AP 520

[cvending]

For you old timers.... I have an old AP520 snack machine. The top two shelves are fine. However, when a selection is made from the 3rd and 4th selves, the motors just turn at about 1RPM. Sometimes the vend won't complete and the internal breaker will trip. I know it is an old machine, but this account does not justify us spending money for another. The account is right next door to another so we service it once a month. The bottle drink is much better but don't want to jeopordize it. Any thoughts? Matrix board? Selection panel?

Thanks,

Steve

[moondog]

 Most of my snack machines are AP but I don't own anything near that old.  My fear is, even if you diagnose the problem, parts will be impossible to find.

 

Since the machine is attempting to vend on shelves three and four, that would rule out a key pad problem (dead buttons)

 

The tripping breaker either indicates an overload, a dead short, or is going bad itself. Old motors that bind could cause this but it doesn't make sense that you'd only have them on trays three and four.  You might swap a good motor with one that's barely working and see what happens - since the machine is 110v you may be able to adapt an AP7600 motor to your tray (this is one part you can get)

 

The first thing I'd inspect would be the tray harness for a dead short (or two).  If it turns out that matrix board is shot, your only hope would be that somebody like AZ or Alden would still have one.

 

Short of something you can physically fix, you may be looking at another unit.  This might be an opportunity to upgrade one of your better accounts and replace the 520 with whatever came out of there.

[AZVendor]

Is this a 4 price, 10 price or multiprice using an old Coinco or Mars changer with no validator?  In each of those cases the changer is the brains of the machine and I would look to replace the coin mech first.  Each price line goes through the 24V circuits in the coin mechs.

[cvending]

This is a multiprice CoinCo M150 mech. No validator. Pricing is done through matrix board. It works fine on top two shelves so I assume it is not the mech.

[AZVendor]

M150 means you have a pricing board with the capability of pricing each selection different up to $1.50, correct?  If the problem shelves are at the same price and that price isn't used elsewhere in the machine, try putting one of the working prices on those two shelves and see if the problem goes away.  If so, then you probably have a bad coin mech.  The workaround then would be to change the price on the two problem shelves to one that works in the machine. 

 

If that doesn't work then you should pull both shelves and inspect all wiring for any bare wires that have grounded out.  Inspect the shelf connector and its wires behind the shelves as well.  This problem could be anywhere in the cabinet harness back to the pricing board.  You can also try swapping positions of the shelves - A and B to C and D positions, C and D to the A and B positions, change prices appropriately and see if the problem follows the shelves.  If so and the problem is definitely not in either shelf, then you are looking at the pricing board or the coin mech and my money is on the coin mech.

 

I have salvaged pricing boards and relay boxes as well as some other parts from scrap machines, perhaps even a coin mech or two.  Let me know if you need anything.