Bill Acceptor Preventive Maintenance and Troubleshooting

Overview

Regular cleaning and preventative maintenance is recommended to prolong the life of the bill acceptor and reduce the potential for system downtime. Additionally, if the bill acceptor is not accepting bills or is rejecting bills (pulling them in and returning them), the bill acceptor may require troubleshooting. See below for more information outlined within each tab.

Maintenance Procedure

Frequency of Cleaning: Monthly

Bill Acceptor Status

When inspecting the bill acceptor, upon opening the X-Changer, press the Diagnostics push-button and check for any abnormal status conditions, as illustrated below. If no abnormal status conditions exist, proceed to step 2.

MEI Bill Acceptor

Fig. 1a - Bill Acceptor Status Light

Fig. 1b - Bill Acceptor Status Reference

Pyramid Bill Acceptor

Bill Acceptor Magazine

Follow the steps to remove the bill magazine (cash box) and access the bill path as shown.

MEI Bill Acceptor

Pyramid Bill Acceptor

Bill Sensor

WARNING

DO NOT use oils, silicon sprays, or high-concentration-alcohol-based cleaners on the bill acceptor belts, wheels, or sensors/lenses.

Verify that bill path is clear of dust and debris (Fig. 3a).
Clean wheels using a laundry card and scrape the debris off of the wheels while rotating.
- NOTE Do not use any metal objects to scrape the wheels.
Using a lint-free cloth and an equipment-safe cleaner (or 50/50 alcohol/water solution), clean the lens window as needed before sliding bill sensor back into place.
With the same cloth, clean the inside of the bill acceptor, belts and platen.
Reinsert the sensor tray
Reconnect bill acceptor magazine

MEI Bill Acceptor

Pyramid Bill Acceptor

MEI Video Tutorial	Pyramid Video Tutorial

MEI Video Tutorial	Pyramid Video Tutorial

Pyramid Technologies Inc. Reference

Pyramid Bill Acceptor maintenance images obtained from Pyramid Technologies, Inc. -- Apex 7000 Cleaning Instructions.

Troubleshooting Procedure

Power Cycling the Bill Acceptor

Using a card with the proper permissions, select Maintenance from the main menu.
Select Bill Acceptor Power Cycle.
Wait for the bill acceptor to finish power cycling.

Bill Acceptor Cable Connections

If the bill acceptor fails to function after attempting a Bill Acceptor Power cycle, reset the power and data connections by removing and re-seating the power and data cables.

MEI Bill Acceptor

The power and data cables can be found on the side of the bill acceptor.

Pyramid Bill Acceptor

While the 9-pin square power harness feeds outside of the bill acceptor, the data cable can be found on the I/O connector port on the side of the bill acceptor.

Dip Switches

If the bill acceptor fails to function after Step 2, verify the dip switch settings.

MEI Bill Acceptor

All dip switches except dip switch 3 should be set to the "Off" position.

Pyramid Bill Acceptor

All dip switches should be set to the OFF position.

Pulleys and Drive-Wheels

If the bill acceptor still fails to function after Step 3, verify that pulleys and drive-wheels are free of paper and debris.

MEI Bill Acceptor

Pyramid Bill Acceptor

Magazine Sensor

If the bill acceptor diagnostic light indicates a "Magazine Removed" error while the magazine is seated, examine the area around the magazine sensor for debris or dirt as shown.