Hi I need help with my ECM Giotto espresso machine. I can't pinpoint exactly when this happens, but often when I pull the lever to run water through the brewhead, no water comes out and the pump doesn't turn on. If I flick the machine off and on it immediately works again.. Then it will stop again- I flick off and on. works again... same cycle over and over.

I also have the problem every now and then of the machine not sensing water in the tank and shutting itself down. Any help for either of the two problems will be greatly appreciated.

I still love the machine and can't complain. My friend has the Rocket branded Giotto and tells me my problems are nothing compared to his Rocket.

regarding the first problem
a possibility
check that the lever is depressing the microswitch that activates the pump
regarding the second problem there are 2 options one was the older style with the level probes inside the reservoir which can be coated and the ground connection is not clean anymore
or if is the microswitch tank/weight one check that the reservoir is not "hang" or the microswitch and springs are not out of place

Thanks Stefano, what's the easiest way to check the microswitch? Seems to be a lot of wires and connections in the way. btw I have the Giotto Classic that has the 4 probes that stick into the reservoir. I cleaned them (they were already clean), but still every now and then it will shut itself off. Filling the tank at least 2/3 to 3/4 full solves the problem. Thanks again.

With the machine off, lift the brew lever to the "brew" position. Now, with your fingers, see how much more you can depress the "button" that the brew lever cam is contacting. MOST DEFINITELY you do not want to bottom out the switch but there should be about 1/32" of free play in the button when it is depressed with the lever cam.

Hi,
May I ask if there is any update or resolution to this issue?
I'm a relatively new classic Giotto owner. Recently upgraded from Silvia when I found a good deal on a "counter queen" 8-yr old but never used Giotto. But that's another story.

Everything going great for a month or so, but now I've started experiencing the exact same problem described on this thread, where the pump will intermittently not engage after I activate the brew lever.

Similar to the OP, I have found some procedures to get the pump will engage:
* Add water. The problem seems to occur only if the reservoir level is approx 1/2 or less.
* Open the hot water valve. This seems to wake-up the pump (i.e., pump runs to fill boiler), and then it works as expected to pump water through the hx when I lift the lever.

With these symptoms, I suspect that the problem has to do with the reservoir leads. But the OP didn't solve his problem by scrubbing them. I checked the switch actuator and that seems fine. Also with the reservoir full, the switch has never failed to engage, so I don't think that's the problem.
Any further info appreciated. Thanks,
-Dirk

The way the water reservoir works is by running a small current between the leads. Pure, distilled, or very soft water does not conduct electricity well. There need to be enough ions in the water for the electrons to jump around. If I had to guess, I would say all of your problems are with the water sensor.

I read this suggestion somewhere: add a small amount of salt to your tank. The taste will be undetectable but it will help with conduction. Look around the site - similar issues have come up before, I think.

Hi Matt,
Thanks for the advice. I'll have some time over the weekend to trouble-shoot and will try that. It's a weird problem because I have an easy fix: just add water to 3/4 or so above level. So it's not that critical, but it's still annoying.
I've studied the water issue a bit, and I use a blend of approx 3/4 RO and 1/4 tap water (very hard where I live). Until your comment, I didn't think it could be the water properties, because adding more of the same water shouldn't then fix the problem. But then perhaps adding the water agitates the water in the reservoir, and that's just enough to get the water to measure via the probes.
The other avenue I'll look at is the probes themselves. I'll give them a steel wool clean. And I also want to look at the contact points where the probes touch the frame. That's another hypothesis: that the added weight of a full reservoir makes for a better contact between the probe carrier ends and the frame.
Thanks again,
-Dirk

For the benefit of future searches on this issue, the problem seems to be the ground where the horizontal structure of the probes touches the frame of the machine. it's an intermittent problem, so difficult to troubleshoot, but it happened again this morning; lifted the lever and no pump action. Instead of adding water, I pressed down on the horizontal pieces from which the probes descend. Lifted the lever after this, and it activated. I'm pretty confident a steel wool scratching will fix the problem. If it doesn't I'll post again. Otherwise, I think the problem is solved.
-Dirk