Fast Change setting put my snack machine on the fritz

[ECS Vending]

I figured out the resolution to this problem but wanted to see if anybody had experienced this and if they have any explanation for it?

I just got my first machine set up a few days ago, it's a Wittern 3508 ambient snack machine. I had a few coils that would only turn about 1/8 of a rotation and not vend the product. They worked fine when I tested them and they worked fine with a credit card purchase or exact change. They would only under rotate when cash was used that needed change. What I discovered is that with the fast change setting turned on, that as soon as the first coin was returned for change the coil would stop. If there was no change, it was flawless.

I had the fast change setting on originally because a lot of kids use the machine and I didn't want them to get confused by a multi-vend setup. In my ignorance from being new to this, I didn't realize until I poked around more that I could just simply leave multi-vend off and also leave fast change off and it would give it a nice 3 second pause and allow everything to operate normally.

My questions are these.

Why would Wittern even offer the fast change feature if it screwed up the vending process?

Is it possible that the servo motors or microswitches on my machine are responsible for this and if they were working properly this wouldn't happen?

I don't need fast change for any reason, and turning it off solved all my problems. I'm just trying to learn more about the machine for future reference. Any input that anybody has is much appreciated!

 

 

[tblake05]

Never heard of that before.

It’s possible that the issue with fast change could be corrected by a firmware update.

though I doubt it’s worth it. Just turn it off. Life is good.

[ECS Vending]

Yes, I was wondering about the possibility of a firmware update. Looking at the control board I don't see a usb port, so I'm guessing its a little more involved. I think your right though, probably not worth it, this might just be a case of if it ain't broke don't fix it. 

[AZVendor]

Since all newer USI machines have the I-Vend sensor system on them that would be why your spirals may stop in different locations.  Fast change is just to eliminate a delay in paying change as you assumed.  It seems though that as the logic board begins to pay the change out that it might ignore whether I-Vend has sensed a product drop.  Since change should not pay out before I-Vend detects the product drop it also stands to reason that if change pays out, the logic board will need to stop the spiral before that happens.  This definitely sounds like a bug in their firmware though it could be a problem in your logic board too.  If you don't need the fast change then not using it should solve the issue or premature spiral stops (before product has actually dropped.)

[ECS Vending]

I believe this machine was built around 2008-2010, haven't found the exact date of manufacture. The owners manual references I-Vend as an option but I'm thinking my machine doesn't have it installed? I can't see anything that looks like a sensor eye anywhere. I would love to install it as a retrofit if it's a possibility but not sure if it is?

[AZVendor]

Then your machine doesn't have it.  It's not a great system so if you have dual spirals on your snacks then that is better to have.  They might not even have the parts to fit your machine now.