I cant get any water out of the group head ... but every time I press the brew button the expansion valve relieves water into the drain pan.. not quite gushing but not droplets either .. is that normal ? and if not what is that an indication of ? Thank you

Typically the expansion valve is adjusted so that if the pressure goes over 12 bar it starts dripping.

Then your brew solenoid valve is not working. The fact that the pump works is GOOD and therefore the only other component that would result in zilch flow from the group is the solenoid valve.

A few wrenches and a voltmeter and you are home-free.

I dont have the valve part of the solenoid handy but i have an extra coil which I changed , but that didnt help , water still coming from the safety valve and nothing from group head ... what is puzzling me is that the brew button on the control panel doesnt activate the pump only the button that are programmable ones do .. safety valve leaks on all programmable buttons and nothing from the group .. I am wondering if a faulty flow meter can cause the dosing panel to shutdown somehow because the brew button was working before ( still no water ) but at least it started things , now it doesnt do anything ! I hope it is not the control board that is damaged !

When you say "safety valve", I'm sure you mean OPV which, in your case, is a thermal expansion valve. So yes, it is sorta a safety valve but not the boiler safety valve.

Anyway, you are correct in that the flowmeter could be blocked up and this has proven to be the case in previous posts such as yours but I don't recall zero flow in those instances . . . but greatly reduced flow.

Some flexible tubing from the hardware store applied to the flowmeter outlet would verify that real quick.

yes Eric I guess it is OPV.. it at the end of a shirt pipe from the bottom of the boiler center to the drain box .. at the end right when it connects to the drain box there is a valve which I am assume it is a pressure relief valve ..thats is what is draining water ( with a lot a bubbles almost looks soapy !! ) when I press the brew button yet no water from the group head at all .. took out the flow meter and pipes to it .. the one that goes from Flow meter to the center of the HX from the bottom is clear .. no obstacles .. flow meter itself looks very clear , turbines spins freely ...snaked a paper clip on the outlet side of it .. clear .. cant for some reason get the paper clip to go through on the inlet side .. but that hole looks much smaller than the outlet .. is that the case with all flow meters ? any rate still no water from group and water only from OPV...I am a bit stumped.. the machine is a 1993 Elektra Deliziosa with dosing panel

Yes, as far as I know, all flowmeters are orificed down (smallest I am aware of is 1.00 mm) but that is from forum knowledge . . . not personal experience.

Well, just to make sure the flowmeter is "OK", I would simply put some hardware store flex tubing on the outlet male boss and hit the brew button. Make sure that hose is heading towards a bucket or the sink.

If you have flow, the problem lies with the brew solenoid valve.