ECM Giotto: Ticking time bomb ?

Koffee_Kosmo

nope, thats not the noise its making. its a ticking sound. its definately not the pump noise.

Do you have a green light and an orange light (or similar but 2) Generally 1 light is the power indicator and the other is the safety light connected to the low water level indicator If this is faulty or dirty or not making good contact it will click all the time It will also affect the vibration pump and boiler element as it will stop power to them and they wont run or turn on This feature is there to protect your machine from frying itself Lucky it's easy to check and fix

when you say filtered water...are you talking about like bottled water here ? undecided dont quite get this, if you have it "plumbed in" then arent you using tap water anyway ? pls explain.

You can use a filter like a brita jug or an in-line filter connected direct to your tap line to clean your tap water Something like this KK

Koffee_Kosmo

Also a couple of links for you to review and use as part of your routine http://www.giotto.com.au/giotto_usertips_a1.htm http://www.giotto.com.au/giotto_cleaning_a1.htm KK

Remus

Do you have a green light and an orange light (or similar but 2)

only one light. green.

It will also affect the vibration pump and boiler element as it will stop power to them and they wont run or turn on This feature is there to protect your machine from frying itself

impossible for my machine to have run out of water. every cup i fill, i replace water in the machine, its just part of my routine cos its near the sink. my routine maintenance of it is pretty good. it gets a clean every month using cleaning cleaning powder. the only thing i dont do is the water thing, cos i had no idea about that so its always been tap water. did a quick search on the net and i found a few issues with some electrical board or something like that. the symptoms sound very similar. ie: ticking sound and the pump wont trigger. i'll give ecm a call on monday and get it over there. you never know how valuable something is till its gone huh ? lol

Koffee_Kosmo

If this is faulty or dirty or not making good contact it will click all the time

I did read that you have a full tank that's why I feel its one of those 3 things Faulty board/switch, dirty connection or just not making good contact My machine does this ticking when the contact is bad on the tank connection (but my second light will also turn off to indicate a problem) KK

askthecoffeeguy

are you sure its not a bomb?

[deleted]

Sounds like the element relay to me. This is not uncommon in older machines. The current repair involves changing the control board and wiring loom to that from the Giotto Premium Plus. Bonus is that you get a far more robust board and the low water level light flash of the new machine. The board and loom retail at around $330 if I recall. It's a relatively simple 30 min job. 2mcm

askthecoffeeguy

Thanks 2MCM - sounds on the money (and he should know he retails them in case anyone is interested in purchasing one!) Cheers, ACG

dibartoli

Remus, I agree with Chris sound to be like the boards. We are in Bondi Junction and we are retailer and service agent of ECM and other brands. You can Google under Di Bartoli Home Barista Centre, will happy to help. Regards Renzo

askthecoffeeguy

I can also highly recommend Renzo and the team at Di Bartoli as being first rate! Got my Bezzera Domus Galatea from them and the service was outstanding! ACG

Lovey

G'day Remus, do you have any updates? How's the machine going? Steve.

Remus

thanks all for the advice and help. my machine got back today from essential coffee services in Bankstown. 2mcm was exactly right with his diagnosis, (if i got a response earlier i would have taken it to you!). the total cost of the repair was $500. which included the replacement of the wiring loom and board, general service and clean, replacement of shower screen and group head seal, replacement of all other seals around front of machine. everything sits much tighter now, especially around the lever where it was leaking a bit of water during an extraction every now and then. although that's expensive i dont think they ripped me off considering what they did. what was a little annoying to me was that it was at their shop for a week before someone got back to me and diagnosed the problem. that's pretty average in my opinion. what was first rate was the bearded bloke on the front counter, (forgot his name now), great guy, excellent customer service ! poured my first cup of campos today and it was devine ! all set for a weekend roast aswell so life is good. 🙂

askthecoffeeguy

Ah... you've got to be happy with that! Actually a week's turnaround time for a prosumer machine is pretty good all things considering - and the coffee techs generally charge the same whether they're working on your machine or a commercial one - so its pretty good value really The last time I had my Bezzera BZ99 serviced it cost me the same amount of money but the quality of the coffee in the cup afterwards was well worth it! Also think about how much money you save by not having to go to cafe's for coffee - besides which in theory at least you should get a perfect coffee every time coz you're the one making it - and if you're not completely happy with it you can chuck it and start again - a feature that ought to be standard in all cafes if you ask me! Cheers, ACg

psaigh

I took my inlaws machine in to get it's thermostat fixed four weeks ago and still haven't heard anything (it's an annoying super-auto so it serves them right 😉) It'd be great if they did loan scheme like a lot of auto-mechanics, where you give them your fantastic e61 and they give you a plunger to help pass the time ;D

Remus

[quote]Ah... you've got to be happy with that! Actually a week's turnaround time for a prosumer machine is pretty good all things considering - and the coffee techs generally charge the same whether they're working on your machine or a commercial one - so its pretty good value really The last time I had my Bezzera BZ99 serviced it cost me the same amount of money but the quality of the coffee in the cup afterwards was well worth it! Also think about how much money you save by not having to go to cafe's for coffee - besides which in theory at least you should get a perfect coffee every time coz you're the one making it - and if you're not completely happy with it you can chuck it and start again - a feature that ought to be standard in all cafes if you ask me! Cheers,