I just purchased a secondhand Junior in great shape and great price. Machine was originally purchased in 2005 and look pristine, and had been used for 2 yrs per previous owners comments.

Now the question - I have owner's manual and have successfully plumbed it in for water. Issue is - when I turn it on, nothing happens. Well not exactly nothing, the power light goes on, and level indicator light goes on, and then blinks after a time. This says "no water in system" but I have no idea why - I verified hose connection and water is available to machine. I did notice some other screws one could turn - so possibly there is simply a water-shut off valve in the machine I am supposed to turn? I am sure this is something simple and obvious, but the owners manual doesn't really go into detail.

So any suggestions from anyone familiar with these machines most appreciated! Also if there is any chance I could be pointed to where I could obtain a real service manual that would be also appreciated.

thanks very much, Brian

Under normal circumstances, when you turn this machine on, the rotary pump will immediately come on to fill the boiler. If the rotary pump is starved for water, it will make an unpleasant noise, and after a short period of time it will burn out. If the power light is coming on, but you hear no pump noises, that would mean to me that the pump is not functioning. There are any number of reasons why the pump might not function, such as there being a problem with the pump itself, with the autofill sensor, the electrical wiring itself, or other electronics such as the brain board. It could be as simple as the wire connector coming off the autofill sensor, so a quick look inside after removing the side panels would be in order.

There is no simple water shutoff inside the machine.

Since your machine was purchased in 2005 and presumably was new at that time, this is presumably the rotary pump model.

I am not aware of the existence of a "real service manual" for this machine. If one exists, I think it is a closely guarded secret. Most commercial espresso machines are fairly modular, and the people who work on them don't generally need a manual beyond what is in the owners manual you already have.

I would suggest that you try one of the shot buttons on the top membrane panel, but since I don't know what your actual situation is as regards the pump, I don't want to suggest anything to you that might result in further damage. I suggest you call the seller and or his repair shop before you go any further.

ken

Thanks very much. Yes rotary pump and new in 2005. Pump did not start on power up and machine had no action besides lights coming on. I had a very quick look and no obvious wire off but there are a couple of extra wires not connected, looking to be by intent. I shall have to look more carefully tomorrow and drag out the multi-meter etc. I am not sure what the autofill wire is right now but all the wires to the pressure vessel appear to be intact.

I am sure I will have more interesting things to report to the forums after I progress further, perhaps even about the espresso

regards, Brian

Thanks very much. Geva Cafe are local Cimbali reps and I likely will take the unit to them if (and it looks like that is the case) it needs someone that really knows these machines to look at it. I was just doing first some background to avoid something like giving it to the tech, then he turns a knob I missed and voila!

On the water - I do not believe it has any water in the boiler, certainly nothing flowed - unit is perfectly quiet. So I expect the fill sensor is saving the heating coil and other items.

bhornby wrote:Thanks very much. Geva Cafe are local Cimbali reps and I likely will take the unit to them if (and it looks like that is the case) it needs someone that really knows these machines to look at it. I was just doing first some background to avoid something like giving it to the tech, then he turns a knob I missed and voila!

On the water - I do not believe it has any water in the boiler, certainly nothing flowed - unit is perfectly quiet. So I expect the fill sensor is saving the heating coil and other items.

If you aren't familiar with this type of equipment, then your best bet is to consult someone who is, rather than risk further damaging a machine that might just have something minor wrong with it. As an aside, my hot tub is on the fritz right now and I wasted a lot of time and energy trying to figure out why it kept flipping the circuit breaker. It is out of warranty and I finally decided to call the dealer who has serviced it a couple of times before. It turns out that the brain board is fried, but the evidence of that was very subtle, something I'd never have picked up myself no matter how much time I spent investigating it.

When in doubt, if you don't know what you are doing, consult a professional. Water and electricity are a potentially dangerous combination, and when in doubt, find someone who knows more than you do to get things right.

ken