This installation guide covers installing Card Readers on Dexter machines equipped with a Dexter C-Series Control Board.

These Card Readers use Serial communication, and support advanced features like multi-vend pricing, full-cycle dryer pricing, Plus Cycle (e.g. Prewash, and Supercycle).

Required Parts

Card Only installation
Card Reader Kit (part #: CR-10-126-28 (Washers)/CR-10-126-02 (Dryers) - Reader Board Type "Generic Serial").
This kit part # includes a special mounting plate that will be installed where the coin-box is removed
or
Hybrid Coin+Card installation
Card Reader Kit (part #: CR-10-151-28 (Washers)/CR-10-155-02 (Dryers) - Reader Board Type "Generic Serial").
This kit part# includes a generic mounting bracket that will need to be custom fitted to the machines
Card Reader Wiring Harness - same harness is used for Card Only, and Hybrid Coin+Card installs;
but harness can different based on Washers vs Dryers:

02-06-78 - used for both Washers and Dryers:

02-06-78W - used for Washers:

02-06-78D - used for Dryers:
Coin Drop block-out plates (optional and model dependent)

Installation Steps

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 and Coin-box (Card Only Installs)

For Hybrid Coin+Card installations, this step should be skipped.

For Card Only installations, the Card Reader will mount in the area where the coin box has been removed.

Step 3: Number the reader using the DIP switch

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 installing the Card Readers onto the machines, as accessing the back of the card reader is required.

Note: For STACK DRYERS specifically!!!

Whenever numbering readers for stack Dryers, you need to SKIP A NUMBER.

One reader controls both the upper and lower pockets on the same Dryer stack. The number that you set using the DIP switches will automatically correspond to the lower Dryer pocket;
the upper Dryer will then assume the lower dryer's number +1.

e.g. if you have 2 Stack Dryers, if the 1st reader is numbered as Dryer #1 (using the dip switches),
then the next reader you configure needs to be set up as Dryer #3 (NOT #2)

On the 1st Dryer stack, you will set the reader as Dryer #1 using the DIP switches.
(the reader will then display the lower pocket as Dryer #1, and upper pocket as Dryer #2)
Then when numbering the 2nd Dryer stack, you will set the next reader as Dryer #3 using the DIP switches.
(the reader will then display the lower pocket as #3, and the upper pocket as #4)

Step 4: Card Reader Signal Connection

Connect the Card Reader's 4-wire connector to a C-Series Control Board header with the label "SERIAL COM".

Connection shown on a Washer:

Connection show on a Dryer:

Step 5: Card Reader Power Connection

For Washers (click to expand)

You'll be splicing the Card Reader harnesses BLUE and RED wires across the two red wires coming from the machine's P7 connector:

These wires should be coming from the machine's transformer, and will be providing 24V

For Dryers (click to expand)

connect the Card Reader's BLUE and RED wires across the machine's BLACK and WHITE wires coming from the 24Vac transformer:

Ideally, if you did not receive the harness with spade connections preinstalled, modify the Card Reader's harness to use female quick-connect connectors and connect to the male connectors coming from the control

Note about using the older style Dexter C Series Card Reader Harnesses:

The older Card Reader harness has a connector that plugs directly into the COIN ACCEPTOR header.

However, if you happened to receive an older style harness, you should NOT be connecting reader power by plugging this connector into the COIN ACCEPTOR header on the machine's control board, as this could negatively affect the machine's control board:

Step 6: Mount the Reader

Card Only installations (click to expand)

You'll receive the following mounting hardware for Card Only installs:

This is a 2 piece bracket, 1 side need to be attached to the Card Reader directly, which the other side is mounted to the machine where the coin box is normally located:

Remove coin box if present.
Install the machine side mounting bracket (you may need to detach it from the reader first):
Install the reader side bracket to the back of the reader, then mount reader to the machine side bracket using the dome nut at the top.

Hybrid (Coin+Card) installations (click to expand)

You will need to drill custom holes in order to mount the card reader to the machine.

The mounting bracket for the Washers will look like this:

The mounting bracket for the Dryers will look like this:

Both mounting brackets share the same 3-stud layout, however the brackets intended for the Dryers have 2 holes at the bottom of the bracket that allow for the Card Reader to be installed/removed from the bracket, while the bracket remains installed on the machine (where as the Washer bracket needs to be installed/removed from the machine with the Card Reader enclosure attached)

Step 7: Activate the Card Reader

Power ON the machine.

This will provide power to the Card Reader, which will display a "Not Activated" message once it's finished booting up:

Place the Activation Card, for this specific location, on the Card Reader for a few seconds to activate it to the 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, it will be visible on the LaundroPortal once it passes the Wireless Test and displays the message "Good Signal!":

Once the Card Reader is communicating with the machine's control board:

Dryer Card Readers will grab the updated vend prices from the machine directly
Washer Card Reader will take over pricing control, and likely change the machine vend prices to the reader's default price of $2 or $4.
The vend pricing can be updated via the LaundroPortal.

Setting Vend Prices

Dryers - Pricing Controlled by the Machine Directly (click to expand)

Pricing is entirely controlled by the machine directly on C Series Dryers

The machine provides the reader with it's pricing table over the serial communication link; so once you set the prices on the Dryers themselves, the machines will automatically update the card readers with the correct prices.

Pricing control does NOT work on Dexter C series Dryers,

so you'll want to make sure you install the readers, with the pricing control software, on the Washers only.

Dexter C Series Dryer readers will come preloaded with reader Control Type "Dexter Serial [02]":

There are no price settings to control via the LaundroPortal.

Washers - Pricing Controlled via the LaundroPortal (click to expand)

With newer Card Readers, on C series Washers ONLY, it's possible to have the card reader control the machine's pricing, via the LaundroPortal.

This will override the pricing set through the machine, so that you can set washer PRICES via the LaundroPortal (wash cycle TIMES still need to be set on the machine itself).

Most new C Series Washer readers will come with this pricing control software preloaded on the readers intended for these machines; so when these readers are installed, they will automatically change the prices of the machine, to the reader's default price (usually $4), as soon as the card reader is activated.

Dexter C Series Washer readers will come pre-loaded with reader Control Type "Dexter Cseries Serial with Pricing Control [28]":

C-Series Card Readers, that are using the Pricing control software, will display price settings that can be controlled via the LaundroPortal.

Note About DexterLive Machine Control

If the customer is using DexterLive to control the prices of all their machines (Washers and Dryers);

then we recommend setting the Washer readers to also use the default "Dexter Serial [02]" Control Type.

This will ensure that the Card Reader, and DexterLive, are not fighting for control over the Washer prices.

Regardless if your machine's are in control of the prices, or you're using the LaundroPortal for Washer prices, while not required, it is still strongly recommended that you create Machine Groups via the LaundroPortal (e.g. 60lb washers, 50lb dryers, etc.).

This will allow the LaundroPortal's reports to show statistics based on specific groups/sizes of machines, along with utilizing some other features of the Laundro Portal that are dependent on these groups.

For more information about setting up customer machine groups, review the Manage Groups Menu - Creating Custom Machine Groups section of our Configuring Card Reader/Machine Vend Prices help center article.

If you need any help with Card Reader Control Types, or updating older Dexter C series Washer readers to be able to use the pricing control software on your washers; please contact our support team: support@laundroworks.com.

Troubleshooting

Below are problems commonly encountered during installation of readers on C-series Dexter machines.
For more general card reader troubleshooting, see the Card Reader Troubleshoot section of our Help Center

Ensure the Dexter C-series Washers/Dryers are running recent firmware. Otherwise they may not work correctly with the Laundroworks Card Readers.

If the washers/dryers are models from 2021 or earlier, and if the firmware on them has not been updated since then, you will almost certainly need to update the firmware on those machines before the card reader will operate on them correctly.

Issue	Explanation and resolution
Pricing is out of sync The price being displayed on the Card Reader is different from the price displayed on the machine.	Normally the machine and Card Reader will stay in sync automatically, but this can happen if you recently changed pricing on the machine. At the present time, the reader only grabs the pricing table from the machine periodically, or when the reader is booting up from being powered OFF. So reboot the Card Reader (this can be done by powering the entire machine OFF and back ON). When the reader boots back up, it should sync with the machine's pricing.
Reader not taking money and not starting the machine	If this is an existing/older machine, the most likely cause is out-of-date software on the machine itself. Update the machine's firmware to the latest software. You'll need a computer and USB stick onto which to copy firmware files. The updated machine firmware will come from Dexter
Card Reader displays a crazy high vend price ($650+) while the machine displays the correct price	This is usually caused by the machine's firmware being out of date. Update the machine to the latest available machine firmware from Dexter
You see "select cycle". When placing a card to the reader, the reader shows the card balance, but won't start the machine	Update the machine to the latest machine firmware. You'll need a computer and USB stick onto which to copy firmware files. The updated machine firmware will come from Dexter
Hybrid Coin+Card Install - coins aren't registering their correct values	This can happen if you're using the pricing control software on the Card Reader attached to this machine (Reader Control Type "Dexter Cseries Serial with Pricing Control [28]") This software has a "Left Coin Value" and "Right Coin Value" setting that need to be set correctly for the coin drop that's installed: So check the reader's Left/Right coin value settings to make sure they are correct (in some cases you may find the values may be swapped around - left coin value is set to $1.00 when it should be $0.25 for example).
LaundroPortal displays a "Machine/Serial Communication" error and Card reader displays a "No Comm with Machine" error	This error indicates that the card reader is unable to communicate with the machine's control board. This can only be caused by 1 of 3 things: Issue with Card Reader Issue with Card Reader's wiring harness Issue with machine's control board If you have a machine, of the same model, that's working correctly with it's card reader, try doing a reader swap test to see if the issue is the card reader itself. If this reader works on a known working machine, then the reader is not the issue; put the readers back to their original position, and then try swapping just the reader's wiring harness between the same 2 machines. If it's not a reader or a wiring harness issue, then it's an issue with the machine's control board. In most cases, this likely indicates that the firmware running on the Dexter control board needs to be updated to the latest firmware to be able to communicate with the card reader. Below is a link to a video from Dexter that shows how to update the firmware on their Dexter C series machines: Dexter C series firmware update video
Card Reader displays correctly when machine is at Idle but the card reader powers OFF/reboots whenever the machine's cycle is started	This is usually related to a power issue, and it's likely the power wires the reader is using is NOT a constant 24VDC power source. You may be tied into a circuit which only receives constant power when the machine is at idle, but when the machine starts a cycle, it cuts power to these wires temporarily. To correct this issue, you'll need to splice the reader's power wires into a constant 24VDC circuit. It is recommended to get reader power from the machine's 24V transformer directly

Dexter: C-Series (Washers and Dryers)