# Rancilio Silvia went bang...



## jj2011 (Feb 26, 2011)

I wonder if anyone can shed some light on a problem I've just encountered.

For the last few days I've had a very slight electrical burning smell from my Silvia. It was only a hint, so I hoped it was just old coffee (yeah, a bit optimistic I know!). I went to turn it on this morning and there was a loud bang and all the electricity went off... my Silvia is no more. I've repaired a few Gaggias in my time so I'm not scared to open it up, I just wondered whether anyone knew what the fault could be.


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

Guess only - Could it be that the boiler hadn't been refilled and it's boiled dry ?


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## froggystyle (Oct 30, 2013)

Open that bad boy up, maybe its something nice and easy, maybe its not... Sniff everything for the source of the burning smell.


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## shrink (Nov 12, 2012)

froggystyle said:


> Sniff everything


Im guessing the burning smell isn't coming from the Dog


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## funinacup (Aug 30, 2010)

Thermostatic safety cutoff. Push the red button to reset and turn machine on with the steam wand open and the pump running and the boiler will refill.

Worst case scenario: element is dead.


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## Spazbarista (Dec 6, 2011)

jj2011 said:


> I just wondered whether anyone knew what the fault could be.


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## froggystyle (Oct 30, 2013)

Depends if the dog is in the Silvia!


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## glevum (Apr 4, 2013)

If its the element gone probably need a new boiler as well. I sure september 2013 models downwards the element is welded to the boiler


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## jj2011 (Feb 26, 2011)

Thank you all for your entertaining replies, I'm listening to a nice bit of Motorhead as I type this 

It happened as soon as I turned it on. I did actually try again just now and all was fine for about 20 seconds then it went bang again. I'm guessing the boiler's shorting to ground somewhere quite spectacularly. As luck would have it I've still got a Gaggia so I didn't go without coffee today!


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## El carajillo (Mar 16, 2013)

If you have an electrical test meter or can borrow one, test for continuity between boiler element connections and boiler case. Also test across boiler terminals.


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## jj2011 (Feb 26, 2011)

OK, so I opened it up, and the boiler element was still intact.

Bad news was that it looked pretty ugly. One of the boiler terminals had been pretty seriously overheating and had melted into two other wires causing the short. I found a similar post which suggests the terminal might have just been a bit loose but it doesn't exactly inspire confidence!









Anyhow, cut out all the burnt bits, replaced the terminal with a Mazda MX-5 one (surely the first Rancilio-Mazda combo?) and it's as good as new. Thanks again for your help, seems the best method is always to pop it open and see what's going on!


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## froggystyle (Oct 30, 2013)

Big relief i bet!


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