twolane wrote:To check if the three way valve coil is working, remove it from the valve body and leave it hooked up to the wires. Put the coil on a metal screwdriver and press the brew button. It should be magnetized. If that's good then turn the water off, with the machine cold, and remove the brew valve. Turn the water back on. If it shoots out of the group where the valve should be, then the issue is either a clogged brew valve- have you been backflushing properly?- or a clog up in the group. Most likely as someone else said the jet is clogged. 8mm nut driver I think.
Good luck!

Checked with a screwdriver, and the coils are magnetized when I depress the brew switch. I then started working my way back to removing the upper HX line (no water), and then I just removed the HX inspection cap on the boiler revealing no water in the HX (I used plenty of towels when I pushed the brew switch). One benefit of trying to solve this problem is that I've really had to ask myself: Where does this go? How does this flow? What is this doing?

mhoy wrote:Perhaps you should recap what works and doesn't at this point so that we know what is currently working.

Mark

Recap: Water for steam, for hot water tap, motor fills boiler (just checked, though I didn't doubt it), motor turns on with brew switch, 3-way magnetized.

I have just finished tracing the water from supply line to the Pipe from Solenoid Auto-Fill Valve to Boiler - there is water all along. The next step is to check the Pipe from Lower HX to group. While I'm doing that, can someone tell me the flow line through the group? An hour ago I was thinking upper to lower, now I don't know. Perhaps I'll learn something new as I check this Lower HX to Group line.

For those that are reading this thread without knowing that this is related to my T1 rebuild thread, well, now you do: The photo was a clue

Thanks for all the help, guys.

-phillip

Update: There is no water from the lower HX pipe to the group. I was about to remove the lower HX pipe to flow meter when it occurred to me that I really didn't want to remove that fitting to the flow meter - it was the most troublesome fitting on my T1 when I put it back together. Then I thought - electronics - so, for those T1 owners, are the wires coming out of the flow meter plugged in the way same way as your machine? There are two things to pay attention to: the first I wrote on the photo (the empty receptacle), the second is to notice that the ordering out of the black (safety) sheathing is red..black..white, but into the connectors is..
red..white..black

I say this just so that you get your bearings straight. The first photo is most important, the others are there just in case someone spots something amiss.

The only other electronic item I can figure might be an issue, but I'm 99% sure it is not, is that I don't have the key-lock mechanism connected. The wires are connected, but the other end is free.

-phillip





img]http://www.home-barista.com/forums/userpix/5504_img_2070.jpg[/img]

erics wrote:Page 12 of this: http://www.home-barista.com/downloads/Elektra_07-01_manuale_div_bar.pdf provides a good hydraulic diagram and other helpful info.

BUT, if the heat exchanger has no water, then the likely culprit is a stuck closed check valve (item 5) which is upstream of the flowmeter and "injection" tube in the hx.

Eric! While you were typing this up, I found the other diagram you posted How I Stopped Worrying and Learned to Love HXs here, which is fantastic.

I'm 99% sure that this check valve is the problem. Firstly, this is where I was experiencing a leak that I couldn't stop (watering backing up, increasing pressure - apparently). Secondly, with the check valve installed and and the pipe leading to the flow meter open, no flow comes through this valve.

I find it hard to believe that there is anything stuck in there, but I have water on the boil right now and citric acid ready to do. I see that there is a ball in there, could that be stuck? Short of replacing the valve, anything else I can try? I'm about to take it apart and see if I can get to the innards.

Eric: Thank you (and others, too).

-phillip

We have brew water!!!! We also have two leaks, but those can be fixed quickly enough. For the record, there was the smallest bit of gunk in that one-way valve. I was surprised, but happy to put this behind me and get to making espressos. Thanks for all the help, back to my regular T1 thread.

-phillip