Rowe BC3500 change machine hopper motor issue

weirdal1968

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A friend has a BC3500 that doesn't turn the left hopper motor. When a bill is inserted it tries to run the motor but when it doesn't detect coins dropping from the left hopper it dispenses from the other two.

From what I read in the manual said motor is 12v. I assume the place to start would be measuring the three motor voltages to make sure the motor drive circuit is good. If the motor/gearbox is bad where can I get a replacement? What is the best way to remove the old motor and install the replacement?

New to troubleshooting Rowe change machines so if you need more info please let me know.
 
Check solenoid (8 ohms?) light bulb (if good-) light sensor.

The hoppers are supposed to be cleaned 2-4 times a year under rigorous use; probably haven't been cleaned in years?
 
Check solenoid (8 ohms?) light bulb (if good-) light sensor.

The hoppers are supposed to be cleaned 2-4 times a year under rigorous use; probably haven't been cleaned in years?
Had an issue with mine where one of the hoppers is vending one token too many now and then, and causing the machine to throw an error.

Solenoid, light bulb/sensor checked out. Now I'm off to clean... to that end, was going to clean the tokens, but is there a good cleaning/lube word of wisdom for the hoppers @IC777 ? Thanks!
 
Hold on for a second. Look at the drive pin on that hopper. There is a spring pin which mates with the drive.

Sometimes the spring pin falls out or breaks. I had one missing, same symptoms. I replaced the pin and it fixed the problem.

You can also actuate the drive with no hoppers and see if the motor turns.
 
Solenoid, LEDs and sensor PCBs all check OK. All hopper motors turn during left/center/right hopper tests but left gearbox wasn't turning the hopper drive...until it magically started working this morning.

As IC777 suggested I'll do a full cleaning of the chain drive path and retensioning on all three hoppers. While the owner does have the long wooden brush for cleaning the hoppers I doubt he has taken it apart as described in the manual.

Thanks to everyone for the help.
 
Solenoid, LEDs and sensor PCBs all check OK. All hopper motors turn during left/center/right hopper tests but left gearbox wasn't turning the hopper drive...until it magically started working this morning.

As IC777 suggested I'll do a full cleaning of the chain drive path and retensioning on all three hoppers. While the owner does have the long wooden brush for cleaning the hoppers I doubt he has taken it apart as described in the manual.

Thanks to everyone for the help.
On my machine I didn't have the wooden brush either and was a bit eager to get in there and get it working again so I wound up taking a dowel and putting it on the belt sander so it had a nice flat chisel edge and then took a plastic bristle brush that I found at the hardware store and taped it to the other side. Probably wasn't as good as the actual brush made for it bit did work pretty well at scraping the gunk off the guides. Figured I'd share incase you needed one and didn't have and or didn't want to wait to order one and have it shipped
 
My op never had the brush. What does it look like?
 
Solenoid, LEDs and sensor PCBs all check OK. All hopper motors turn during left/center/right hopper tests but left gearbox wasn't turning the hopper drive...until it magically started working this morning.

As IC777 suggested I'll do a full cleaning of the chain drive path and retensioning on all three hoppers. While the owner does have the long wooden brush for cleaning the hoppers I doubt he has taken it apart as described in the manual.

Thanks to everyone for the help.
I just went through this with my BC-3500. It's a manual pain to dissemble the hoppers for sure, but well worth it. Clean the tracks, inspect the agitator components, etc.

Have two hoppers with really shot small coin agitators I can't find replacements for, but fortunately my other 6 aren't nearly as bad.
 
I just went through this with my BC-3500. It's a manual pain to dissemble the hoppers for sure, but well worth it. Clean the tracks, inspect the agitator components, etc.

Have two hoppers with really shot small coin agitators I can't find replacements for, but fortunately my other 6 aren't nearly as bad.
How about some pictures? Good and shot agitators?
 
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