I have a Rancilio Silvia I acquired a few weeks ago.
I just noticed that I have a burned connector, and not sure where it leads. (Other than under the water tank.
I will try to say as briefly as possible all the pertinent information.

It is a V3, date code 0409.
It has an Auber PID KIT-RSPb.

Sometimes the Auber doesn't want to come on. It may take a few minutes or a few tries before it does come on. When it comes on, it will stay on.

I have descaled it.
I took the 3-way valve apart, as described by Randy about a week ago.
I have been backflushing it. 5 x 10 seconds plus the 2.5 second pre-infusion time.
I took the screen and associated sprayer/group pieces off.
I cleaned the group head with a plastic brush and Urnex Califa.
I laid it on its back and sides to do that work.

I ordered a group gasket. It is starting to show slight cracks.

Today, when I ran the PID controlled 'brew'.... something 'popped' or should I say 'clicked', and the PID shut off. That's the first time that's happened. That's when I looked closer and noticed the burned connector.
The burned connector could have been there or just happened, I would like to think I would have seen it, but maybe not.

Okay ... I tried searching here, but you know how that can be.
Is there a thread that can help me?
Do I need to send it in?
Anyone have the same experience?

I am handy, so I can fix things.

I attached 4 photos of different angles. The burned connector is in the middle,

Thank you,
Ken in NC

That looks like it was a bad crimp. The wire has plenty of slack so just cut it off and put on a new one. If you're in Los Angeles, I'll happily do it for you for free if you drop by. I have everything you need.

Ira

Thank you for the tip and the offer. I am in NC.
A bad crimp? It would seem a bad crimp would have shown long before this. It is date coded 0409. Almost 6 years old.
I suspect something else, and was hoping to have some experienced users point me in a direction.
I can go to radio Shack and get a connector. i was hoping to have a better idea of the cause of the heated connector.
Thanks,
Ken in NC

So, maybe a drop of water fell in the funnel at the top of the connector and caused it to go bad. None the less, the only part that looks hot is right where the crimp is. It was not done with a proper ratcheting crimp tool so the crimp was decided by the strength of the operator and bad crimps can take a long time to show. In this case it looks like the damage was very localized and there is plenty of extra wire, so consider yourself lucky. It's also might be the wrong sized connector for the wire used. Notice that 2 red wires fit in the connector to it's left which might suggest they should have used a red connector for the single wires instead of the blue one they did use.

Proper crimping is a lot more involved than most people realize and while in most places a improper crimp will not cause a problem, an espresso machine is a really bad environment for crimps and given the chance they will fail.

If there are connectors on both ends and you tell me what they are, how long the wire is and what it powers, I'll send you a wire that won't fail. Well, assuming I have the proper connector for the other end.

Ira

Looks like the black cables comes from SSR. If I understood right cables included with Auber-kit were crimped by Auber(?), so everyone who buys kits don't need too many tools to install kit.

https://www.seattlecoffeegear.com/asset ... -guide.pdf

In my world, one does not put a blue connector on one end of a cable and a red connector on the other. Color indicates recommended wire size, not male or female. The first picture on page 3 is just wrong.

IRA,
You may want to let them know.

This is a PID controller kit installation guide solely distributed to our clients, who have
purchased the KIT-RS kit. Once you are done with this guide, please send us your feedback,
comments, and/or suggestions (via e-mail to auberins@gmail.com) so that we may continue
making improvements to this guide. Your help is greatly appreciated!

The instructions are from Auber, so I would assume it to be correct. If you know something, I am sure they would like to know.

****
One more thing.
I am glad to have been given the instructions you linked to.
I have been in contact with Auber, and I did not get that document in their reply. They did identify the PID.

Ken in NC

Auber replied to my email with comments:
The wiring was too close to the boiler. That may have caused oxidation of the connector.
They gave me links to Instructions to test the SSR.
The replacement wires are available from them.

More later.
Ken in NC

In my opinion, and it's only my opinion, if you sell something to go inside an espresso machine it ought to no care at all if it touches something hot as the whole insides is hot. Many commercial espresso machines use those type of connectors to connect to things directly attached to the boiler, on my Rancilio, they are used to connect directly to the heating element. Also, that answer means the person who gave it likely knows nothing about what makes a proper crimp, as in my opinion that's just an answer that makes no sense.

Sadly, because it's boring, I've spent way too many hours learning about how to make proper crimps and weirdly enough much of that concerns what is a bad crimp. Convincing an employee to continue to make perfect crimps is hard. it's hard boring work unless you have automatic reel fed tooling and then it's just boring. Even convincing the powers that be to buy the proper tools is hard, as they're very expensive. The four I bought this year cost over $1000 and the one I should buy but am procrastinating about is closer to $600. Procrastinating because it's for a prototype and a crimper for a different pin works good enough for proof of concept, but it bugs me that it's not right.

In my office I have 50 or so different crimp terminals including some nickel plated steel ones for a connecting to the heating element of a coffee maker I repaired and the italian ones for replacing ones in espresso machines. There's lots of choices in crimp terminals and at according to everything I've learned in the 40 or so years I've been doing this, some of the ones in the pid kit are clearly the wrong choice.

Ira

I can go to radio Shack and get a connector.

Maybe.

Notice how all of the Auber connectors have a slight raised insulator which has a touch more internal clearance than one that is essentially a slightly radiused rectangle. The wire you will be crimping on is 0.75 mm squared which lies between 18 and 20 gauge so definitely choose a red connector. All of the white connectors on your machine are as assembled at the Rancilio factory.

I do defer to Ira on his crimping knowledge but note also that the burned area of the connector is directly over one of the little screws that held the brew thermostat in place. There is a good chance that some connector chaffing took place and I would surely route that wire differently.