This installation guide covers Card Reader installation on Milnor Washers.

These readers uses Pulse control (Coin Drop Emulation) to start the machine. Some example model numbers include MCT18E4, MCR27E5, MCR18ES and more.

Required Parts

Card Reader Kit
- The reader board type MUST be "Generic Relay" - Part #: ASSY-02-02-11
Card Reader Wiring Harness
- Part #: 02-06-63
12V External Power Supply
- Part #: 03-01-46

Installation Summary

"Generic Relay" Card Reader board type must be used
Card Reader harness to be spliced into the machine for coin drop emulation
External power supply used for Card Reader power (if applicable)
Machine Side settings: Configure the machine to start from 1 pulse

Installation Steps

Step 0: Number the machines in the location

Before proceeding, it is recommended that you assign numbers and labels to each machines in the laundry room/building.

Step 1: Turn Machine Power OFF

It is always recommended to power the machine off before install the card readers.

Step 2: Remove Coin Drop (Card-Only Installs)

Removing the Coin Drop is only necessary for Card Only installs.

If you are installing the reader in a Hybrid (Coin + Card) configuration, the Coin Drop need to remain installed.

Step 3: Number the reader using the DIP switches

In order to configure a Card Reader to report as a specific Washer or Dryer number, you need to set the reader's DIP Switches to specific positions. These DIP Switches ONLY affect what the reader will display as for it's machine type (Washer/Dryer) and it's machine number:

Review our: Reader DIP Switch settings article for details on how to set the Card Reader's Machine Type, and Reader Number.

You need to do this BEFORE mounting the Card Readers onto the machines, as accessing the back of the card reader is required.

Step 4: Card Reader Pulse/Start Connection

Splice the reader's GREEN and WHITE wires, from the provided reader harness across Coin1's, or Coin2's, input on the machine.

Below is a picture of the coin drop, which is connected to the machine's Coin1 input.
If there is an existing coin-drop, the colors of the wires that the reader start wires connect to, are the Coin Drop's Blue and Green wires.

Once the coin drop has been removed; the reader's GREEN wire connects to where the coin drop's GREEN wire was removed; and the reader's WHITE wire connects to where the coin drop's BLUE wire was removed:

Step 5: Card Reader Power Connection

Connect the 12V power supply to an available outlet. Otherwise, splice the power supply to 110V/220Vac and connect the 12Vdc plug to the mating plug on the reader harness.

When connecting to the machine directly, you'll be cutting off the AC prong, and splicing these wires directly to the machine (we recommend consulting the manufacturer, or an electrician, to confirm this type of connection).

Step 6: Mounting the Card Reader

If you ordered Card-Only reader kits, follow this general guide.
If you ordered Hybrid (Coin + Card) reader kits, follow this general guide.

Step 7: Activate the Card Reader

Proceed to secure the reader to the machine and then Activate the Card Reader using the Activation Card for this specific location:

Note: you MUST use the Activation Card for THIS SPECIFIC LOCATION,
or else the card reader will not appear on the LaundroPortal for this location.

This will activate the reader and programs the reader with the location's specific Support and Location IDs.

The Card Reader will then automatically connect to VAC01's wireless network and once connected, will be visible on the LaundroPortal where you can configure it's vend prices.

Setting Vend Pricing

Set the pricing of the reader from the LaundroPortal.

For general information about machine vend pricing, review our Configuring Card Reader/Machine Vend Prices article.

These machines use Pules communication, so the Card Readers only sends ONE pulse to start the machine. Therefore you need to configure the machine to start from 1 pulse (1 "coin") so that the pules from the Card Reader satisfies the full vend price of the machine.

Usually this means either setting the price of the machine to $0.25 so that it starts from 1 pulse (by default the coin value is usually set to $0.25).

OR changing the value of the Coin Input, on the machine itself, to match the full vend price of the machine.

If every tap of a laundry card only deducts $0.25 off the vend price being displayed on the machine, then you need to adjust the coin/pulse value, on the machine itself, so that one pulse satisfies the full vend price of the machine, allowing it to start from 1 tap of the laundry card.

Troubleshooting

Below are problems commonly encountered during installation of readers on these machines.

For more general card reader troubleshooting, see the Card Reader Troubleshoot section of our Help Center.

Issue	Explanation and resolution
Machine receives no pulse / Vend price does not go down at all	Either the existing coin drop is not functioning as expected or you have spliced to the incorrect coin drop wires. You must splice to the coin drop's green and blue wires. You can confirm the coin drop is working by disconnecting the reader and inputting a quarter into the machine to see if it registers the coin action (one pulse)
Reader taking money but machine vend only goes down by $0.25 cents	The Card Reader will only sends ONE pulse to the machine, so ensure that the machine is configured to start off of one pulse. If the machine is only deducting 25cents from its displayed vend price, when a Laundry Card is used, then the Card Reader is installed correctly, but the machine side settings need to be configured so it starts from 1 pulse (the machine is currently registering the pulse, but only as a 25cents payment instead of the entire vend price). Therefore, inside the MACHINE's configuration settings, you can either: Change the value of one pulse to be equal to the full vend price of the machine, or Change the machine's vend price to $0.25 or $0.01. In either case, the one pulse from the reader would satisfy the machine's vend price and trigger the machine to start it's cycle.
The machine starts, but once the cycle is over the Card Reader continues to display "Busy"	The Card Reader's Cycle Time (mins) setting is out of sync with the machine actual cycle time of the machine: Pulse communication Card Readers are NOT communicating with the machine directly, so the only way the Card Reader knows how long a wash cycle lasts for is based on the amount of time programmed into the Card Reader's Cycle Time (mins) setting. Regardless of what's actually happening with the machine, once the reader takes a payment, it starts a timer based on this setting, and the reader will display "Busy" until it's internal time has expired. The machine is in complete control of the cycle time, so adjust the machine settings to set the actual cycle time, then ensure you configure the reader with the same cycle time. If you have different cycles that last for different amounts of time, the reader should be programmed with the shortest cycle's time.
Card Reader reboots itself whenever it takes payment from a Laundry Card	Check the external power supply to ensure it's pulling power from a source that provides constant power at all times. It may be the case that the power supply is connected to wires that only provide constant power when the machine is at idle, but during a cycle start, power may be interrupted temporarily causing the reader to reboot. If you've confirmed that the reader receives constant power during the machines start up sequency, try doing a swap test to see if the power supply or card reader board has a hardware issue.