This installation guide covers installing Card Readers on Dexter A-series Washers (WCAD or WVCD models). These readers use Pulse communication to trigger payment.
This guide is for the current production reader kits for Dexter A-series.
These readers use the Generic Relay (ASSY-02-02-11) card reader boards and a High-Voltage sensor.
If you're replacing a reader for an existing A-series washer, check to ensure that the reader board type inside the reader says "Generic Relay" on it, and that you have a High Voltage sensor installed.
Do NOT use this guide if your reader board says "Dexter A" on it - which is the older production reader for A-series machines.
Required Parts
Card Reader Kit (Kit Part #: CR-11-126-02).
The board type MUST be a "Generic Relay" card reader board:Card Reader Wiring Harness (Part #: 02-06-39):
12V External Power Supply (Part #: 03-01-46):
High Voltage sensor (Part #: HV-SENSOR-01)
Coin-drop block-out plates:
Wire Splicers
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)
Removing the Coin Drop and Coin-box is only necessary for Card Only installs.
If you are installing the reader in a Hybrid Coin+Card configuration, these components need to remain installed.
Step 3: Number the Card Reader using it's DIP switches
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.
Step 4: Card Reader Start Signal Connector
Connect the reader's Start Signal connector to the P2 header on the machine's control board (where the Coin Drop was originally connected).
This connection is used by the reader to send the start pulse to the machine:
Note: For Hybrid Coin+Card Installations (Start Signal Wiring)
If you are installing our readers in a hybrid configuration, you will NOT be removing the coin-box or coin drop.
On Hybrid installs, the reader will need to be mounted elsewhere on the machine (drilling required) and both the coin drop, and card reader, will need to be connected to the machine's P2 header (Coin1/2 input).
The P2 connection on the machine has 4 PINs:
2 of these PINs are for Coin1's settings on the machine
2 of these PINs are for Coin2's settings on the machine:
You will need to connect the Coin Drop to Coin1's input PINs,
while the Card Reader's wires are connected to Coin2's input PINs.
You can use the Y-Cable that came with your card reader kit to make these connections:
Step 5: Busy sensing - High Voltage sensor
This reader MUST use a High Voltage Sensor device in order to receive a busy signal from the machine.
Do NOT connect the reader's door sensing wires directly to the machine without using a HV Sensor!
The High Voltage sensor is used to determine the running state of the machine.
Splice the two RED wires across the Door Lock Solenoid
(it doesn't matter which wire gets connected to each side of the solenoid, just make sure 1 red wire is connected to either side of the solenoid).
High Voltage sensor:
Door lock solenoid:
Reader Harness Connection:
Step 6: Power
Connect the 120/240Vac side of the power supply, either to an available wall outlet, or splice the power supply directly to the machine, using an appropriate high-voltage connection inside the machine.
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 7: Mount the Reader
The mounting hardware you receive will differ depending on if your machine has a Coin Box or not:
Machine's with a Coin Box - Card Only Installations (click to expand)
Machine's with a Coin Box - Card Only Installations (click to expand)
the Card Reader is typically mounted where the coin box has been removed, using the following mounting hardware:
A Coin Drop blockout plate will also be provided in these kits to cover the hole where the Coin Drop has been removed:
Machine's without a Coin Box - Card Only Installations (click to expand)
Machine's without a Coin Box - Card Only Installations (click to expand)
These will typically be the CardReady/EasyCard machines, and the reader mounting hardware will typically include a mounting backplate that looks like this:
The Card Reader mounting backplate is designed to fit the holes that the EasyCard system was usually initially:
Hybrid Coin+Card Installations (click to expand)
Hybrid Coin+Card Installations (click to expand)
You will need to find a spot on the machine to mount the reader that will allow you to pass the reader's wiring harness through to the inside of the machine (drilling custom holes will be required for this type of install).
You will receive the following mounting backplate as part of a Hybrid Washer reader kit:
Step 8: 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!":
Step 9: Adjust the Coin Value Setting on the Machine
On these machines, our card reader is simply emulating a coin drop, and our reader only sends ONE pulse to trigger the machine to start.
By default, the Coin Value on the machine is usually set to $0.25 for coin drop operation;
so by default, each tap of a laundry card will only take $0.25 off the vend price being displayed on the machine (but the reader will charge the full price to the laundry card on each tap).
To allow the card reader to start the machine from 1 tap of the laundry card;
you'll need to change the Coin Value setting on the machine, from $0.25, to whatever the full vend price is on the machine.
Below is a link to a video on Dexter's website, that discusses how to change machine specific settings:
https://www.dexter.com/support/service-videos/k797crmrry/
Setting Vend Prices
Set the Card Reader's Vend price via the LaundroPortal.
See our Configuring Card Reader/Machine Vend Pricesarticle for specific instructions on vend pricing.
The reader only sends ONE pulse to the machine.
Therefore, you will need to set the value of the single pulse the machine receives, to satisfy the full vend price set on the machine itself.
Usually this means either:
setting the price of the machine to $0.25 so that it starts from 1 pulse/"coin"
or changing the value of Coin1, on the machine itself, to match the full vend price of the machine (this is the recommend method, so the machine's display matches the price the reader is charging)
For A-series models, you can additionally enable the Super Cycle option.
The way it works is that after making payment for the base cycle, the customer has 30 seconds to present the card again to make additional payment to upgrade to the Super Cycle option.
To enable this, first enable the Super Cycle on the Washing machine itself.
Then set the Supercycle cost (in the Card Reader settings from the LaundroPortal) to a non-zero value which you want to charge for the Super Cycle upgrade.
Then set the Supercycle time (in the reader settings on the LaundoPortal) to approximately match the additional time the washer adds to the cycle when the Super Cycle is activated:
Troubleshooting
Below are problems commonly encountered during installation of readers on A-series Dexter machines. For more general reader troubleshooting, see Reader Support Process.
Issue | Explanation and resolution |
Reader taking money but machine doesn't start | The 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 we know it is registering the pulse, but only as 25cents. Therefore, inside the MACHINE's configuration settings, you can either:
In either case, the one pulse from the reader would satisfy the machine's vend price and it should trigger the machine to start it's cycle. |
Reader display showing "BUSY" but machine not running or Reader NOT displaying BUSY after washer started | The Card Reader will always switch to display "BUSY" as soon as the Card Reader takes payment from a Laundry Card (regardless of what's happening on the machine side).
If the Card Reader does NOT display "Busy" but the machine DOES starts; this likely means there is an issue with the High Voltage (HV) Sensor not being able to detect the presence of the door/state of the machine. |
Reader does not allow for additional payment for run the Super Cycle Option | First ensure that the super cycle/extended wash cycle option has been enabled on the Machine Side itself; then ensure that you've set a vend price for the supercycle setting on the Card Reader (if the Card Reader's supercycle cost is set to $0, it will never display the supercycle add on option after starting the machine) Confirm the machine is actually starting from the initial tap of Laundry Card. |
Machine starts, but Card Reader stuck saying "Waiting to Start" | If the machine starts, but the Card Reader is stuck on the Waiting to Start message, there is likely an issue with the HV Sensor used by the Card Reader to detect the state of the machine. |