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Nuova Simonelli Oscar - Electrical Problem.

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Discussions > Espresso > Espresso Mods > Nuova Simonelli...

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kleinhouse
Senior Member

Joined: 6 Jul 2010
Posts: 1
Location: Saint Paul
Expertise: I love coffee

Espresso: Oscar
Grinder: Rocky

Posted Tue Jul 6, 2010, 10:42am Subject: Nuova Simonelli Oscar - Electrical Problem.

Hello, I own a Nuova Simonelli Oscar and recently descaled the boiler. Right after i descaled the boiler, the machine heated and worked properly. The next morning, I went to turn it on and the "heating-up" light went on for about one second. Then no lights. After a few seconds the "empty reservoir" light came on. Each time I try to start the machine this same thing occurs. To try and fix this problem, I have replaced the water (not distilled) and unhooked each electrical connection and reattached to verify no loose connections. I do not seem to have current anywhere in the machine, other then the power and empty reservoir lights being on. Any ideas? Is the brain box dead? Thank you, kleinhouse

amish_hooligan
Senior Member

Joined: 12 Jun 2010
Posts: 7
Location: Colorado
Expertise: I love coffee

Posted Tue Jul 6, 2010, 9:19pm Subject: Re: Nuova Simonelli Oscar - Electrical Problem.

Wish I could help. I'm subscribing to this thread because my Oscar has EXACTLY the same symptoms after a boiler descale and complete rebuild. In another thread I asked how to evaluate the health of the brain box but did not get any direct answers. I have not had time to delve deeper into this problem. When I can find the time I plan to try a brain box from a donor machine. Do you have access to one? Nuova Simonelli wants $200 which would only be worth it to me if I already knew for sure that the installed one is dead. It could be something simple and you may have already tried some of these things before posting your question. If that's the case then excuse me for stating the obvious. For example have you made sure the water reservoir is seated properly? The "reservoir empty" light will stay on until it is. Also, have you inspected, cleaned and tightened sufficiently the two electrical contacts at the reservoir base (assuming yours is the pour-over version like mine)? You can eliminate these as the cause of failure by "jumping" them (i.e., connecting them together with electrical wire). If the "reservoir empty" light stays on after you do this then the problem must be elsewhere. I haven't tried this myself but will report back as soon as I can. Lastly to my knowledge is the brain box. I dug up a long ago post by someone who has repaired several Oscars. The post mentioned in passing that the brain box can short out if water find its way there. I'm suspecting this is what happened to mine. I had a specific mishap which could have allowed water to get in there. Could it be what happened to yours? I would only suspect the brain box if you're aware of a situation where this or some other type of damage could have occurred. Let's try to keep this thread going until we are both out of the woods. Thanks

CoffeeBeanFan
Senior Member

Joined: 29 May 2010
Posts: 1
Location: StarBucks
Expertise: I love coffee

Posted Wed Jul 7, 2010, 3:13am Subject: Re: Nuova Simonelli Oscar - Electrical Problem.

Sorry guys, wish I could help. The best I can do is to keep this thread going in the hope someone can help. Have you tried searching the Oscar website?

http://freshroastedcoffeebeans.org

amish_hooligan
Senior Member

Joined: 12 Jun 2010
Posts: 7
Location: Colorado
Expertise: I love coffee

Posted Wed Jul 7, 2010, 6:21am
Subject: Re: Nuova Simonelli Oscar - Electrical Problem.

CoffeeBeanFan Said:

Sorry guys, wish I could help. The best I can do is to keep this thread going in the hope someone can help. Have you tried searching the Oscar website?

Posted July 7, 2010 link

The Oscar web site? I didn't know there was one.

thebaz
Senior Member

Joined: 27 Mar 2006
Posts: 55
Location: Victoria
Expertise: I like coffee

Espresso: NS Oscar
Grinder: Rancilio md50

Posted Thu Oct 28, 2010, 8:32pm Subject: Re: Nuova Simonelli Oscar - Electrical Problem.

I have the same problem and also suspect the brain. I may pull mine apart and see if there is an obvious faulty component. kleinhouse ,did you have any luck with yours?

MikeReilly
Senior Member

Joined: 28 Oct 2007
Posts: 277
Location: Vancouver Island
Expertise: I love coffee

Espresso: La Cimbali Junior D, Gaggia...
Grinder: Mazzer Mini
Drip: Cuisinart
Roaster: Behmor, I-Roast 2, Popper

Posted Mon Nov 1, 2010, 9:30pm Subject: Re: Nuova Simonelli Oscar - Electrical Problem.

This might be completely off the wall, but did anyone check the boiler heating element's condition? Troubleshooting brain boxes is a PITA (have spent a lot of spare hours working on my La Cimbali Junior's box) as you can't test all of the components reliably in situ - diodes, for example, are best off removed from the board for testing. I'm about to spring $320.00 for a new box as my wife's tired of me messing around with it and we just want a machine that works again.

caeffe
Senior Member

Joined: 30 Aug 2007
Posts: 271
Location: socal
Expertise: I love coffee

Espresso: NS Oscar & Pavoni...
Grinder: Mazzer Major / PeDe Moka
Vac Pot: eSantos / Yama tabletop
Drip: Krups Moka Brew / Bodum Kona
Roaster: I-Roast 1

Posted Sun Dec 5, 2010, 12:46am Subject: Re: Nuova Simonelli Oscar - Electrical Problem.

welll - another user here with the same problem. I just descaled with citric acid. Drained the boiler,refilled it via the pump, drained it again, and on the 2nd refill it started to turn on/off with lights flashing. Did you guys figure this one out? I'm suspecting the brain box also. How do I confirm that it's the box? Now when I turn it on, the heat light never turns on. The pump and auto refill works.

freewillow
Senior Member

Joined: 23 Dec 2011
Posts: 9
Location: Belgium
Expertise: I love coffee

Espresso: NS Oscar
Grinder: Grinta

Posted Tue Jan 3, 2012, 1:52pm Subject: Re: Nuova Simonelli Oscar - Electrical Problem.

I have an Oscar but it is too new to have it descaled yet. The only thing that I can say is that I had contacts with people at Nuovo Simonelli in Italy and the bottom line is the following: the boiler is huge and the water travelling through it is minima, especially if no cappuccinos are made. The important circuit to descale is the secondary line that goes from the reservoir to the filter. But since this circuit has a relatively small diameter, this circuit needs to be descaled rather regularly IF THE WATER USED IS NOT FREE OF CALCIUM IONS. I belong to another forum, sadly for you in french;: expresso.cultureforum.net. Several people have got the same problem, described here. Always because they tried to descale the boiler by disconnecting one of the feeding pipes. The result was that water escaped some place and killed the brain box. Hope this helps

jpboyt
Senior Member

Joined: 28 May 2010
Posts: 22
Location: Washington, USA
Expertise: I love coffee

Posted Wed Jan 4, 2012, 2:04pm Subject: Re: Nuova Simonelli Oscar - Electrical Problem.

Many of the small boxes that I repair will exhibit a quick momentary "on" of all the relays. The microcontroller then goes about doing a poll of it's inputs. Normally there are multiple safety circuits related to water. If you look at the control box, all of the connectors related to control (low voltage/low current) are going to be in one row. The other row is for high power (line voltages). Look at how many connectors there are. If you have three then the ground, you have three safety or control circuits. These normally relate to empty resevoir, this shuts everything off, and then the low boiler, this also normally inhibits the heating element but allows the pump to run, and finally the high level signal that shuts off the pump and fill solenoid. If you post a photo of the box I can explain more in detail how the box is supposed to function. jpboyt

overlandsea
Senior Member

Joined: 10 Jan 2012
Posts: 10
Location: Seattle
Expertise: Just starting

Posted Tue Jan 10, 2012, 1:08pm Subject: Re: Nuova Simonelli Oscar - Electrical Problem.

I am having a similar problem after descaling. Did anyone figure out what was wrong with the machine/how to fix it? Thanks!

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