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My 501e is... shocking..


AngryChris

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I went to fill one of my machines today and, when I reached in to grab a soda from one of the columns to check its date, I felt a poke/pinch.  At first, I thought there was a bur or something on the column wall.  Upon further inspection, I realized that I was actually being shocked.  The shock seemed to come from the walls that divide the columns themselves.  I figured that the current had to be coming from the motors as I don't know what else could power that part of the machine but I did not see any bare wires or anything around the motors.

 

I also had a burnt-out bulb so I disconnected both of them.  The coin mech, validator, and refrigeration unit all worked fine.  I simply cannot figure out what was going on.  I also checked the outlet that it was plugged into and noticed it was only half-way plugged in so I plugged it in all the way.  I still received a shock from the machine.

 

Any ideas on what could cause this?  I'm feeling like there has to be a bare wire but I have only experienced this maybe twice in my vending career and the first time it was fixed by someone else.

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Try unplugging the light ballast and check for a shock again (or use your voltmeter to check from metal to a ground).  I have had a bad ballast ground out to the door before.  Make sure there is no damage to your power cord or a missing ground prong, make sure all the grounds in the machine are intact - one possibly to the right of motor 1, one from the motor harness to the cabinet to the right of the compressor power plug, one from the compressor power socket to the cabinet, one from the door harness to the door at the lower right corner of the door, one from the coin mech door to the door and one from the inner door to the main door.  If it has a logic board, check ground wires from the board, too.  There is also a ground wire from the evaporator motor to the motor bracket but you can't see it unless the evaporator is moved.

 

If all else fails, and perhaps do this first, check for a proper ground at your electric wall outlet. 

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This is a very dangerous situation!

 

Someone could easily be killed by your machine!

 

Your equipment should unplugged and disabled until the real problems are found and corrected.

 

It is very possible you received a light shock because you were not well grounded. If someone were to touch your machine and a water faucet they would likely be well grounded and could be badly injured.

   

1 Check that your machine is plugged into a 3 prong outlet.

2 Test the ground on the outlet.

3 Check that the ground pin on your machines plug is present and undamaged.

4 Inspect the cord and be certain it is undamaged.

5 With an ohm meter test every metal part of the machine is connected electrically to the ground pin of your cord.

6 Repeat steps 1 thru 5 on any other electrical equipment you may have been touching when you were shocked.

 

If your machine is well grounded any leakage from a bad motor or ballast will be safely and no one can be shocked by it.

 

At least two faults are present before a shock hazard is possible.

 

Please act quickly lives may depended on your actions.

 

 

Walta

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I had a similar problem happen to me once.  Most of what I did to find the problem has already been outlined above.  It did end up being a bad power cord.  The ballast actually exploded and the compressor burned up at the account before I got there.  The ground wire from the door to the cabinet had also come loose.  I don't know what all happend first and what lead to what on that machine.  It was a customer's, not mine.  All I know is, bad power cords/wires and grounds can cause a lot of damage.  I ALWAYS insist with my customers when I repair their machines, that if their power cord is damaged, it get's replaced.  I don't care if it's an extra $15, it's stupid to say on something like that, "it's working so why spend the money".  A little maintenance today saves a lot of money tomorrow.  Repair guys like me would be a lot less successful if more vendors took that to heart. LOL. 

 

BTW, not being degrading of vendors.  Just trying to point out a common weakness that leads to a lot of people on this forum with problems.  Fix this problem, and you'll fix a lot of others!

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