Would anyone like to take a crack at this one before I send the machine off for evaluation next week?

My Profitec Pro 700 has begun exhibiting some frustrating behavior. I made a video of the behavior mostly to prove to myself that I am not losing my mind. In the video (sped up where appropriate) the machine starts up normally. Green power lamp comes on. PID powers up and shows "1.09". The orange control lamp comes on. And things start to progress as expected. (There was some residual heat in the boilers from earlier in the morning ... hence the elevated temps on start up ... 104F and 151F.) The brew boiler comes up to proper temp - 195F. Then the steam boiler starts to heat up. In this particular video, when the steam boiler reaches 201F the machine shuts down. Green power lamp stays lit but everything else is shut down - no more heating, no orange control lamp, no power to the pump, etc. No error codes on the PID.
One frustrating thing is that it isn't always at the same steam boiler temperature. Occasionally, both boilers will come to temp and the machine is usable for a while. Other times both boilers are relatively cool and the machine shuts down early in the heating process. Also, after a shutdown I can sometimes start the heating process again by cycling the power switch. In the video linked here it would not go back into operating mode. After some time, and cooling, I can get the machine to start up but it will eventually turn itself off again.

I run the machine off the internal tank. As part of my troubleshooting, I have bypassed the tank fill sensor with the switch under the drip tray. I have also tried switching off the steam boiler with the other switch under the drip tray. With the steam boiler bypassed the brew boiler comes up to temp and the machine stays on longer than when the brew boiler is engaged. (This makes my Americanos available but my wife never gets her lattes.) But I get the same behavior whether the steam boiler is engaged or not. With the steam boiler engaged the shut down always comes much sooner. None of the high limit switches, on either boiler, have ever tripped. No household breakers have ever tripped.

I have poked and prodded everywhere I can think of with my multimeter. Good continuity everywhere I can poke. The two heating elements have appropriate/minimal resistance. I don't have enough knowledge of the Gicar control module to even know where to test that beast. No ground faults found on the machine. Machine is a year old and has had nothing but remineralized reverse osmosis water in the tank.

Thanks for your time.

Here is a pre-posting update: This morning I switched the steam boiler off using the switch under the drip tray. Turned the machine on and the brew boiler heated up nicely and the machine ran fine for a couple of morning Americanos. I turned the machine off, switched the steam boiler back on, and turned the machine back on. The PID showed the steam boiler matching the ambient temperature of 75F. The steam boiler started heating and then the machine shut down almost immediately. Sigh.

Welcome to HB Robert

Sorry you're experiencing these challenges.
I would contact your vendor by phone & e-mail with this accompanying video for guidance. Perhaps with their help you might be able to fix it yourself without having to sent it back and all that that entails.

That is an odd one, What is the condition of the plastic tee fitting that the silicon hoses connect to? has there been any leaks or signs of leaks? It looks like it is going into low water shut-off, but odd as you have disabled that.... Maybe try heating it up with the top cover off to see if you can spot anything happening when it shuts off? Be careful, and get it looked at under wty if possible

Thanks for the reply. I replaced the plastic tee some time ago with a stainless version -- had seen a few complaints about that part and wanted to be proactive. I am running the machine with the side/back panels off, much to my wife's chagrin. No leaks and everything I can see looks pretty pristine. A real poser. I'll ship it off next week and report back when I know something.

I'm certainly no coffee machine expert but my opinion is that if it only happens when the steam boiler is in use then that may be causing heat breakdown of something in the GICAR controller or power supply, which is causing power interruption to the rest of the machine. The steam boiler is directly behind these boxes. My vote is for the power supply & you should be able to monitor the 12v output with a meter

Since the power light remains lit and the display goes off, it's likely either power to or a failed controller.

If you have a VOM, connect it with clip leads to the controller power input and then operate the machine. If the power remains good, it's the controller. If not, it's a failed connection.

Hi Robert,

Like @Partysausage I'm far from an expert. Your post dod trigger a my memory on a few posts about the other 700's having steam boiler issues. I'm sure you have done plenty of reading already but just in case these slipped by I thought I would pass them along.

Occasionally the solid state relays can go out on the 700's or a connection cam be loose. While it may be a long shot, double checking those might save you some packing tape.

Profitec Pro 700 intermittent steam

Did the PID/Steam pressure upgrade on Profitec Pro 700. Now have low brew pressure

Profitec Pro 700, no steam at all

If an SSR fails, it's unlikely the display would go out. Symptom would likely be display of room temperature.

I did not know that, but now I do. Thank you Ian.

Thanks for all your considered replies!

I had a few minutes to do some more poking and prodding as Ian suggested. If I understood the assignment correctly, I hooked up my multimeter to the controller leads FA1 and FA2:



Turned on the machine with the steam boiler re-engaged. The brew boiler came up to temp, then the steam boiler came up to temp ... and they both sat there as if none of this issue had ever existed. Just as I thought I was about to be laughed off the internets the machine shut itself down. The voltage on my multimeter registered as normal before, during, and after the shutdown.