Chris,

I actually had that CG thread saved for future reference. (I should have re-read before messing with the dip switches)

Yea, my machine comes with an LCD. As I understand, it's used to program the machine to turn off and on. I would love to maintain that functionality if I can.

I'm not aware of the dosing buttons not working until the machine comes up to pressure. I will have to test that in the next couple of days to see if that would help solve some issues.

I have to mention that I also was able to speak to Nick the owner of VP Coffee in Hillsborough, NC. I noticed how extremely helpful he was in Cimbali Dosatron thread on CG so I looked him up and sent a note. He replied same day and asked if he could call me. I was on my way back from a business trip in MA and he called me back and spent about 40 minutes discussing possible problems and what he knows about the Cimbalis. He is thinking it probably is the control board but without seeing it he could only give and educated guess. I will try Chris' suggestion of letting the machine come up to temp and pressure and see if that helps but will probably be looking at a replacement board.

Would love to hear from other Cimbali owners regarding their experience.

Thanks

Mike

I really hope it doesn't entail a replacement board, Mike. Espresso Services in the Twin Cities quoted me $871 for a board for my M31 DT/1. A 2-group machine board might be even more expensive. Cimabli considers them a black box, but they are repairable by someone who knows what he is doing. You just need to find someone with a background in electronics repair. As long as it's not the microcontroller IC, a repair should be relatively cheap. I haven't gotten the final cost from Lee just yet, but his original estimate was $100 for parts and labor.

Chris,

It appears that CafeParts sells it for $345 which is not too bad but not the avenue I wanted to go down. I wouldn't mind having it repaired but you never know if another component on the board is going to go belly up. So I would rather not replace the board but it seems to be the safer bet.

Does anyone know someone who fixes control boards? It is worth looking into.

Thanks


Mike

The boards are pretty simple. I would think someone who does electronics such as audio and video equipment or similar should be able to figure it out.

Haven't worked on the beast in a week or two (was skiing up in Quebec, Mont Tremblant all last week ) Had a great time but need to get back on track. I bit the bullet and ordered a new control board from CafeParts with some other stuff for the Cimbali as well as the LaSpaz Rapid EK I'm also working on.

Fortunately the LaSpaz was fully functional and just needed a very good cleaning + new seals, screens and other bits. I have it mostly broken down and soaking in citric acid.

For the Cimbali I'm hoping that the board will fix all ills but only time will tell.

So this is a third-party replacement for the computer control board? I hope it works for you. Do you have the electrical diagrams for the machine? Those would definitely help when troubleshooting wiring.

I called and spoke to Rudy at CafeParts before I purchased it and he confirmed that it is a Cimbali board and not third party. I'm happy it's not the same price as the Bistro boards which are absolutely out of this world.

I do have the wiring diagram and has helped me a bit. Most of the wiring is pretty straight forward. I'm supposed to get it tomorrow and will see if I can get it in over this weekend.

I just got the control board and it honestly doesn't look new. I'm not sure though what to expect with a machine with a mfg date of 1996. I'm not sure how long this particular model was produced so trying to get a "new" board may be next to impossible. Even one of the ICs have a very small chunk missing. It doesn't appear that the chunk is effecting the actual substrate but just the cap of the IC.

I also just called CafeParts to get a better understanding on what I purchased.

I'm not sure I like Cafeparts. I bought manuals from them for my machine, but then when I had to call Pasquini, Pasquini just GAVE me the manuals for free. Also, I didn't like the fact that they were selling "Cimbali portafilters" when they were third-party parts for the Cimbali and it wasn't very obvious. I ended up not buying anything else after they sold me manuals which in my mind they shouldn't be charging for.

Installed the new board and fired her up.

Was hoping that the power switch problem would be fixed (power should be on when turned clockwise - power is on when turned all the way counter clockwise)

Machine came on and it beeped shortly which is normal. Tested each groups dosing buttons and they all work and stop automatically so it seems the flowmeters are working properly. The machine heats up fine. wanted to test steam wands but the anti-vacuum valve was leaking and never really allowed the machine to get up to pressure. I took the valve apart and it seems to be missing some bits (will have to buy a replacement).
Autofill seems to work. The autofill light comes on and the pump starts but there seems to be a problem. It appears that the solenoid won't open - the pump pressure pegs to the max and no water flows in the boiler.
Same problem with the hot water solenoid. I press the hot water dosing button and the pump starts but no water flows. Solenoid doesn't click on. Not sure what these problems could be.

Also the display doesn't show information. Same issue with the original board so I'm thinking it's a display board problem. Not sure how to test it though.

Any input on the solenoid issues would be much appreciated.

Thanks

Mike