Need help with an issue (USI 3129-L)

[EddieMac]

Good Day,

I have an older USI 3129-L (old Lance snack machine) that had an old MAKA validator in it.  I've taken the MAKA out and put a refurbished MEI VN2512 U5 in, but it will not work.  It flashes 2 flashes indicating "disabled from mech/VMC".  I've unplugged and replugged numerous plugs, tried a different coin mech (both coin mechs work fine in this machine), gone into service mode and back out, and it still does the same thing.  I've tried different switch combinations on the validator also.  The coin mech is a 15 pin Coinco 9302LF.  It takes money and gives change like it should.

The old MAKA was still working, but occasionally would not take a bill.  

This is the 3rd one of these I've done and I had no issues with the other two.  Both of them were also 3129-L machines that I put MEI VN2512's into.

Any idea what might be the issue??

 

[AngryChris]

I'm not sure if a "3129-L" is different from a 3129 as far as the board or electronics go, but the F80 board in a typical 3129 is capable of running MDB (including a card reader which will not give you cash reports but will work nonetheless).  Since you already have a 2512 in there, you may as well get an MDB harness and get an MDB mech and hook everything up via MDB.  You should be good to go regardless of what your problem is currently.  My guess is that there's a harness issue but I have never heard of such a problem on a 3129.  However, I thought the 3129 used a 110v validator (despite a 24v mech) but I am not sure since most machines I ever operated with F80 boards all had MDB anyway.

Either way, I really think you should just get an MEI MDB harness, an MDB mech, and just hook it up since the F80 board (assuming that's what is in it) should already have an MDB harness in it.  If not, then I don't know what to tell you on that... but it seems like the MDB harness for an LCM would work all the same but that's honestly just a wild guess on that one.

[Southeast Treats]

Were those older lance machines built before the F-80 board? 

[AZVendor]

Some of the Lance machines actually had early SM6 boards in them which you couldn't tell from the yellow credit display.  The display leads you to believe that the logic boards are SM3 but then you wonder how the machine can run MDB until you uncover the board to find it's a SM6.  In all other USI machines running SM6 boards the displays are blue, but not on Lance machines.