Hi All,

I've read many many posts on the forum tonight, but I'm still not confident that I understand what's going wrong with my newly inherited Pasquini Livia 90 (semi-automatic).

Whenever there is medium/high resistance to the flow of water through the group head - e.g. finely ground coffee, or when using a 'blank' basket for cleaning - the machine emits a really high pitched squealing noise when switched on to pour a shot, and water flows from the outlet valve into the drip tray. This happens *during* pouring a shot, as well as when the switch is turned off (the latter triggers a normal pressure release splash, while the former produces a constant stream of water).

This is preventing me from pouring a shot to my liking. But also just seems like incorrect behavior. I've watched videos online of folks cleaning the Livia 90 and it appears that no matter how much resistance there is to the group head, no water should flow from the outlet valve when the machine is pouring.

Any help is much appreciated.

Best,
Evan

Sounds like your three way valve is jammed.

Try back flushing with detergent. Use fifteen second cycles off and on, six cycles per load 1/4 tsp of espresso machine detergent. If it doesn't open the third time through (15 pulses), you'll have to open the machine.

Rich

Thanks boar_d_laze! I tried the flushing with espresso machine cleaner as described - no joy.

What is involved in unjamming the three way valve manually? Or do I need to replace it? I have managed to locate it using diagrams posted elsewhere on the site, but have never actually operated inside an espresso machine before

Turns out that my three-way was totally aged - ready to break itself open, actually. I had it replaced by xoxo espresso in the SF Bay Area. Now everything works a charm.