Narcoholic
New member
Hi everyone!
Man am I glad to have found this site. I love fixing old machines and giving them new life! Actually, it's mostly because I can't afford new ones, but the satisfaction of fixing an oldie is priceless, isn't it?
So I have a Dixie Narco 440 (it's a mid 1980s model) that has finally quit dispensing drinks after working for the last 8 months. During this time, I've replaced almost everything in the machine (seems like every week something would break), but this time I'm stumped.
The machine accepts bills or coins and will give correct change. However, as soon as you press a vend button (any of them) it goes out of service....... nothing happens and you have to unplug the machine to clear the error displaying in the bill validator. Usually when this happens it's a bad vend motor, but all of the motors work flawlessly when you manually operate them. I thought it might be the coin changer, so I purchased a refurbished one and it does the same thing. Then I tried another changer from a working machine it still will not vend.
Tried a known good bill validator too, and it didn't fix the problem either. I changed every vend button switch in the unit and no luck. I changed every "sold out lamp" as well, still no vend. Then I changed the relay......... no luck, does the same thing. I check the wiring harness and I can't find any problems at all.
The only replacement part I'm not 100% sure was working properly is the relay I put in it. It came out of a spare parts machine that was supposed to be working fine when pulled out of service.
Anyone have any ideas? I really like this old girl and would love to have it working again.
Man am I glad to have found this site. I love fixing old machines and giving them new life! Actually, it's mostly because I can't afford new ones, but the satisfaction of fixing an oldie is priceless, isn't it?
So I have a Dixie Narco 440 (it's a mid 1980s model) that has finally quit dispensing drinks after working for the last 8 months. During this time, I've replaced almost everything in the machine (seems like every week something would break), but this time I'm stumped.
The machine accepts bills or coins and will give correct change. However, as soon as you press a vend button (any of them) it goes out of service....... nothing happens and you have to unplug the machine to clear the error displaying in the bill validator. Usually when this happens it's a bad vend motor, but all of the motors work flawlessly when you manually operate them. I thought it might be the coin changer, so I purchased a refurbished one and it does the same thing. Then I tried another changer from a working machine it still will not vend.
Tried a known good bill validator too, and it didn't fix the problem either. I changed every vend button switch in the unit and no luck. I changed every "sold out lamp" as well, still no vend. Then I changed the relay......... no luck, does the same thing. I check the wiring harness and I can't find any problems at all.
The only replacement part I'm not 100% sure was working properly is the relay I put in it. It came out of a spare parts machine that was supposed to be working fine when pulled out of service.
Anyone have any ideas? I really like this old girl and would love to have it working again.
Last edited: