About a year ago, with much help from this forum, I rebuilt my 20 year old LaScalla butterfly. It's been working flawlessly up until today. This morning when I turned it on, I could smell the dreaded burning electrical smell (AKA letting the smoke out). Looking in through the holes in the cup warmer top, I could see a the glow of a burning wire. I immediately shut it down. I removed the side panel (after unplugging it!!!) and this what I saw:



I have done nothing but turn the machine on in the morning, let it warm up for 20 minutes or so, pull several shots, steam some milk and then turn it off. This is a daily routine and nothing has changed during the last year.

So the question(s) is(are)
1: What is it?
2: What would cause it to fry? How deep do I have to dig here?
3: Can I replace it with a new one?

Many Thanx in Advance!

You'll want to cut both wire ends back to where the insulation is still nice and flexible, never burnt. Then strip them, crimp new faston connectors on the ends and slide on new insulators. Then replace that Safety-thermostat that was making bad connections and burning the wires.

Wow, that was quick! Is this a standard part? I can see from an internet search that there are different types and temperature ranges.
Also are there any hidden pitfalls in removing it? It looks like there's some thermal paste under unit.

I'm not sure about replacing the wires as they are bundled and sheathed. I guess I could just reroute them?

PS I thought I would see if it would be easy to remove and it came right out. I can see where it says 165c so that much is certain!

This should work?
https://www.ebay.com/itm/303297703779

Just one quick question... is polarity an issue when reconnecting the thermostat? I have the part but I don't want to hook it up wrong!

No polarity.

Got it. New thermostat installed with new connectors and all is working properly again. Thanx...