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Electrolux: Compass and Clarus Control Washers

Compass Pro and Clarus Vibe Washer - Reader Installation Guide

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Written by Kurt Bernhard

This installation article covers Wascomat/Electrolux washers with Compass and Compass Pro controls (the ones with the knob) and the Clarus vibe controls.
The reader uses Serial communication to communicate with the machine directly, including the machine's vend pricing. Some example model numbers include W5180S, W677CC, EUD6045, and more.

Required Parts

  • Card Reader Kit

    • The reader board MUST be "Compass Serial" - Part #: ASSY-02-02-02

  • Reader Wiring Harness

    • Part #: 02-06-50 (included for both card-only and hybrid installs)


      ​For Hybrid (Coin + Card) installations only:

      • You will also receive a secondary Coin Drop Harness - Part #: 02-06-99

Installation Summary

For Card Only installations (click to expand)

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

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: 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 3: Remove the Coin Drop (For Card-Only Installs)

The Card Reader will be mounted in the area where the Coin Drop has been removed.
​

Step 4: Card Reader Serial and Power Connections

Card-Only Installations (click to expand)

IMPORTANT: the orientation of the connector MUST be correct;
note that orientation is different between Compass and Compass Pro controls

Connect the reader's wiring harness to the RS-232 connector on the machine's control board.


​First generation Compass:


​Compass Pro and Clarus Vibe

This connector provides the Card Reader with Serial communication with the machine's control board, as well as power for the Card Reader.

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

Hybrid installs will follow the same instructions as listed in the Card-Only install section above for the Card Reader's Serial and Power connections.

Additionally, you'll also need to use the secondary harness (part #: 02-06-99) as shown below in order for the Card Reader to receive information from the Coin Drop about when coins are used to start the machine:

In this setup, the coin drop needs to be connected directly to the Card Reader. The Coin Drop will be completely disconnected from the washer's control board.

This harness connects to the 4-pin connector on the side of the Compass Serial card reader board:

Completely disconnect the 3-wire Coin drop cable from the Washer's controls, and splice it to the other end of the provided 3-wire coin drop cable harness, color for color, as shown below:

  • Card Reader's WHITE wire ---> Coin drop's WHITE wire

  • Card Reader's GREEN wire ---> Coin drop's GREEN wire

  • Card Reader's BROWN wire ---> Coin drop's BROWN wire

The machine's Coin Drop will no longer be in communication with the machine's control board directly; instead it will send it's coin drop signal to the card reader directly, and the card reader will forward that signal to the machine whenever coins are used to trigger payment.

Note about Coin Drop Compatibility Issues

There may be a compatibility issue where the card reader will be unable to detect coin inputs, depending on the version of Optical Sensor that is installed on the machines coin drop.

Optical Sensors with a clear enclosure are known to work correctly;

while Optical Sensors with a black enclosure do NOT always work:

Unfortunately at this time, we are not aware of any physical markings/part numbers, on the black enclosure Optical Sensors, that can be used to determine if it's a compatible Optical Sensor.
​
If you run into this issue, it is recommended to replace the Optical Sensor with a compatible version (clear enclosure)​​

Step 5: Configure Machine Side Settings

This section is only applicable to Clarus Vibe machines with the touch display (click to expand)

Important Note for Clarus Vibe touch screen washers;
on current installations (March 2025 newer), unless you have been given specific instructions that the Laundroworks Card Reader has been load with special firmware, you must:

  • set the machine's Card Reader Installed setting set to DISABLED (ironically)

  • set the machine's Coin Value setting set to "0.00" in the washer settings menu:


You will also want to ensure that the firmware version of the Washer itself, has been upgraded to version 9.0.0 or higher:


​​This will ensure that our card reader is able to communicate with the machine's control board directly.
​
On the Laundroworks Card Reader side of things, the Card Reader itself should be running a firmware version higher than 5.066:


If you're card reader is running older firmware (especially 5.048 or below), contact our support team in order to get it updated to a newer firmware version.

Other machine models can skip this step

​Step 6: 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 Prices

Set vend prices via the LaundroPortal directly. See our Configuring Card Reader/Machine Vend Prices article for more detailed instructions.
​
The Vend price settings available on the LaundroPortal will look like this:


The LaundroPortal receives information on the Program Numbers from the machine, not the names of the actual cycle option being used by that Program number. For Instance, Program3 in the LaundroPortal may correspond with the first program option displayed on the machine.
​

If you need to determine which Program Number corresponds to a specific base cycle option, it is recommend to use 1 machine as a tester, and change all Program Numbers to a different price (e.g. Program1 = $1, Program2 = $2, Program3 = $3, Program12 = $12, etc.). Afterwards, cycle through each program on the machine directly to determine which Program Number (LaundroPortal) corresponds to a specific cycle option (Physical machine).
​
It is often the case that not all programs are being use by the machine; if that's the case, you only need to program the actual program numbers being used (though there is no harm in setting a price for a program that is not in use, and is generally recommended incase you do end up adding a program down the line).
​
All of the Add-on cycle options, if enabled on the machine itself, will simply add to the base cycle price of the initial program that's selected.

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

Washer says "START NOT ALLOWED" when attempting to start the washer

The laundry card must be physically present on the card reader at the time the START knob is pressed.

Unable to change cycle after starting (regret)

Regret is a concept on compass control washers that allows customers to change a cycle shortly after starting the machine (e.g. go from Hot to Cold). This reader's firmware must be V4.193 or greater to allow cycle price changes after payment has been made. If you need this functionality, contact Laundroworks support and request a firmware update (older readers might not be remotely updatable)

The machine's Start button does not appear when payment is made on the Card Reader

Ensure that the "Card reader installed" setting is DISABLED.

Specifically on Clarus Vibe machines with a touch screen, the Card reader installed setting must be disabled, or else the machine's display may show a card symbol that needs to be selected before the Start option is presented

The Card Reader is rebooting randomly/loosing power

Ensure the PINs intended for the secondary coin drop harness (only used during hybrid installations) isn't contacting the metal of the machine.

Especially for Card Only installations, since this header is not used, it's possible the PINs for this header are contacting the machine causing the reader to short:

This issue can be corrected by bending these PINs inward so they can no longer hit the body of the machine (or any other components of the card reader board itself. If needed, these PINs can be removed entirely since they are not used at all for Card Only installations

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