Hi All,

I decided to replace the jerry-built power cord on the Cremina, and now I have issues. First, let me say that I'm a complete electrical novice and my skill at using the multimeter is shaky at best. I've read Orphan Espresso's electrical troubleshooting guide, but I can't seem to pinpoint the issue here.
Here's what's going on:

Plug machine in, red power light goes on, nothing else happens. No red status light, no boiler heat, nothing. Toggling power switch to off causes circuit breaker to trip.

What I've tested:
Power switch, power cord, pressurestat switch, thermostat safety switch, heating element.
Notes: Redid the ground wire coming from power cord since wiring block had started to crumble and I couldn't free the wires from them. Discarded wiring block. Grounded power wire at same bolt and screw that grounds the boiler.

Any ideas or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

This sounds like a short to ground. Did you somehow swap ground and one of the power wires?

Did you draw out a diagram before you started? Pictures of before and after?

+1 on the grounding issue. I ran into this problem replacing the cable on my Strietman. Same exact thing happened. Every time I turn it on, it would trip the GFCI plug.

strfish7 wrote:Toggling power switch to off causes circuit breaker to trip.

Did it cause the GFCI to trip when you turned it off? If it's tripping the breaker at your panel, is it perhaps a GFCI breaker?

Tripping a GFCI when the machine is turned ON is a common problem. Tripping when you turn it off is odd, and might be related to a seriously miswired machine.

Irrespective, I very strongly urge that you don't plug this machine in until you get a professional, or a friend with electrical expertise to carefully look over and check your rewiring. If it's an appliance technician or electrician who is unfamiliar with espresso machines, you can refer them to this schematic: http://shop.olympia-express.ch/OMTD/Cre ... EMINA_.GIF to get a a basic understanding of how it functions electrically. This is a functional schematic - does not represent actual wires, and is for a '96 rather than a '67, but does a good job of explaining how the components function that will be clear to an electrician.

Thanks for the replies!

Homeburerro, we don't have GFCI outlets in this old house, although the next time the electrician comes by I may request some.
Forbeskm, yes, I did both of those.
Dominico and weebit__nutty, I am strongly suspecting a ground problem, but I am stumped because I used the same ground as the previous wiring. I even sanded off a bit of the powder coating this time to create a stronger metal-to-metal connection. I may try to separate the two grounds and see if that helps, although again, they were previously grounded to the same place.

strfish7 wrote:. . . I decided to replace the jerry-built power cord on the Cremina, and now I have issues. First, let me say that I'm a complete electrical novice and my skill at using the multimeter is shaky at best. . . .

Full stop. Unplug the machine, dump the water from it, and take it to someone who is competent to diagnose and repair the machine. While it may be a simple repair, nevertheless the juxtaposition of scalding water, pressurized steam, and electricity in the face of malfunctions are a perfect storm for bad things to happpen -- as in seriously bad things.

strfish7 wrote:Thanks for the replies!

Homeburerro, we don't have GFCI outlets in this old house, although the next time the electrician comes by I may request some.
Forbeskm, yes, I did both of those.
Dominico and weebit__nutty, I am strongly suspecting a ground problem, but I am stumped because I used the same ground as the previous wiring. I even sanded off a bit of the powder coating this time to create a stronger metal-to-metal connection. I may try to separate the two grounds and see if that helps, although again, they were previously grounded to the same place.

I recommend you take it to a person qualified in electrical. That said, can you post your diagram and before and after pictures so we can see if here is a glaring mis wiring

strfish7 wrote:I am stumped

It goes without saying, you don't know what you're doing, especially if it involves anything dangerous such as electricity, it would be wise to stop trying to diagnose this further and simply have someone knowledgeable to do it for you.

Agree with what has already been said pls stop tinkering with this mess waiting to happen...it may be something tiny, and it probably is, but stop and find someone to help you ...even more so because you don't have a safeguard like ground sensing breakers in the house...