RaleighNC Posted January 31, 2022 Share Posted January 31, 2022 Hi All - long time lurker, first time poster. I’m somewhat new to the vending world and have enjoyed reading the various discussions here! I’m having an issue with a Crane Frozen 460/960 machine (two machines connected with one tower) where I’ll get a call that someone put $5 into the machine, got their $2.50 item, but didn’t get their $2.50 change. It seems to happen randomly and of course I can’t replicate the issue when I’m there. It’s an MEI CF-7000 series mech. MEI Validator although I suspect this isn’t the problem since it properly credits the correct amount. I’ve tried unplugging and plugging back in and checking for jams or stuck tubes by hitting the button to release coins and it always does. Doesn’t appear to be coins that are stacked incorrectly either. Is there something I should be checking or testing here? Ready to just swap the whole thing but wanted to see if there were any ideas first about things to clean or check or reset that may solve it. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cvending Posted February 1, 2022 Share Posted February 1, 2022 When it bends, does it payout any change? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RaleighNC Posted February 1, 2022 Author Share Posted February 1, 2022 3 minutes ago, cvending said: When it bends, does it payout any change? Yes, it seems like the majority of the time it does or else I would probably be getting a lot more calls. Every time I test it seems to work fine too. The common theme seems to be when you use a $5 bill and get something that’s $2.50, people don’t get their $2.50 change back. I’ve heard the issue on a few different items so it’s not like it’s just one specific lane. I’ve also confirmed the pricing is correct at $2.50 so it definitely should be giving change when a $5 bill is used. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vendo Mike Posted February 1, 2022 Share Posted February 1, 2022 Do you have "multi-vend" or something turned on that would cause the board to hold credit for a period beyond the first vend? In V21's, any credit held for multivend times out in about 30 seconds of inactivity to pay change and ready for the next vend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RaleighNC Posted February 1, 2022 Author Share Posted February 1, 2022 4 minutes ago, Vendo Mike said: Do you have "multi-vend" or something turned on that would cause the board to hold credit for a period beyond the first vend? In V21's, any credit held for multivend times out in about 30 seconds of inactivity to pay change and ready for the next vend. Definitely something worthwhile to check when I’m back in a few days. When I tested I seem to recall change coming back to me immediately after the product vended. I also asked the person who called me to check to see if there was any change in the return or if they could hit the coin return button and it would give change. Neither of those solved it. Is there a way to ask the machine to “make change” or try and dispense coins in service mode so I can see if there is proper communication between the machine and the mech instead of just hitting the buttons on the mech to dispense the respective tube? Or maybe there is an issue with one of the tubes in the mech (it has three quarter tubes) where maybe one of them is wonky when it’s called to make change but the other two work fine so that’s why it’s very intermittent? Just spitballing here.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vendo Mike Posted February 1, 2022 Share Posted February 1, 2022 Start with the coin mech. Coins can tend to stand on their side in the tubes causing payout issues. Generally that means the machine fires all solenoids but one denomination of coin does not release. CPO - "coin payout" is your best option for knowing whether the boards driver works. If the machine fires payouts for nickel, dime and quarter, and the coin mech reacts properly, then you know the driver works. If it doesn't work properly during a vend process, the board may be having trouble processing. In simple machines, cycling power can take care of it,; however, if the machine is holding a "brain fart" in the RAM, you may need to perform a RAM clear like removing a backup battery. I don't recall what Crane used on that machine to hold memory but they were pretty good about having a button sequence that perform a RAM clear. After doing this, you will be reprogramming the machine's pricing and all other settable options. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cvending Posted February 1, 2022 Share Posted February 1, 2022 I would start with the coin mech. You may have a weak payout solenoid which is not strong enough to payut. This mostly occurs when the tube is full of coins. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RaleighNC Posted February 1, 2022 Author Share Posted February 1, 2022 43 minutes ago, Vendo Mike said: Start with the coin mech. Coins can tend to stand on their side in the tubes causing payout issues. Generally that means the machine fires all solenoids but one denomination of coin does not release. CPO - "coin payout" is your best option for knowing whether the boards driver works. If the machine fires payouts for nickel, dime and quarter, and the coin mech reacts properly, then you know the driver works. If it doesn't work properly during a vend process, the board may be having trouble processing. In simple machines, cycling power can take care of it,; however, if the machine is holding a "brain fart" in the RAM, you may need to perform a RAM clear like removing a backup battery. I don't recall what Crane used on that machine to hold memory but they were pretty good about having a button sequence that perform a RAM clear. After doing this, you will be reprogramming the machine's pricing and all other settable options. Thanks Mike. I will give this a shot and inspect each tube closely and report back! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RaleighNC Posted February 1, 2022 Author Share Posted February 1, 2022 Just now, cvending said: I would start with the coin mech. You may have a weak payout solenoid which is not strong enough to payut. This mostly occurs when the tube is full of coins. Thank you - i will be sure to check each tube/solenoid to make sure each one is working properly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NYCandyMaN Posted February 25, 2022 Share Posted February 25, 2022 is the machine set on forced vend? bc at that point it will fore you to buy more, and even though it was giving change back, curious question, maybe a sign of the battery (if any ) on the board may be going bad or keeping memory Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RaleighNC Posted February 25, 2022 Author Share Posted February 25, 2022 i think it was the mech. i swapped it a few weeks back and haven’t had any service calls on this issue since. sending off the mech for servicing in a few weeks. actually ended up having the same issue on the same model MEI CF7000 on a different machine. Put a buck in, hit coin return, heard the motor noise four times but only dropped one quarter. will see what the issue is, but i suspect one of the black “arms” that kicks out the coins isn’t working. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Golfdogs Posted February 27, 2022 Share Posted February 27, 2022 This can occasionally happen if the last coin in the tube sticks to another. Empty the coin tubes first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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