All VACs that are equipped with a Card Dispenser will have 2 NFC/RFID Card Reader boards installed on them (1 for the VAC's Card Holder, and 1 for the VAC's Card Dispenser).
These reader boards are responsible for reading/writing values to Laundry Cards that are either dispensed by the VAC (reader2 board), or placed in the VAC's card holder (reader1 board).
If a specific NFC card reader board suffers a hardware failure:
If it's the VAC Card holder NFC reader board, the VAC will be unable to detect cards placed in the VAC card holder, so existing customers won't be able to add value to those cards (The VAC will still be able to dispense new Laundry Cards.)
If it's the Card Dispenser's NFC reader board, the VAC will be unable to dispense new Laundry Cards with value loaded onto them. All cards that are dispensed by the Card Dispenser will usually result in either a "Card Write Error" or "No Card (place card back to get owed value)" error. (The VAC will still be able to add value to existing Laundry Cards that are placed in the VAC's card holder.)
These NFC reader boards are a plug-and-play replacement part, so no programming is required when replacing these boards.
Required Parts
The only difference between the NFC Card Reader 1 and 2 boards is the angle of the connector header.
If you have a VAC equipped with a touch screen, then the exact same NFC card reader board part number can be used as a replacement NFC card reader board for either the reader 1 board (VAC Card Holder) or the reader 2 board (Card dispenser).
For VACs equipped with a touch screen,
it is recommended to always order a replacement Card Reader 2 board, as this can be used as either the VAC Card Holder's NFC reader board, or the Card Dispenser's NFC reader board.
NFC Card Reader 2 board - Part #: ASSY-02-03-11
Card Dispenser's NFC Card Reader 2 board
VAC Card Holder NFC Card Reader 1 board (for Touch screen VACs only)
NFC Card Reader 1 board - Part #: ASSY-02-03-10
VAC Card Holder NFC Card Reader 1 board (required for Non-touch screen VACs)
For Non-Touch screen VACs, because of space constraints, you MUST order the Card Reader 1 board if you're ordering a replacement NFC Card Reader board for the VAC's Card Holder. The reader 2 board will NOT fit under the VAC control board because of the angle of its connector.
Replacing the Card Dispenser's Card Reader2 Board
Step 1: Power OFF the VAC
It is always recommended to power the VAC off before replacing any components.
Step 2: Locate the NFC Card Reader2 Board
For VACs that have a front access door, this reader will be seen right on top of the front of the Card Dispenser.
If you have a rear access door VAC, this reader can be seen behind the Card Dispenser stacker.
Below is a picture of an Asahi-Seiko Card Dispenser:
Below is a picture of the NFC reader on a Syncotek Card Dispenser:
Step 3: Disconnect the NFC Reader's Wiring Harness
Remove the 5 Pin Connector from the NFC Card Reader Board:
Step 4: Unmount the NFC Card Reader Board
Remove the NFC board by unscrewing the 2 nuts securing it to the white plastic card dispenser mount (orange box in picture below):
On Asahi-Seiko Card Dispensers especially, there is nothing underneath the white plastic mount that holds the bolts in place, so once the nuts are removed, the bolts will fall to the bottom of the VAC cabinet.
Before completely removing a nut, use a finger or something to hold the bolts in place so they don't fall.
To make it easier to fit your fingers underneath, you can loosen one of the screws that holds the plastic mount to the card dispenser, and completely remove the other mounting screw, so that you can lift up the plastic mount to easily fit your fingers underneath it (these are the screws in the red boxes in the picture above).
Step 5: Mounting the New NFC Card Reader Board
Secure the new board to the Card dispenser by fastening the 2 nuts and bolts from step 4 (these nuts should NOT need to be too tight, just a little more than finger-tight is enough).
In some cases, it may be necessary to drill new holes into the white plastic mounting plate, as new NFC/RFID card readers may have their mounting holes positioned in a slightly different orientation.
Drill the new holes into the plastic mount so that the new RFID board sits in the same position that the old RFID board was previously mounted in.
You'll need to make sure that the antenna area of the new RFID board is centered over the area that the cards travel through, on their way out of the dispenser.
Depending on the card dispenser model installed in your VAC, the final mounting position of the card reader board should look like one of the pictures below:
Step 6: Connect the NFC Board's Connector and Test
Reconnect the 5-pin connector from Step 3 to the new board.
Then turn on the VAC and wait for it to completely boot back to the main home/idle screen.
When an NFC/RFID card reader is initially connected to power, its green LED light will flash twice quickly.
To test the card reader, once the VAC is fully booted back up, you can place a known working Laundry Card on top of the card reader from the inside of the VAC.
You will know the NFC card reader is working because you will see the Green LED light on the board come ON, as shown below, and if the card is left there for an extended period of time, the VAC kiosk may also start beeping to indicate it's detecting a Card Jam:
If you do not see the green LED light come on, when a working Laundry Card is placed near the card reader (it does not need to be physically touching the reader), check the connection of the 5Pin connector to the NFC Card Reader Board to make sure it's secure; then follow that harness back to the VAC control board to make sure that it is secured on the control board side as well.
The harness should be plugged into the header labeled #5 in the picture below:
The VAC board itself will also have this header labeled as "READER2 DISPENSER".
If both connections look secure, try unplugging the 5PIN connector harness (on the VAC control board side, or from the NFC card reader side directly), then plug it back in and check whether the green LED light flashes twice once the connector is plugged back in. (This light will flash twice very quickly, and then turn off, as soon as the NFC board receives power.)
If you do see the green LED come on, when a Laundry Card is placed on top of it, this board is working and you can test out the card dispenser by dispensing a card from the VAC using any of the following methods:
Using a Management Card to Dispense a card at the VAC (touch screen models only)
Purchasing a new card as a customer normally would
Replacing the VAC's Card Holder Reader1 Board
Step 1: Power OFF the VAC
It is always recommended to power the VAC off before replacing any components.
Step 2: Locate the NFC Card Reader1 Board
For VACs equipped with a Touch Screen (click to expand)
For VACs equipped with a Touch Screen (click to expand)
On these VACs the NFC Card Reader board will be found mounted on the bottom right-hand side, right behind the blue plastic which can be seen from the front:
For Non-Touch Screen VACs (click to expand)
For Non-Touch Screen VACs (click to expand)
For these models, you will need to unmount the VAC's main control board, as this reader will be mounted underneath it:
You can unmount the VAC control board by removing the Phillips screws holding the VAC control board to the inside of the VAC cabinet (in most cases you do not need to unplug the connectors from the VAC control board to gain enough space to get at the NFC Card Reader board):
Step 3: Unmount the NFC Card Reader Board
Disconnect the connector from the NFC Card Reader board, and remove the NFC board by unscrewing the 2 nuts securing it to the VAC (in most cases loosening 1 of the far nuts, and removing the other 2 will give you enough room to remove the old NFC Card Reader board).
Step 4: Mounting the New NFC Card Reader Board
Secure the new board in place of the old one using the same nuts to hold it to the VAC's blue plastic.
Step 5: Connect the NFC Board's Connector and Test
Reconnect the 5-pin connector from Step 3 to the new board.
Then turn on the VAC and wait for it to completely boot back to the main home/idle screen.
When an NFC/RFID card reader is initially connected to power, its green LED light will flash twice quickly.
To test the card reader, once the VAC is fully booted back up, you can place a known working Laundry Card on top of the card reader from the inside of the VAC.
You will know the NFC card reader is working because you will see the Green LED light on the board come ON.
If you do not see the green LED light come on, when a working Laundry Card is placed near the card reader (it does not need to be physically touching the reader), check the connection of the 5Pin connector to the NFC Card Reader Board to make sure it's secure; then follow that harness back to the VAC control board to make sure that it is secured on the control board side as well.
The harness should be plugged into the header labeled #4 in the picture below:
The VAC board itself will also have this header labeled as "READER1".
If both connections look secure, try unplugging the 5PIN connector harness (on the VAC control board side, or from the NFC card reader side directly) while the VAC is powered ON. Then plug it back in and check whether the green LED light flashes twice once the connector is plugged back in. (This light will flash twice very quickly, and then turn off, as soon as the NFC board receives power.)
If you do see the green LED come on, when a Laundry Card is placed on top of it, this board should now be working. Try placing a card in the VAC's card holder to ensure it's able to detect Laundry Cards correctly.