Will Not Vend", but solenoids and gates work fine. It is the credit that will not process.

Any thoughts or answers would be appreciated.

LB

[AZVendor]

The HC error is for High Current drawn by the selection solenoid.  Since this is happening on two shelves you either have a bad power supply or a bad logic board.  The voltages you have aren't extreme if you got 14v when measuring for 12v, 28v when measuring for 24v and 115v.  It is correct to the 12v and 28v supplies to be a little bit over what you are measuring for.  So I would say the logic board is at fault here.  Now you can't just change it with another Bevmax board.  It either needs to be an Entray board or you have to make the Bevmax board into an Entray board by transferring the Entray Eprom to the new board and putting the snack jumper harness on it as well.

 

If you need a board for it you can email me at rbepic4gatgmaildotcom.

[Lbfrozen]

Thanks, AZ. I have one extra Entray board, and I will let you know if I need something else. I guess I will eventually check voltages on the board I am about to replace. It is a shame (and odd) that four out of six sets of pins work fine and the other two mostly work.

[Lbfrozen]

Switched the board, jumper, and EPROM. Same vend error, except that it now reads HC 187 on test bends on the drink shelves. I do not consider a higher number to be progress.

What does "harness issue" mean in the troubleshooting guide?

[lacanteen]

Check your gate solenoids for loose/pinched wires. Work all of the solenoids by hand to be sure they are all mechanically OK. As AZ said, check you outputs on the transformer.

[Lbfrozen]

Thanks, la. Auto sequence will turn all spirals and activate all solenoids, but a self test results in 37 active items. (There should be 38.) I know which drink shelf is only registering nine items instead of 10, because if you unplug that shelf, 29 items show up in a test. If you unplug the working drink shelf, 28 items show up in a test. However, the high current error still shows up and messes up vends on drinks, even when the shelf with one "missing" item is unplugged and removed from the scenario.

I think I will next measure the voltages from the power box during active vends to see if there is a spike or drop under load.

[AZVendor]

The bottle shelf that only shows 9 selections may have a bad row driver on the logic board but since you replaced the board then you may have a short on that shelf causing current to ground into the shelf. This could happen through a bad solenoid so try unplugging the offending solenoid.  You also need to make sure that this solenoid is properly plugged in as it's very easy to miss-connect them when plugging them in blind.

[Lbfrozen]

That makes sense, AZ. I will check that. But, does this mean I have two separate electrical issues, since, when I try to vend with the "bad" shelf unplugged, I still get a vend error that shows a high current cause on the error list. Both boards would vend a drink, leave the credit in escrow and show an error, then not allow any more attempts on that selection.

[Lbfrozen]

Does anyone know what the abbreviation "BA" or "BB" would mean on a selection during auto sequence? For example,

Selections that work list something like: A1 27 OK (or 28 OK or 29 OK)

Selections not present list something like: A9 02 NC (or 01 NC)

Selections that do not work list something like: D1 BB HC (or BA HC)

Are the numbers voltage measurements? What, then is "BB"? At this point, I just want to figure it out. The account is about to get a different machine from us.

Also, I cleaned up come loose grounds and charred connections in the power box.

[lacanteen]

The manual is not clear at all. Is the problem on just 1 shelf? If so swap the harness with another and see if the problem stays or moves with the shelf. My instincts tell me you have a defective solenoid or damaged tray harness where it passes thru the wall.

[Lbfrozen]

I have swapped the harnesses. With one or both shelves connected in either the D or E plug on the board, it vends, shows ERROR, and leaves the credit up. The HC 186, HC 187, or HC 188 error still shows on test vends. Auto sequence shows stuff like in my last post. If I am thinking correctly, both harnesses would have to have the same level of damage hidden from view.

I have changed the board and also measured the power supply at rest, as well as under load on the 24 V pins of the power supply. Everything measured within acceptable ranges. I wonder if it has anything to do with the fact that small electric motors probably do not have much of a start surge as compared to those solenoids. Maybe I was measuring the wrong pins during drink (solenoid actuated) vends.

All solenoids look, feel, and sound the same when electrically or manually actuated. (Well, D shelf, anyway. I cannot get to E shelf solenoids without disassembly, but the problem occurs with that shelf disconnected, anyway.)

Btw, I have tried operation with the light and ballast disconnected. I may try with no refrigeration connected next.

Power box problem, then? I have a spare, but I am not sure it would not do the same thing under load. And I suppose I could start measuring resistance in every power or drink shelf wire in the machine.

I could send a lot of proposals or prep a lot of machines for placement in the time I have spent on this one. What a week.

[lacanteen]

Time to unplug everything not needed for a test vend:  Bill acceptor, changer, refrigeration unit, lights, ballast and all shelves but 1 drink shelf. Go from there adding 1 item at a time (if the drink shelf worked). If not, it's probably a power box problem. What is your supply voltage at the wall?

[Lbfrozen]

That was the direction I was headed, la. Supply voltage (from two separate circuits) is a steady 120 V. With everything removed, drink shelf kinda works, but not really. High current error message on test vends is gone - replaced with OK. Now, money in registers a credit, but all selections on both drink shelves say "make another selection". Regardless, the problem has to be in the power box. There are a few discolored areas of plastic and metal along the way in the box. I am cleaning connections, and I will switch transformers and some connections. Thanks for reading, and thanks for the suggestions.

[lacanteen]

That was the direction I was headed, la. Supply voltage (from two separate circuits) is a steady 120 V. With everything removed, drink shelf kinda works, but not really. High current error message on test vends is gone - replaced with OK. Now, money in registers a credit, but all selections on both drink shelves say "make another selection". Regardless, the problem has to be in the power box. There are a few discolored areas of plastic and metal along the way in the box. I am cleaning connections, and I will switch transformers and some connections. Thanks for reading, and thanks for the suggestions.

If your HC error went away you may have a flaky solenoid or spiral motor. Add trays one at a time and test in test menu. The "make another selection" message may have been caused by the missing snack trays, or vend sensor.

 

Go back to bare bones and add 1 item at a time. Don't worry about money vends until it works in test.