CoffeeLars Senior Member Joined: 6 Oct 2012 Posts: 5 Location: Stockport Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Gaggia Baby class D Grinder: Dualit 75015
Posted Sat Oct 6, 2012, 1:57pm Subject: Gaggia Baby switches off when hot - HELP!
Situation: I bought a Gaggia Baby Class D on eBay from a guy who clearly hadn’t been using it for some time, nor had he cleaned it - possibly not once. I cleaned it out, descaled it, backflushed it and got it running really nicely. It now makes great espresso. HOWEVER, it switches off when it gets hot, sometimes only after four minutes. The lights on the control panel go, none of the controls work and to all intents and purposes the Gaggia is dead. Left switched off for a while - sometimes it takes over an hour - it will switch back on. When left off for a couple of days it stayed on for much longer again (I even thought it had “fixed itself”), but the more frequent the use, the shorter the period of time it will stay on.
Then I discovered the boiler does heat water for the steam even when the machine is “dead”, as long as I keep it switched on at the back. It obviously can’t go on for a long time, as with no working control panel I can’t start the pump to suck more water to it. But it means the switch at the back works, and the boiler unit heats up.
What I’ve done so far to fix it (with no luck): Changed the thermal fuse Changed both thermostats (for coffee and for steam) Taken out and cleaned any dirt off the circuit board and checked for visible faults Dismantled and reassembled the main power switch - no dirt.
Posted Sun Oct 7, 2012, 3:38am Subject: Re: Gaggia Baby switches off when hot - HELP!
I've never owned a Baby D so I don't know what the internal electronics are like, but to me it sounds like it could be a dry solder joint. If a joint goes dry, heat cycling can affect the electrical conductivity of the joint.
Are there any printed circuit boards or solder joints to switches etc?
CoffeeLars Senior Member Joined: 6 Oct 2012 Posts: 5 Location: Stockport Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Gaggia Baby class D Grinder: Dualit 75015
Posted Sun Oct 7, 2012, 5:04am Subject: Re: Gaggia Baby switches off when hot - HELP!
Thanks for your quick input! It certainly does have a printed circuit board and various solder joints - I shall go over each and every one to look for dried-out ones, and get back with any progress.
Posted Sun Oct 7, 2012, 7:34am Subject: Re: Gaggia Baby switches off when hot - HELP!
Sounds like it is voltmeter time (as it should have been before replacing all those parts). Find out where the power stops when that happens. Have you tried it in a different outlet? The wall socket itself might have a problem.
CoffeeLars Senior Member Joined: 6 Oct 2012 Posts: 5 Location: Stockport Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Gaggia Baby class D Grinder: Dualit 75015
Posted Mon Oct 8, 2012, 3:03am Subject: Re: Gaggia Baby switches off when hot - HELP!
So I've taken the circuit board out and gone over each solder point to check for drying out - but found everything (seemingly) to be fine. I then also fired up the Gaggia with the hood off and the circuit board loose and slightly angled away from the "action" of hot boiler and any steam which might influence any cracked solder points.
The machine still switches off after 5 to 10 minutes (depending on how long it has been allowed to cool down beforehand). I've also tried a different socket - no change.
So I've ordered a voltmeter to try to identify exactly where the power cut occurs - having never used one before I hope I manage to figure it out! In the meantime: any other ideas greatly appreciated.
sirbagin Senior Member Joined: 3 Feb 2013 Posts: 1 Location: UK Expertise: Just starting
Posted Sun Feb 3, 2013, 5:58am Subject: Re: Gaggia Baby switches off when hot - HELP!
Same here, did you managed to find out what was wrong? I've tried connecting front panel from different machine and was the same so this one can be ruled out.
CoffeeLars Senior Member Joined: 6 Oct 2012 Posts: 5 Location: Stockport Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Gaggia Baby class D Grinder: Dualit 75015
Posted Sun Feb 3, 2013, 9:36am Subject: Re: Gaggia Baby switches off when hot - HELP!
It's sorted! It was basically a faulty CPU/circuit board. www.gaggiamanualservice.com was so kind as to point me in the right direction AND sell me a second-hand circuit board which restored the Gaggia Baby back to its former glory.
Phew! Now I can get back to spending time experimenting with coffee blends rather than fiddling with the internals.
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