Tips on Troubleshooting a non-working Cash Drawer

Sometimes a cash drawer may simply stop working for some reason or another. The fact is that a non-working cash drawer can impact the operation of your point of sale counter negatively. The best idea is to see about getting it fixed as soon as possible. Calling out a technician to fix a point of sale cash drawer problem sounds like it might be overkill. You could always buy a new cash drawer from a retailer like Shopify. If you don't feel like spending the money and would prefer troubleshooting it yourself, there are a few things you can do to check to see what's the matter with your cash drawer. It will save you time when a technician does manage to visit in order to fix the drawer. Your cash drawer's ills may be due to:

Poor Setup

Setting up a cash drawer properly can be a daunting task, especially if you decided to do the setup yourself and not consult a technician. They seem easy enough until you hook everything up and nothing works. This can be due to a number of different problems ranging from the wiring internals of the cash drawer to a fault in the connection between the drawer and some other peripheral that controls it. If you have set up the drawer and it has never worked before, this is probably the reason why. A faulty set up can be easily remedied by backtracking and trying to figure out where you went wrong. The installation manuals for these pieces of hardware are extremely detailed, making it a simple job of figuring out where you went wrong and correcting it. If trying to do this yourself the second time results in a non-functioning cash drawer, then it may be time to call out the technician.

Connection Issues

If the cash drawer has been in operation for some time and then stops working for some unknown reason, checking the connections is a good place to start. As with other peripherals in a computerized system, the data transfer between the cash drawer and whatever peripheral controls it is transferred by a data connection via a cable. If the cable connection becomes loose or corroded, then this could lead to a malfunction in opening the cash drawer. This is especially true if the drawer opens sometimes but doesn't at other times. This is probably the best case to assume a short or a cable interruption is responsible for your problem. The easiest way to fix this would be to replace the cable. Most of these cables are standard and can be bought at any electronics supply outlet and replaced easily.

Terminal Issues

Sometimes the connection point between the cash drawer and the peripheral becomes damaged at either terminal point. This could be due to environmental factors 9such as if the terminal and drawer were operating in a high heat or high humidity environment) or due to manufacturing problems on either end of the connection. This is not an easy fix and usually requires the unit be returned to the manufacturer if still under warranty. If it is not under warranty then the unit should be replaced. In a situation such as this, calling out a technician will probably end up in the same answer, but with the added expense of paying the technician for his presence. In any case, you need to replace the peripheral with the damaged terminal, either by returning to the manufacturer for a new one or by purchasing a brand new peripheral.

Mixed Signals

Sometimes, due to an error in the cable configuration, the drawer may open when some extraneous key or combination of keys are pressed. This is most likely due to a malfunction in the cable wiring itself. It can be remedied by buying and replacing the cable as before. Please note that if after replacement this keeps happening then you should contact the support line of your manufacturer since it may be a more serious problem. Generally though, replacing the cable usually fixes this problem completely and these cables are easily sourced, making it a fix that you could probably perform yourself.

In the world of cash drawer problems, there are a lot of ways things can go wrong. As with most electronic equipment, finding the problem based on the symptoms is the most major part of the operation. Once you diagnose the problem, fixing it is a simple matter of getting the parts that you need and replacing the ones that need to be changed. Contacting a technician is the best bet in some situations where you cannot perform the repairs yourself. However, because electronics for a cash drawer aren't overly complicated, someone with a minimum of training in electronic repairs can manage to fix all the basic problems without having to pay for a technician.