Car Wash Blog / Self Serve Industry Blog and Forum
When I want high quality tools there is only one place to go….. Dollar Tree! I want to make a new face plate for my Hamilton ACW-5 because I don’t want to give any more of my money to Hamilton. So I purchased the fine tape measure today. I love the Warning “Always wear protective which complies with current ansi standards”. WHY?
Do you know when you get the “Unexpected Coin Drop” error randomly that the Hamilton techs tell you to unplug the wire harness from the coin dispenser and plug it back in a couple times?
I also called Randy Nix who is a Hamilton rep and he told me that there was crap on the counter switch and that was the problem.
Guess which one was correct? You know I really like Hamilton changers and I for some reason really want to like this acw-5. But it is a true POS. (and I don’t mean “Point of Sale”)…… I also hate Hamilton support. I really believe that at least 1/2 the time they give you the wrong advice. I know for a fact that one jerk told me to purchase the main wire harness (cost me around $100 and takes about 1-2 hours to install) then Heidi another tech said there was no way that was the problem. Oh and if you have a problem she is the person to talk to.
I installed my new credit card acceptor that I received from Hamilton today. I hope this one works longer then the last acceptor!
I received my Hamilton credit card acceptor today, which was really fast. I hope it works!
I just realized that my credit card acceptor has not been working for around a week so I checked it out with a voltmeter. The meter was telling me that the credit card reader was dead. So I called Hamilton to help me troubleshoot the problem. First problem was they could not dial into my entry system (acw-5). So I tried to post a report by hitting F2, F2, Y on the handheld. That is why the handheld (first picture) had the “LAST POST **ERRORR**” message, this means that the entry unit can not dial out. The problem ended up being a punch down that broke (second picture).
Then I called Hamilton back again and they trouble shot the credit card acceptor again and declared it dead. It is still under warranty so Randy Nix at Eagle Car Wash fixed me up and they are going to send me a replacement. I really appreciate Randy; he is a great Hamilton Distributor and guy. He even calls back and handles problems for you!
To get the Hamilton credit card acceptor out of the unit there are 4 bolts that hold it into the acw-5. Unbolt them and the credit card acceptor comes right out. Then remove 2 screws and the acceptor comes off the holder. I then mounted the new acceptor and reversed the process, tested my credit card and everything worked great! Now I can accept credit cards with my acw-5.
The Hamilton ACW-5 is designed to accept tokens but it is also designed to recycle quarters. So Marcus (original owner) made this box to catch the tokens and quarters so the coin hopper will not get jammed. So I installed the box today!