Hey, I have a 4 year old Rocket Appartamento and I'm having an issue where the pump intermittently works. There's no rhyme or reason as to why it does or doesn't work. I took the case apart and all the wiring looks like it's connected and in good shape.

I'm wondering where to start diagnosing this. Any help would be really appreciated.

I can't tell from the video what's going on. The first step is to determine whether the pump is getting voltage. Take your multimeter, set to AC Volts; if it's auto-ranging, that's it; if not, put it to higher than 120-Volts. Hook it onto the two terminals that go to the pump, leaving the pump in the circuit if you can. Run your machine and watch for ~120-Volts to show on the meter. If nothing shows, then the problem is upstream of the pump. If it shows 120-Volts, but the pump does not run, then it's likely the pump. If it's upstream, we'll deal with that later.

If it' seems to be the pump, unplug the machine and remove the two wires going to the pump. Set your multimeter to ohms and put it across the pump terminals, first one way, then reverse the probes. If you get no reading, then the coil or internal diode is open (blown). If you get the same reading both ways, then the internal diode probably failed shorted (in this case, the pump should hum but very little if any water will flow).

If the pump appears to test okay electrically, then it might have an internal issue. To test, remove the output hose from the pump and route it to a suitable receptacle, like a tumbler. Unplug the machine. Take the wires off the pump. Make up a 'cheater cord' by using an old extension cord onto which you've crimped two connectors suitable to push onto the pump. The pump plugged into the mains should pump water into the tumbler if it's okay. Bear in mind, however, that just pumping isn't enough. It has to be able to produce ~15-bar pressure. You can attempt to stop the water flow by squeezing the tube with your finger and roughly gauge if it is just barely pumping or producing at least some pressure.

That's about all I can think of.

Caution! If you're not handy, get someone who is used to working with electricity to help you. We would not want both you and the machine to be out of service

Thanks, I'll dig out my multimeter from storage and see what's going on. I'm generally handy and have some basic electrical knowledge so I can probably diagnose myself.

I was trying to show in the video that when the lever is thrown, the control box clicks but nothing happens with the pump

Is the Brew Lever fully actuating the Pump Switch?

As you poke around carefully, doing as much as you can with the machine unplugged, check for a "Klixon" tucked into a slot on the pump's coil. It is a thermal safety for the pump. It should be "closed" at any reasonable temperature.

BaristaBoy E61 wrote:Is the Brew Lever fully actuating the Pump Switch?

Yes it is, and I even pressed the switch manually with a flathead to check it and the pump didn't activate.

Jeff wrote:As you poke around carefully, doing as much as you can with the machine unplugged, check for a "Klixon" tucked into a slot on the pump's coil. It is a thermal safety for the pump. It should be "closed" at any reasonable temperature.

I didn't check it but there is a thermal fuse. I need to get back in there with a multimeter but in the meantime I'm just going to order a pump to have on hand, they're like 24 dollars on Amazon.

Edit: how necessary is the thermal fuse? My understanding on why they're included is so you don't burn out the pump if it's accidentally left on. I don't see any case in which I accidentally leave my pump running. It just seems like a potential point of failure especially since it's very close to an uninsulated boiler.

Miringanes wrote: Edit: how necessary is the thermal fuse? My understanding on why they're included is so you don't burn out the pump if it's accidentally left on. I don't see any case in which I accidentally leave my pump running. It just seems like a potential point of failure especially since it's very close to an uninsulated boiler.

Your assumption is correct. Many manufacturers don't include them. If one respects the 50/50 duty cycle with no more than a 1-minute run, they generally last for years. I had to replace one in my Magiser (no thermal fuse) because I was using it to do a deep clean, with fairly long run times for the flushes.

Nunas wrote:I can't tell from the video what's going on. The first step is to determine whether the pump is getting voltage. Take your multimeter, set to AC Volts; if it's auto-ranging, that's it; if not, put it to higher than 120-Volts. Hook it onto the two terminals that go to the pump, leaving the pump in the circuit if you can. Run your machine and watch for ~120-Volts to show on the meter. If nothing shows, then the problem is upstream of the pump. If it shows 120-Volts, but the pump does not run, then it's likely the pump. If it's upstream, we'll deal with that later.

If it' seems to be the pump, unplug the machine and remove the two wires going to the pump. Set your multimeter to ohms and put it across the pump terminals, first one way, then reverse the probes. If you get no reading, then the coil or internal diode is open (blown). If you get the same reading both ways, then the internal diode probably failed shorted (in this case, the pump should hum but very little if any water will flow).

If the pump appears to test okay electrically, then it might have an internal issue. To test, remove the output hose from the pump and route it to a suitable receptacle, like a tumbler. Unplug the machine. Take the wires off the pump. Make up a 'cheater cord' by using an old extension cord onto which you've crimped two connectors suitable to push onto the pump. The pump plugged into the mains should pump water into the tumbler if it's okay. Bear in mind, however, that just pumping isn't enough. It has to be able to produce ~15-bar pressure. You can attempt to stop the water flow by squeezing the tube with your finger and roughly gauge if it is just barely pumping or producing at least some pressure.

That's about all I can think of.

Caution! If you're not handy, get someone who is used to working with electricity to help you. We would not want both you and the machine to be out of service

So I'm at a bit of a loss, everything checked out with the pump, but I replaced it with the one I ordered from Amazon since I had it. The problem is still intermittent even with the new pump when it's not working I get no voltage, when it does work I'm getting voltage. It unfortunately seems like it's upstream of the pump which is what I was hoping it wasn't.

I was thinking it was possibly something wrong with the brew lever switch but I let the machine heat up, drained off some water from the tap. The autofill went to kick on but when the control box clicked the pump on, the pump didn't run, after a few seconds, the pump kicked on and refilled the boiler. Would this seem to indicate that there's an issue between the control box and the pump? Possibly wiring at the control box or a bad box?

Bummer Well, at least the vibe pumps are inexpensive, and you now have a spare.

Steve asked if the lever was actuating the pump switch. Let's look into that first. You've already said that it is good mechanically, but have you checked that the switch is making and breaking as it should? Just because it clicks does not mean that the electrical contacts are actually operating. It's easy to test. With the machine off, disconnect the two wires from the switch. Put your ohmmeter across the switch terminals. Actuate the brew lever repeatedly, watching to see that the switch actually opens and closes electrically every time.

If the switch is working as it should, then trace the wires on the pump. One will likely go to a common ground at some point, and the other will go to the controller. Sometimes the common ground is just a lug on the controller. NB, we're not looking for ground to the chassis here; we're tracing the neutral. Where they connect to something, pull the connector(s) off (don't just give it a wiggle). Look at the male connector and the female connector for any signs of corrosion or other damage. Then, put the connectors back together. When you put them back, pay particular attention that they actually mate. With bare connectors, this is easy, but with some types of insulated connectors, it is possible to push them together on one side or the other of the male one.