Posted Sun Sep 7, 2008, 6:12pm Subject: Carezza Won't Turn On
I am distraught. My Gaggia Carezza, approaching its 3-year anniversary of making me pretty damn good espresso almost every day is in a coma. It will not turn on. Friday it made me coffee, Saturday it does not respond. No power failures, no thunder storms, outlet and cord sound and intact. I have a call into a local firm called Coffee Techs, but wondered if anyone has seen this before.
I made a feeble attempt to remove the bottom (where the cord enters) but the combination of screws and plastic tabs has me a bit mystified and I have no idea what I'd look for in there anyway that might cause this. (Tiny mice?)
In the event that it is in fact dead and not repairable, I'll post a query about my next upgrade in another topic.
Completely unresponsive. I've even tried talking to it :-)
There usually is a light when powered on (red/orange) and also a green light next to it that glows green when ready to brew temperature is reached. Neither lights up, and I have left it "on" for 20 minutes or so to see if somehow both LEDs had failed, but it does not heat up at all, so it seems no power is getting to the unit. I suspect a switch (hopefully) but fear a major internal failure.
No such thing as a "major internal failure". It's just a box full of parts that connect to each other. I'm not familiar enough with the Carezza's wiring to tell you exactly how to track where the glitch is, but come on over to the site in my signature, and you will find several people who have more experience than I do with that model. You will also find wiring diagrams that will help you to track down the problem.
Do you have a multimeter? The first thing I'd check is the thermal fuse for continuity. It's a part that costs a dollar or so and is most likely clamped down to the boiler and covered with tubing. If you do check it, do it with the machine unplugged. I'm no expert with machine repair, but a while back I fixed my unresponsive Gaggia Evolution by replacing the thermal fuse. Gaggias are pretty basic compared to other machines. One dollar and maybe a half hour at the most to replace it with a new one.
Thanks to this site and Spresso Bean's help I have a parts diagram and some idea that I should try to save my dear Carezza rather than replace it. A chat with a helpful service tech at GaggiaShop.com inspired me to open the top and get out a multimeter I don't know how to use to check if the power switch (part DM1882 0-1 switch) is dead, or perhaps if it's the "DM1040 Fuse."
A look at the switch with the lid off shows some kind of badness occurred--it's a bit melted by one terminal, which I assume is not standard :-) My question is this, where do I put the probes of the multimeter to see if current is going through the switch?
I have put some photos of the switch up on my website here and here with terminals labeled as viewed from the back, (1-Upper Left, 2-Upper Right, 3-Lower Left, 4-Lower Right)
It seems that the power in goes to 2 & 4, but I have no idea what the meter should read with the switch, on, or off, etc. Nor do I know if the red probe should go on 2 and black on 4, etc.
Can anyone look at the pics and tell me where to put the probes, switch on or off, and let me know what I should see on the meter if the switch is still good or not? I think I have to replace the switch, and I snapped the switch support bracket (part #RE0003 Switches support ) taking it out, and from the looks of it the shorted spade terminal on the brown wire is suspect.
Any assistance that will keep me from electrocuting myself or my Carezza is most appreciated.
First recommendation: Unplug the unit and do all your testing with the resistance/Ohm meter. This is one way, (the only way) to be sure you don't get shocked.
A burned connector, in this case, is most likely caused by a loose crimp or connection to the spade. Now that excessive heat has run it's course, the switch may be damaged. First would be to unplug the connector from the spade, clean it well to bare metal and see if you can get a tight fit with the spade to the lug. (clean up both sides of the burned connector) That may be all that is required. You can ohm out the switch to see if it is still functional. I don't have the detail/diagram to tell you what lugs to test, (likely the one directly across the switch from the burnt one). Looks that if the simple fix doesn't work, a switch and a new spade lug may get you going. I doubt the burned connector is caused by a short (though I could be wrong....) more likely a bad conncection to spade to lug caused the excess resistance and burned the connector.
Sounds like you might have found the problem, which is a good thing. I wish I knew more about electrical troubleshooting, but there are people around here that are great with that stuff and might be able to point you in the right direction if Frost hasn't already. As long as it's unplugged you should be safe, and hopefully you'll be able to get it going again soon enough.
Well, the main power switch is definitely shorted--there was no continuity between any of the 4 lugs on it. So I ordered a new one, and the damn support bracket that I snapped off trying to remove it, and the red LED i am pretty sure I damaged taking IT out. I'm a bit ham-fisted I guess, but parts are on order, and for $35 or so I should be singing happy espresso tunes by next week. Thanks for all the help.
Hopefully you'll post an update on whether that fixed it. $35 isn't bad compared to sending it in for repair or having to buy a new machine. It also lets you become familiar with what's inside in case you ever have to work on it again in the future.
Symbols: = New Posts since your last visit = No New Posts since last visit = Newest post
Forum Rules: No profanity, illegal acts or personal attacks will be tolerated in these discussion boards. No commercial posting of any nature will be tolerated; only private sales by private individuals, in the "Buy and Sell" forum. No cross posting allowed - do not post your topic to more than one forum, nor repost a topic to the same forum. Who Can Read The Forum? Anyone can read posts in these discussion boards. Who Can Post New Topics? Any registered CoffeeGeek member can post new topics. Who Can Post Replies? Any registered CoffeeGeek member can post replies. Can Photos be posted? Anyone can post photos in their new topics or replies. Who can change or delete posts? Any CoffeeGeek member can edit their own posts. Only moderators can delete posts. Probationary Period: If you are a new signup for CoffeeGeek, you cannot promote, endorse, criticise or otherwise post an unsolicited endorsement for any company, product or service in your first five postings.
= No New Posts since last visit 