# La Spaziale S5 compact - Not powering on



## Marlon (Jan 23, 2019)

Hello all,

I'm hoping to get some advice on a very poorly La Spaziale S5 compact.

Over the past few weeks, there have been several occasions where upon switching the machine on, during the start-up process, the power trips/cuts out for a millisecond and then comes back on. All lights go out on the front panel and there's a clicking sound, before the machine comes back on. This may occur 5-10 times before remaining switched on.

We immediately replaced the water filter, as we were advised that low pressure could be the culprit.

This had no effect, so were next advised to replace the boiler element and pressure release valve.

Although the element needed replacing (old one had seen better days) the power was still tripping upon start-up. But once warmed up, the machine appeared to be working fine. The machine had been powered on for 3 weeks, before being switched off today.

Unfortunately, it will now not power on at all. All lights come on, then flick off, back on again and so on. It looks like it's having a good go at starting, but something is causing the power to trip.

My feeling is the water pump may be blocked or broken, but I don't hold much confidence in my own diagnostics.

Therefore, any advice on what could be causing this issue would be hugely welcomed.

Many thanks in advance,

Regards,

Marlon


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## espressotechno (Apr 11, 2011)

* There may be a poor earth somewhere: Check all the earth wires & their connections to the various components.

* A rotary pump is unlikely to block - the pump head just seizes up. If you can hear the pump running, it's basically OK. Check the water level in the sight glass - the level can be increased manually until the pump stops (approx. 3/4 full), using the lever/push button under the driptray.

* Clean the connections of the cbales to the the control board (PCB). The PCB may also may be faulty.


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## Marlon (Jan 23, 2019)

espressotechno said:


> * There may be a poor earth somewhere: Check all the earth wires & their connections to the various components.
> 
> * A rotary pump is unlikely to block - the pump head just seizes up. If you can hear the pump running, it's basically OK. Check the water level in the sight glass - the level can be increased manually until the pump stops (approx. 3/4 full), using the lever/push button under the driptray.
> 
> * Clean the connections of the cbales to the the control board (PCB). The PCB may also may be faulty.


Thank you so much for your advice espressotechno, it's really appreciated.

I shall follow your steps and let you know how I get on.


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## Marlon (Jan 23, 2019)

After weeks of cleaning, reconnecting and testing, we narrowed down to the PCB. It's finally working correctly! Many thanks again for your help and advice espressotechno.


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