Hi,

Bought this used Pavoni. When i first bought it, it would heat up for a few times and then it made "pluk" noise and stop heating up.

Now i turn it on and it make a very light continuous noise as if it was warming up but very slowly, but it doesn't.

Check with a multimeter the power going to the heati g element and it get's power.

Advise on what to do next?

Thanks!

you have to check if the power also goes THROUGH the heating element.
Also, your Pavoni most likely has no pressurestat to control the temperature, but two heating elements: one to heat up the boiler, and one to keep it steady at operating temperature (or both to overheat for better steam wand performance).

Might be that the 'slow' coil still works, but the 'fast' heating coil is busted.

unplug your machine, take the rubber bottom off to take a look at the underside of your boiler. you should see four connectors on the lid of the boiler. Check continuity between each of those to the base of the boiler (there should be absolutely no continuity, also remember that old pavonis usually lack the ground lead in the cable! if you read any continuity between anywhere on your machine and an electric connector,do not plug in your machine ever again!)

next, check ccontinuity between the connectors: you should have two pairs of connectors (most likely the connectors opposing each other, but i am not sure) if you only get one pair, you most likely have one broken heating coil.

if you have two pairs, switch to resistance, and measure the resistance between the paired connectors. it should read low ohms (like 5-15ohm)

if you read high resistance or OL (open Loop), it means that your heating element is broken and need replacing.

if you have two working, low resisting coils, but still no heating, the fault is somewhere else, and needs further investigation.
Good Luck!
Also: send some pictures of your Pavoni for Identification.

marcoboru wrote: Check with a multimeter the power going to the heating element and it gets power.

If the above means "It has mains voltage across the element but the element does not heat", then replace the element.

Thanks for the pictures.

This model has a pressostat, that controls the heating, so diagnose is a bit different:

unplug your machine, and measure continuity between the heating element connectors and the lid, of the boiler. if it has continuity, your element is busted and your machine is LIVE, so do not use it!

if there is no continuity between connectors and lid, check continuity between the connectors: if there is, its good, if not, its broken. now you measure the resistance between the connectors, again somewhere between 5-15 Ohm is okay, high resistance or open loop is not okay.

If that checks out too, you have to do the same testing with the pstat, as those also can cause problems.
the tape around the pstat connectors is not a good omen... maybe connection is weak, so unplug and replug all the connectors multiple times.

on francesco ceccarellis website you find all the La Pavonis, so you can identify the correct type and age, and also get spare parts.

Is the switch a double switch one?
if so
should be wired to accommodate the DIFFERENT retrofit that was use for
(the picture is out of focus and I cannot quite see)
but if you have a double switch like the p-85E is made for the 4 prongs HE and not for the pstat one,
the correct switch is the P-85el
(referenced parts number from our site)

The heating element might have blown since i recall feeling current if i was to touch a metal part of the machine and ground...

Are this machines safe to run ones fixed? Even if they have no ground?

Safe-ish

You can add a new cord with a ground conductor easily enough. Since you'll be in there anyway.

Yes, if you add a ground strap, they are pretty safe. Apart from your model not yet having a thermo fuse.

do you have a multimeter and know how to use it?

other next step is to prepare physically and mentally to unscrew the boiler lid, which can be tricky on old pavonis.

your heating element most likely needs to be replaced. you can do this without probing the old one, but this way you wont get disclosure why it failed in the first place (most certain it died of old age).

Thanks,

Yes, I know how to use a multimeter.

Can you refer me to a video or info on how to remove the boiler lead to replace the heating element?

Also, where do i by a heating element for a machine this old?

Thanks

the website from francesco ceccarelli should have everything you need. but i guess in the US you will find other companies that sell Pavoni elements.

For removing, this thread could be helpful:

How do I replace old La Pavoni Europiccola heating element