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EM6910 not heating up/double shot light only working when machine is turned on

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  • #16
    Originally posted by LeroyC View Post
    That sounds like excellent advice.

    Karyn you should definitely try some active drying of the control board before you try anything else. If that doesn’t work then a new triac or even a whole control board is still cheaper than a new machine. It’s potentially a DIY job, but there’s a couple of good repairers in NZ depending where you’re based.
    Great, will try drying it and see how we go. We're not afraid of DIY, but if necessary will take it to a repairer. By any chance are there any good ones in the Wairarapa, as that's where we're based? (or even Wellington?). If not I guess there's always the courier option, if it means it gets looked at by someone who knows what they're doing

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    • #17
      Originally posted by Jackster View Post
      ^if you can solder... Even a board replacement needs soldering.
      No problem to do a bit of soldering here

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      • #18
        Originally posted by rawill View Post
        Hmm, I never have removed the tank to fill it, in 10 years!
        And here I was thinking I was one of few who fills from above.......good to know I'm not!

        Comment


        • #19
          BTW, thanks to you all for your help. Will try starting it up again tomorrow after a night by the fire and let you know what happens....

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          • #20
            Originally posted by Karyn View Post
            Great, will try drying it and see how we go. We're not afraid of DIY, but if necessary will take it to a repairer. By any chance are there any good ones in the Wairarapa, as that's where we're based? (or even Wellington?). If not I guess there's always the courier option, if it means it gets looked at by someone who knows what they're doing
            LTC Electrical in the Te Aro/Mt Vic area are the ones to talk to. Nice people.

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            • #21
              Brilliant, thanks. I've used them before, and thought they might be good people to take it to. Have found them really nice and very helpful in the past.....unlike the local place we have here in Carterton :/

              Originally posted by LeroyC View Post
              LTC Electrical in the Te Aro/Mt Vic area are the ones to talk to. Nice people.

              Comment


              • #22
                Originally posted by Karyn View Post
                And here I was thinking I was one of few who fills from above.......good to know I'm not!
                G'day Karyn

                As long as you use good quality water (perhaps tap stuff in NZ, certainly not over here in West Oz) and check the tank for crud (mould, dirt etc) every so often you should have no problems.

                Mind you, a 6910 I was given "as it was dead" had a mud tide mark about 3cm from the bottom of the tank. An A to Z clean and (surprise, surprise) it all worked again. The showerscreens were also completely clogged up - this photo was after a rough cleanup. I really should have photoed the tank and steam wand - Gamalost anyone? - to use as a cautionary tale about the need for cleanliness.

                Click image for larger version

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                BTW, the 6910 guru is noidle22 (Bathurst NSW) - he could probably fix your 6910 on his bench in a few minutes. Pity 'bout the commute.

                Hopefully you can enjoy your cuppa again soon.

                TampIt

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                • #23
                  Sorry, forgot to update you re your suggestion. I had the oven on most of the day so left the machine near it with the door open (didn't remove covers). Have been trying randomly to start it up since, but the power light just flashes and it doesn't get to ready. Haven't yet tried it today after its night by the fire with covers removed, but will do so soon and let you all know the outcome.

                  Originally posted by Xanthine View Post
                  Hi Karyn

                  Going by the symptoms you described it sounds like you may have got water inside on the control board.
                  This sometimes happens when water splashes over the side of the tank while filling or from an internal leak.
                  You could try leaving it in a warm, dry place for a day or two to dry out and then try it again.
                  If this does not work you may have to get it repaired, but this could cost more that the machine is worth - depends on its age and condition.

                  Trev

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                  • #24
                    Ewww, that looks/sounds disturbing. Can't believe people would want to drink that The water here is pretty good, and I check the tank often (can't bear the thought of drinking anything other than coffee made from nice, clean water). I back flush, clean shower screens and descale regularly, although I admit to not starting descaling until last year, when the machine started having problems. Would love to know what an a-z clean is, in case there's anything I'm missing, so will search that and see what pops up.

                    Thanks for the tip re Noidle22, if I have no luck starting the machine up today I'll drop him a line. Yeah, pity about the distance.
                    With all the help we're getting I'm sure we'll figure it out soon


                    Originally posted by TampIt View Post
                    G'day Karyn

                    As long as you use good quality water (perhaps tap stuff in NZ, certainly not over here in West Oz) and check the tank for crud (mould, dirt etc) every so often you should have no problems.

                    Mind you, a 6910 I was given "as it was dead" had a mud tide mark about 3cm from the bottom of the tank. An A to Z clean and (surprise, surprise) it all worked again. The showerscreens were also completely clogged up - this photo was after a rough cleanup. I really should have photoed the tank and steam wand - Gamalost anyone? - to use as a cautionary tale about the need for cleanliness.

                    [ATTACH=CONFIG]22340[/ATTACH]

                    BTW, the 6910 guru is noidle22 (Bathurst NSW) - he could probably fix your 6910 on his bench in a few minutes. Pity 'bout the commute.

                    Hopefully you can enjoy your cuppa again soon.

                    TampIt

                    Comment


                    • #25
                      I realised I had missed updating a bit of what's been happening with the machine, so thought I'd put a full description here....

                      On Tuesday I turned the machine on and it wouldn't warm up; the only light working was the double shot one. I had to unplug it at the wall to turn it off. I tried a factory reset to see if that did anything, but still only the double shot light worked.

                      I then tried turning it on again, and the power button flashed and it heated up, only once it had, it started running/water came out of the group head automatically. I had to turn it off at the wall to stop it, and when I tried to turn it on again it went back to just the double shot light only again.

                      Following this it started working again for a bit so was able to make a few coffees, but when it was running the lights were sometimes flickering and flashing on/off.

                      By Wednesday night when it was turned on the power button flashed and it warmed up, but never got to ready with all the lights on.

                      On Friday I tried it and the power button flashed as it should when warming up, but it seemed to only be warming up slightly, it didn't feel as warm at is would when working properly, and it's continued to do this any time I've tried it since.

                      I've just tried it again today, to see if the night by the fire helped but it's no different. With freezing weather here today the fire is still going, so will leave it where it is, but I would have thought any moisture would have dried up overnight.

                      If still no luck by Tuesday (public hol here Monday), I'll call LTC electrical.

                      Comment


                      • #26
                        Originally posted by Karyn View Post
                        I realised I had missed updating a bit of what's been happening with the machine, so thought I'd put a full description here....

                        On Tuesday I turned the machine on and it wouldn't warm up; the only light working was the double shot one. I had to unplug it at the wall to turn it off. I tried a factory reset to see if that did anything, but still only the double shot light worked.

                        I then tried turning it on again, and the power button flashed and it heated up, only once it had, it started running/water came out of the group head automatically. I had to turn it off at the wall to stop it, and when I tried to turn it on again it went back to just the double shot light only again.

                        Following this it started working again for a bit so was able to make a few coffees, but when it was running the lights were sometimes flickering and flashing on/off.

                        By Wednesday night when it was turned on the power button flashed and it warmed up, but never got to ready with all the lights on.

                        On Friday I tried it and the power button flashed as it should when warming up, but it seemed to only be warming up slightly, it didn't feel as warm at is would when working properly, and it's continued to do this any time I've tried it since.

                        I've just tried it again today, to see if the night by the fire helped but it's no different. With freezing weather here today the fire is still going, so will leave it where it is, but I would have thought any moisture would have dried up overnight.

                        If still no luck by Tuesday (public hol here Monday), I'll call LTC electrical.

                        G'day again Karyn

                        "A to Z clean" - clean everything without stripping the machine completely and then descale it. From what you have said in the last couple of posts, not needed on two grounds - firstly it must be fairly clean (going on pristine) and secondly, I really doubt it is a cleanliness issue anyway.

                        The fact it partially worked again is why I now suspect a connector - just gently moving it around can make / break a flaky connector. It sounds like corrosion on either one of the connectors or the main control board (I guesstimate the latter) - probably due to water ingress. Even randomly spraying the internals with circuit cleaner (the non-residual one!) may fix it temporarily - although I only use that approach when it is urgent and I need to get it going pronto whilst awaiting spares (or spare machines).

                        I empathise - intermittent faults are always the worst to sort out.

                        I would strip it partially down and have a good inspection for loose connections / corrosion. This site has comprehensive strip down instructions complete with photos - do a search as I cannot remember the link offhand.

                        It sounds a lot more encouraging now there is enough info to work on.

                        TampIt

                        Comment


                        • #27
                          Originally posted by TampIt View Post
                          G'day again Karyn

                          "A to Z clean" - clean everything without stripping the machine completely and then descale it. From what you have said in the last couple of posts, not needed on two grounds - firstly it must be fairly clean (going on pristine) and secondly, I really doubt it is a cleanliness issue anyway.

                          The fact it partially worked again is why I now suspect a connector - just gently moving it around can make / break a flaky connector. It sounds like corrosion on either one of the connectors or the main control board (I guesstimate the latter) - probably due to water ingress. Even randomly spraying the internals with circuit cleaner (the non-residual one!) may fix it temporarily - although I only use that approach when it is urgent and I need to get it going pronto whilst awaiting spares (or spare machines).

                          I empathise - intermittent faults are always the worst to sort out.

                          I would strip it partially down and have a good inspection for loose connections / corrosion. This site has comprehensive strip down instructions complete with photos - do a search as I cannot remember the link offhand.

                          It sounds a lot more encouraging now there is enough info to work on.

                          TampIt
                          Hi TampIt,

                          Awesome, thanks. I did a search for A-Z clean but couldn't find anything. I'm not concerned with its' cleanness at the moment, I was just interested to know if there was anything else I should be doing on a regular basis. Seems not

                          That makes sense, it's been very intermittent/changeable. If the problem persists the circuit cleaner could be a go just to have a break from plunger coffee. My partner will open it up for a look - I'm not confident with these things. I think I've got a couple of links bookmarked which will help with this, but he's already replaced the collar and (priming valve, I think it was) so has opened it up before.

                          It's been very confusing, but with help from people here we're getting somewhere. Apologies for forgetting to add details. I suspect it's unrelated, but thought I should also mention the hot water leaks while the machine is running (broken switch, or something?), and the steam isn't the best - takes ages to get going, and loses power while steaming milk. Assuming the latter just needs a clean, so will get onto that when the machine is running again.

                          Will update soon.

                          Thanks again,
                          Karyn

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                          • #28
                            So he opened it up, and it's looking to us as though this is a bit fried! So we're thinking maybe replace it? Found some online, around $70 (NZD) for the part. Could have been a little bit of corrosion around the self priming valve he replaced, but not sure if that's just from water that escaped while he was doing it. Other than that it just looks like there's a bit of dust in there, which will be easy to clean up. Can post more pics if needed, but this seemed the obvious one for now.

                            Comment


                            • #29
                              That attachment isn't working.

                              The machine seems to be displaying a variety of issues, none of which seem to point to one specific cause.

                              Generally there's only a few repairs I carry out on the circuit board. One is a shorted triac due to water leak, the other is a failed closed relay that powers a thermoblock.
                              For any other random or intermittent issues I just replace the board. Not time efficient to troubleshoot it further.

                              It sounds like you could have some triac problems but also something else going on as well. I can't really diagnose it any further over a forum without seeing it in person.

                              Comment


                              • #30
                                Originally posted by noidle22 View Post
                                That attachment isn't working.

                                The machine seems to be displaying a variety of issues, none of which seem to point to one specific cause.

                                Generally there's only a few repairs I carry out on the circuit board. One is a shorted triac due to water leak, the other is a failed closed relay that powers a thermoblock.
                                For any other random or intermittent issues I just replace the board. Not time efficient to troubleshoot it further.

                                It sounds like you could have some triac problems but also something else going on as well. I can't really diagnose it any further over a forum without seeing it in person.
                                Is this image any better? Thanks for your thoughts, not easy to diagnose from a distance. Replacing the board might be the way to go, then see if there's anything else needing doing once we have.
                                Thanks again.
                                Attached Files

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