Something seems to have gone amok with my Elektra T3.
At rest the brew pressure sits at 7 instead of 0 like this :

When pulling a shot, it's way up to 12 like this:

Now, either the gauge is just stuck ( only 6 months old and a replacement to the original ) or I need to adjust this whilst pulling a shot as I've seen an engineer do. Which of these two pictured screws do I adjust, left recessed one, or right one ?

Also noticed that the crema on my shot has disappeared, and I thought perhaps this is related.
Any help appreciated.
Garp

The screws you are referring to are for the pressurestat, not the group brew pressure. This will only effect the pressure on the right side of that gauge and of course the temp of the boiler. I don't think you need any adjustments there.

If at rest with nothing attached to the group you are showing about 7 bar, and 12 bar when pulling a shot there's a problem somewhere in that meter I think. Hopefully someone else who's seen this will help there.

Lack of crema is usually a sign of coffee that has gone stale, so you might want to test with new coffee before you blame the machine or make changes to the settings. (Other than fixing the meter of course.)

Once possible explanation for the gauge needle not returning to zero is that the gauge was subjected to vacuum. That will pull the needle against the pin stop, resetting the needle's position from what was "zero". That said, I can't think how the gauge would be subjected to 7 bars of vacuum (?!?). To determine if the gauge is salvageable, I would start by measuring the brew pressure with a portafilter+gauge or building one yourself (see Zero cost adapter for portafilter pressure gauge or other DIY threads on the same subject). Once you have the pump pressure correctly set with the pressure portafilter, you can determine whether the onboard gauge is simply off by +X and thus usable, or if it's replacement time. See How to adjust brew pressure of rotary pump espresso machine? for more details.

If your machine is plumbed in, then the reading could be the static pressure of the mains water line. Mine sits at around 5 bar. You can test this by disconnecting the mains water to see if the gauge goes back down to zero.

The 12 bar reading while pulling a shot is rather high and I would be looking to adjust that.

Cheers

Maximum input pressure is 4 bar. If your mains pressure is higher than that, you need a pressure regulator. I run my box at 3 bar mains input. If mains pressure is not your problem, you need a new gauge. Stefano's Espresso Care carries them, they are around $90. Part 985014 or 985026 depending on the color you want.

Ok, so here's the next problem - normally, with the needle @ 0, a shot will dispense with a brew pressure of let's say 8 (that's 8 units on a scale ).
Currently with it sitting @ 7 while at rest and brewing @ 12, I'm only getting 5 units of pressure, which is explaining the short shots (that take painstakingly long to pour) and watery puck - seems I need to ignore the gauge and advance brew pressure - correct or no ???
If so, is this just adjusted on the pump ?
Elektra T3 - if anyone can help, it's the weekend and I cannot get an engineer out till next week.
HELP !!!!!

If the shot is taking too long to pour then you have a problem with your grind. That would also explain why the gauge shoots up to 12 bar, and watery puck.

Does the gauge drop down to zero when the water is disconnected? If it does then your gauge is operating ok.

Ok mate, so due to a massive change in weather here, perhaps the grind is the problem. It has got a lot wetter with low pressures as winter approaches - do I go more coarse ????
The gauge doesn't go back to zero, but rests at between 7 & 9 - have disconnected it and it still doesn't so must have got "vacuumed" over time, however, given the amount of travel on the needle when pulling a shot, whereas it should be about 8 from 0, I'm getting 3 bar less from 7 to 12 ???
Unless I'm totally mistaken, less pressure = less water flow = watery puck & short shot ? (If I pull a shot with NO coffee in, the actual amount of water passing through basket is 4-5 times as much as result with coffee.
Any ideas where to start - I know in Oz, you chaps do change your grind depending on the weather ......

If the grind is too fine, you are choking the shot. The water can't get through the puck, the pressure rises to 12 bar and above, at which point if your OPV is set correctly, opens and dumps water intended for the shot into the drain box. So based on this, try a coarser grind.

Now about your idle pressure. The gauge is hooked up through the water circuit in a roundabout way to the HX on the machine which feed the groups. The HX can read high pressures as this is heated by boiler and being closed circuit. The OPV takes care of this pressure buildup by releasing to drain box. The water circuit has non return valve which should isolate pressure gauge from this false reading but if it has buildup or stuck open then maybe that is the problem?

Going coarse. Hopefully will sort it till Illy man come calling. Thanks