Found a lot of water under my machine, so something is wrong.... Recently replaced the thermostat pressure switch, as the machine was over pressurizing. Worked fine for the last few months. Then, mysterious amounts of water under the machine?? Yesterday, the 'tea' value when opened only produced steam, no pump. Today, the machine goes on, I can hear the heater element working, but it doesn't produce enough heat or pressure to close the vacuum valve on the top of the boiler. (the one made of brass that pops closed when the boiler starts to get really hot). That valve I notice is quite wet!...... Normally the pump goes on when I start the machine..... now nothing!....... is this the problem???, some sort of pressure valve. I do see on on the copper lines under the tank that is like a small black metal box..... I have tapped it, nothing.....
The pump works on the main coffee lever but as said, the system seems to only 'half' heat. There are two wires on the heater element, one with two blue cables, (this is working ok) and the other with one black cable. If I disconnect the blue wires, the boiler goes off, if I disconnect the black wire, nothing changes?

Any ideas. I have a voltmeter, a good tool kit and a fairly good technical knowledge of most things. BUT, I don't want to damage my machine and I am DYING for a cup of coffee. Any help will be very happily received.
Thanks, Mark Amsterdam.

Disconnect your heating element immediately before it "disconnects" itself. Tape over the connection with electrical tape.

Remove some convenient fitting on the boiler top (vacuum breaker valve) and check the water level in the boiler using a small wooden dowel. I suspect you will find it low . . . very low. It is likely that the autofill solenoid has failed - either the coil itself or the valve.

Thank you for that. You mention...... (It is likely that the autofill solenoid has failed - either the coil itself or the valve.) Could you please indicate where I would find this/these. I mentioned a black box under the tank that has two copper piper attached to it. It has three wires on it, a red, a blue, and an earth. I have bridged the red and green but nothing happened. (only for a moment).... A few days ago I noticed the pump (the one that keeps the machine filled going on and off and off and on again several times (erratic). Does this give you a further clue.

OK, if I know which part I am looking for, it will help!.

Thanks again.

See this thread - not your machine but problem with same component - RIO Junior Solenoid Valve Troubleshoot

That black box you mentioned is the solenoid valve coil. The green is a ground, the blue is typically a neutral, and the red is power from the Gicar control box. Also see the illustrations of the Isomac electrical here:
http://users.rcn.com/erics/Illustrations/

I had a similar set of symptoms with my 2002 vintage Tea but the boiler had already gone too low and the heating element failed. I sent it to Chris Coffee and had a descale, new solenoid, new heating element and also bought a Jaeger pressurestat upgrade that I installed myself after it came back. It has been two years since the repairs/upgrades were done and all has worked flawlessly since then.

Prodding and Pushing.
Quite a challenge this box of tricks. OK, I found out that there is a pressure unit on top of the boiler tank with one wire on it, which is green. If I remove this wire, the pump starts, seems to fill the tank and then the pressure gauges rise with urgency. I switched off. OK, so this one cable valve is the auto fill regulator?

As said, only one terminal on the heater element seems to heat now, giving warmth,(lower terminal) but no 'real heat'. The top has voltage, but nothing happens when I connect it. I suppose I have burned out the top element when the tank ran dry. (I have checked the pressure control switch which is already renewed last months).

So, from my hours of play, should I replace the autofill sensor on the top of the tank, along with a new heater element and, also replace the brass vacuum/air unit which seems to leak water every time it operates? or should I just bolt it all back together again and send it off to your merry men who locally fix these machines?

Last bash....... thanks to help and patience!.....

or should I just bolt it all back together again and send it off to your merry men who locally fix these machines?

That sounds like the best overall plan to me. You might also, if possible, ATTEMPT to "hang around" while the diagnosis is being performed on your machine and ask for a walk-through as to what the various components in the machine do.