# MeCoffee PID has died — are they still in business?



## jonathanheron (Apr 25, 2017)

I've been a happy http://meCoffee.nl PID user since a year ago. As of a few weeks ago, it seems my meCoffee has died (more on that below) and despite several attempts to contact meCoffee through email and their contact form, I've had no reply.

Does anyone know if they are still in business, or a better way to contact them?

Failing that, can anyone recommend an alternative PID that is as simple to install and doesn't require making permanent mods to my Silvia?

And just in case someone recognises this as an issue with something other than the PID&#8230;



*
The problem*

On the day my PID died, I used my Rancilio Silvia twice successfully. On the third attempt, hours after earlier uses, I encountered a problem&#8230;


At first, the machine heated up as normal.

After an unknown number of minutes, it stopped heating up. The boiler light was completely off.

I flipped the brew switch on and although the light turned on, the machine did not do anything.

I tried connecting to the meCoffee over Bluetooth (which I do frequently) but the device does not show up at all for connection. This leads me to think the meCoffee is not working or not powering on.

I have checked each of the buttons on the Silvia:
All buttons will light up when flipped, including the power button.

The brew button does nothing when flipped, other than turn on the light.

When I flip the hot water deliver button, the pump kicks in as normal.

The steam button does nothing, other than turn on the light.



I've opened the Silvia and examined the meCoffee and associated wires. None of the wires appear to be damaged. The meCoffee case is slightly heat-warped, but the warped portion is not touching any circuits. The circuit board has some discolouration around a few of the chips. I'm not sure how significant that is.


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## eddie57 (Mar 21, 2017)

hi, i contacted them last friday asking if they were still in business, and all iv received so far is an automated reply with (This email was sent through the contact form at https://mecoffee.nl/contact/,), dont sound to promising though keep fingers crossed


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## Stanic (Dec 12, 2015)

have you got the late version with re-setable fuses or the older one?

could you post picture of the circuit board please?


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## jonathanheron (Apr 25, 2017)

Stanic said:


> have you got the late version with re-setable fuses or the older one?
> 
> could you post picture of the circuit board please?


I don't know if it has re-setable fuses.

Here's a pic of the circuit board:









Here's a higher-resolution version: https://cl.ly/0m0N1i3p280R


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## Stanic (Dec 12, 2015)

apparently the old design unfortunately -





 is a video showing the different innards in the beginning - the first one is the older design, the second is the update - you can see the two orange fuses


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## jonathanheron (Apr 25, 2017)

Stanic said:


> apparently the old design unfortunately -


Thanks. Do you know enough about the meCoffee to offer an opinion on whether it has died, or if the problem could be with my Silvia?


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## Stanic (Dec 12, 2015)

jonathanheron said:


> Thanks. Do you know enough about the meCoffee to offer an opinion on whether it has died, or if the problem could be with my Silvia?


IMO it is most likely dead, this has happened to the early adopters and he would then send a replacement. Silvia should be fine, able to work with the original thermostat and wiring. It might be possible to resurrect the meCofee if you can take it to someone knowledgeable in circuits - but that is just my speculation.


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## greymda (Oct 6, 2016)

if you manage to reborn it, please share your findings.


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## mirceat (Jul 1, 2016)

jonathanheron said:


> I've opened the Silvia and examined the meCoffee and associated wires. None of the wires appear to be damaged. The meCoffee case is slightly heat-warped, but the warped portion is not touching any circuits. The circuit board has some discolouration around a few of the chips. I'm not sure how significant that is.


I am not an expert, but I think the same: some fuse is burnt. The fuses are resistors actually, someone more knowledgeable should check them and replace both of them with auto-resettable fuses.

Hopefully the meCoffee firmware is not bricked, but just in case you have the main steps on meCoffee revival on this post http://coffeeforums.co.uk/showthread.php?28513-MeCoffee-PID-kit-for-Silvia-first-thoughts&p=450904#post450904.


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## jonathanheron (Apr 25, 2017)

I just heard back from Jan and he's sending out a replacement meCoffee. He's a bit behind on his support emails but I'm delighted I'll have this back up and running soon. The meCoffee is a lovely little piece of kit and I wasn't liking the idea of replacing it with a bigger, more expensive PID from somewhere else.


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## Stanic (Dec 12, 2015)

jonathanheron said:


> I just heard back from Jan and he's sending out a replacement meCoffee. He's a bit behind on his support emails but I'm delighted I'll have this back up and running soon. The meCoffee is a lovely little piece of kit and I wasn't liking the idea of replacing it with a bigger, more expensive PID from somewhere else.


Excellent news!


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