allen watson Posted February 13, 2014 Share Posted February 13, 2014 I've got an AP 4000 series snack machine that occasionally looses all the preset price settings and replaces then with random amounts. Like A1 will go from $1.00 to $2.40, A3 to $2.30 on down the line to the last selection. Also, sometimes but not always one or more of the snack motors will have vended all the snacks out and has stopped at a random point in the vend cylce. I can go in and reset all the prices and it will be fine for weeks or even months only to do it again. I've replaced the board, the back-up battery on the board, the coin mech (new/refurbished unit from coinco) as well as the bill validator. I suspect a power surge from the hotel, but it did the same thing at the previous location. This machine is on the first floor of a new hotel sharing a cubby hole with 2 icemakers and a soda machine. The soda machine works fine with no glitches. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZVendor Posted February 13, 2014 Share Posted February 13, 2014 Allen, your last sentence probably just told you what the cause is. Sharing power with 3 power hogs can give you a low voltage when any two of them starts together. The ice machine should be on it's own circuit, but you would have to check the circuits behind the machines to know any different. These problems could also be occurring because of a bad fluorescent lamp in or near the machine that is burned out, flickers or dims when power is drawn down. This flickering or the attempts of a burned out lamp to light can send out electromagnetic pulses that will lock up or scramble a logic board. You should also ensure that your power cord is intact with no damage and that the ground pin is on the plug. Look in the machine for any ground wires that may not be connected. You will probably find one or two by the transformer and power box, and on the door around the logic board. A last resort kind of fix could be a weak transformer that is susceptible to lower voltage issues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allen watson Posted February 14, 2014 Author Share Posted February 14, 2014 Thanks AZ. I didn't know about the fluorescent light flicker issue. Tonight I got called back there and this time all the prices were blank. I will double check the ground wires. This has been ongoing with this machine. Where is the transformer located? I have located the one for the lighting, is that the one you are talking about? The bulb in the snack is working and both bulbs in the soda are new and working. This definitely gives me a new trail to follow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walta Posted February 14, 2014 Share Posted February 14, 2014 I would check the item on this list. 1 I would do is set a few prices turn off the machine for one hour then check and see if it lost the prices. 2 With a volt meter test the ground on the outlet you are using. 3 With an ohm meter check that you have less than 10 ohms from the ground on ac plug to every metal part on your machine. 4 If 1, 2 and 3 check OK, replace the florescent lamp and starter regardless of their looks, age or functionality. Or at least remove the lamp temporally. Personal I have never found a bad transformer in an AP 4000 or 5000 and would not be replacing one unless I could prove it was bad with readings from my meter. Walta Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZVendor Posted February 15, 2014 Share Posted February 15, 2014 As Walta suggests, make his voltage and resistance checks and test the ability of the board to hold a price when it is turned off (usually shows up in 10 minutes). There is also a wire that diagonally crosses over the front of the logic board in the middle of the board. If that wire and it's included component is disconnected you will not have the use of that filter device. The power transformer is mounted to the floor on the left side of the cabinet. You can test your voltage outputs by using the wiring diagram and measuring for proper voltages at your logic board connectors. If you see voltages lower than they should be then they could drop even lower when one or more compressors are running, possibly causing a brownout to the board. This could also be the fault of low voltage from the wall. These machines generally will struggle at a voltage of 105 or lower. 105 v is typically the lowest you want to see out of the wall. Also check for burned out or flickering lights in the ceiling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allen watson Posted February 17, 2014 Author Share Posted February 17, 2014 Thanks, this helps a lot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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