At the rocker switch is 112.9.  At the outer two terminals of the PID with the 
negative held to a ground bolt on the case is 113.2.  Center two terminals of 
the PID are 4 or less.

Good thought on the ground, I'll check.  That was the culprit on old BMW 
motorcycles more times than not...
b

Sent from my apple IIe

> On Nov 27, 2015, at 11:55, herman dickens <[email protected]> wrote:
> 
> You could have a loose wire, but I doubt it. What's the voltage going into 
> the pid? You could also have a bad ground. I've had that happen on other 
> things and it causes the power to be all over the place.
> 
>> On Fri, Nov 27, 2015 at 2:45 PM, Benjamin McCafferty <[email protected]> 
>> wrote:
>> OK, update.
>> 
>> When I turn on the machine, I put a voltmeter across the pstat terminals.  
>> While the steam boiler was heating, terminals 1/com and 4/no show 60 volts.  
>> 1 and 2 of course show nothing.  If I reverse wires 2/nc and 4/no, then 
>> cross pstat terminals 1 and 4, I get 120V.  Switching them back to their 
>> normal configuration, once the steam boiler is heated and switched off, 
>> crossing 1 and 2 shows 120V.
>> 
>> Now this is interesting.  I had suggested to Todd that the flickering of the 
>> PID and the machine-gun thing make me thing of an under-current situation, 
>> i.e. not enough power to make the relay fire crisply and all the way.  I 
>> have also notice lately (though it didn't occur to me as to why), that my 
>> steam boiler is being outrun when I steam milk.  Lastly, it took forever for 
>> the vacuum breaker to seal shut just now; and it makes sense since the steam 
>> element is only getting 60V.
>> 
>> So now the question becomes, why is reduced voltage happening on this one 
>> wire?  It goes to the solid state relay on terminal 1/L1.
>> 
>> b
>> 
>> Sent from my apple IIe
>> 
>>> On Nov 27, 2015, at 11:24, Benjamin McCafferty <[email protected]> wrote:
>>> 
>>> Likewise.  It did occur to me that the pstat relies on a flexible rubber 
>>> diaphragm; perhaps that has hardened over time as it sat on a shelf for 
>>> three years.  Pinging Chris again; also, he had offered 20%, not 10%, my 
>>> mistake.
>>> Talk soon,
>>> bmc
>>> Sent from my apple IIe
>>> 
>>>> On Nov 27, 2015, at 11:17, herman dickens <[email protected]> wrote:
>>>> 
>>>> It seems like mine was around that date too. The second new one says 4/15. 
>>>> They could have had a bad run of pstats or it could just be bad luck. My 
>>>> last pstat lasted almost 8 years.
>>>> 
>>>>> On Fri, Nov 27, 2015 at 2:11 PM, Benjamin McCafferty <[email protected]> 
>>>>> wrote:
>>>>> Thanks Herman.
>>>>> Pstat looks like mfg date of 6/12; shouldn't matter but there you go.  
>>>>> Chris will give 10% discount on a new one, but still chaps my butt.
>>>>> 
>>>>> I'll try to pull the giemme cover and watch the relay--don't try this at 
>>>>> home, kids!
>>>>> 
>>>>> I instinctively don't think the PID or element is bad, but will try the 
>>>>> p-stat reversal thing and see where that takes me.
>>>>> 
>>>>> I'll post again in a bit.
>>>>> 
>>>>> b
>>>>> 
>>>>> Sent from my apple IIe
>>>>> 
>>>>>> On Nov 27, 2015, at 11:07, herman dickens <[email protected]> 
>>>>>> wrote:
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> Ben fwiw it sounds like you have 2 problems. I had the same problem with 
>>>>>> a pstat and it only lasted 2 months. The next one worked fine. There 
>>>>>> should be a mfg date on the pstat. It seems like my first one was 
>>>>>> several years old and the second one was this year. I was having the 
>>>>>> same symptoms with the relief valve but no chatter. The chatter sounds 
>>>>>> like a relay or a solenoid. Can you pull the cover off and look at the 
>>>>>> relay while the chattering is going on? That might help narrow things 
>>>>>> down. You could have a bad pid or element in the brew boiler causing 
>>>>>> that not to get up to temp but honestly I don't work on these things 
>>>>>> enough to do anything but guess. I just bought the pid upgrade for my 
>>>>>> machine but I may hold off on installing it for a few more days. Maybe 
>>>>>> Todd will jump in and give you some ideas.
>>>>>> Herman
>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> On Fri, Nov 27, 2015 at 1:57 PM, Benjamin McCafferty <[email protected]> 
>>>>>>> wrote:
>>>>>>> Hey all!
>>>>>>> Hope you all had a great thanksgiving and that you're all waking from 
>>>>>>> your food comas.  I had more pie for breakfast, but alas, with no 
>>>>>>> espresso.
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> I will be talking to Todd soon about this, but thought I'd also ping 
>>>>>>> the collective and see if anyone has any ideas.  Unfortunately, I have 
>>>>>>> a collection of symptoms at this point that I can't make fit a common 
>>>>>>> cause; perhaps they will make sense to one of you.
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> As you may recall, I had quite a bit of trouble this summer, and during 
>>>>>>> that process I replaced:
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> --Both hi-limit switches
>>>>>>> --One or both boiler elements
>>>>>>> --Giemme controller board with the updated one
>>>>>>> --PID temp probe
>>>>>>> --Main power switch
>>>>>>> --New Jaeger pressure-stat
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> Also, as with this summer's shenanigans, my mom is visiting in two 
>>>>>>> weeks, and dearly loves a good latte.  I spent several hundred on 
>>>>>>> overnight charges, parts, etc. while she was here in the summer, and 
>>>>>>> managed 2 days of lattes for her in her three-week visit.  Hoping to 
>>>>>>> get the machine back in action fast!
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> At the same time I did all that work, I totally disassembled 
>>>>>>> everything, descaled completely, and cleaned the solenoid until it was 
>>>>>>> shiny, i.e. all scale removed, etc.  The solenoid functioned fine with 
>>>>>>> power.
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> The machine worked normally from summer until this week, but with one 
>>>>>>> weird symptom.  It would occasionally make a machine-gun noise, i.e. 
>>>>>>> something mechanical opening and closing very rapidly, 5-10 times per 
>>>>>>> second maybe.  To me, it is a higher pitched sound than the solenoid, 
>>>>>>> and sounds like it originates from the area of the giemme controller.  
>>>>>>> Todd suspected the solenoid might be sticking; I was thinking perhaps 
>>>>>>> one of the two relays in the giemme controller was misfiring (not sure 
>>>>>>> that they are even relays--but I'm referring to the two small sets of 
>>>>>>> contacts in the giemme that look like points from a 
>>>>>>> points-and-condensor ignition).  At its worst, this symptom would 
>>>>>>> continue for 10+ seconds and I'd shut the machine off and back on; it 
>>>>>>> would seem to "reset" and stop.  At its best, it would last for a few 
>>>>>>> seconds and stop on its own.  It clearly is related to when the machine 
>>>>>>> goes to refill the steam boiler, i.e. when closing the steam wand, 
>>>>>>> dumping hot water boiler, etc. is when this would happen, very 
>>>>>>> intermittently.
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> As of a week ago, the machine-gun thing got really bad, i.e. it happens 
>>>>>>> 4-5 times while steaming enough milk for a latte, etc.  When shutting 
>>>>>>> off the steam wand, when it goes to refill, the machine-gun noise 
>>>>>>> happens every time and frequently does not stop.  As the machine sits 
>>>>>>> at idle and occasionally refills the steam boiler, it also makes the 
>>>>>>> noise every time.
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> At this point, it would seem to me that the culprit would be the giemme 
>>>>>>> or the solenoid, but wait, there's more...
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> A few other symptoms have happened in the past week, which really 
>>>>>>> confuse the issue for me, because I admittedly don't know exactly how 
>>>>>>> electricity flows through the machine:
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> --The Jaeger P-stat has allowed the machine to over-pressure about 3 
>>>>>>> times in 5 months, causing the blowoff to activate.  No way this should 
>>>>>>> be happening with a new p-stat, but otherwise it has been normal.  As 
>>>>>>> an aside, Chris Coffee will not warrant the p-stat, stating 30 days is 
>>>>>>> the warranty from that manufacturer.  So I have a 90-day-old failing 
>>>>>>> part that won't be covered. Unexpected.
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> --The PID display (which I have set to 204F) has stayed at 105F for 
>>>>>>> several hours each morning for about four days in a row, and then later 
>>>>>>> in the day, has heated to 204F.
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> --As of two days ago, the PID heated the brew boiler to 105F and stayed 
>>>>>>> there all day, never heating to 204F.
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> --Earlier this week, one day only, the PID display was blank when the 
>>>>>>> machine was on.  It remained blank for about an hour, then suddenly lit 
>>>>>>> up.  It showed 105F.  Every time the steam boiler fired, the PID screen 
>>>>>>> would flicker and get really dim, almost not visible.  Then it would 
>>>>>>> brighten right back up when the steam boiler turned off.
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> --Most of the time (and this is an old thing, maybe normal), the PID 
>>>>>>> numbers and "dot" will blink every few seconds, i.e. they go off for a 
>>>>>>> split second, and then come back on.  The dot at this point will not 
>>>>>>> stay on for more than a split second also, i.e. it never shows the 
>>>>>>> boiler calling for heat once the steam boiler is off.
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> --The same day the PID display was blank and dim, there was a single 
>>>>>>> time where the steam boiler filled, and then shut off (solenoid 
>>>>>>> clicked), but the pump kept running indefinitely.  I finally had to 
>>>>>>> turn off the machine to make it stop.  After power cycling the machine, 
>>>>>>> the pump filled and stopped normally again.
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> --At this time, the steam boiler fills and heats normally, with the 
>>>>>>> exception of the machine-gun noise, which happens almost every time.
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> OK--I think that's it.  I'm sorry if someone has told me this before, 
>>>>>>> but I'm trying to understand first how electricity travels in the 
>>>>>>> machine.  So far, the only thing that seems like a common point to all 
>>>>>>> of these symptoms is the giemme controller, but that's based on my 
>>>>>>> limited understanding.
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> How I *think* it works is this:  main power switch sends current to the 
>>>>>>> giemme, which sends current to the pump and to the pressure stat (via 
>>>>>>> the two "relays" in the giemme?).  If the steam boiler is not up to 
>>>>>>> temp, the p-stat sends current to it until it is at pressure, then it 
>>>>>>> sends current onward to the PID.  The PID sends that onwards in bursts 
>>>>>>> via its solid-state relay to heat the brew boiler.  Meanwhile, the 
>>>>>>> giemme sends current to the pump (via a relay?) and to the solenoid, so 
>>>>>>> the solenoid closes, diverting water to the steam boiler, and the steam 
>>>>>>> boiler fills.  When water touches the probe in the steam boiler, it 
>>>>>>> essentially shorts out and stops the pump, and the solenoid opens, 
>>>>>>> sending water line pressure to the brew boiler, which is held back by 
>>>>>>> the group.  When the lever is lifted, the lever mechanically opens the 
>>>>>>> group to let water through, and the switch behind the lever sends power 
>>>>>>> to the pump to cause it to run and push water under pressure through 
>>>>>>> the group.  If, while pulling a shot, the steam boiler level drops 
>>>>>>> below its probe, the solenoid closes and interrupts water to the brew 
>>>>>>> boiler/group until the steam boiler is filled again.
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> Does that sound about right?  Again, I would really like to understand 
>>>>>>> this whole circuit, especially the giemme controller and what the two 
>>>>>>> mechanical contacts are for on that board.
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> --Also, my PID is about 5-6 years old by now; what is the expected 
>>>>>>> service life of those?
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> --Can I safely test the PID by reversing NO/NC terminals on the P-stat? 
>>>>>>>  Wouldn't that have the effect of prioritizing the PID first?
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> OK, I'll stop.  Enjoy your leftovers, and have a good coffee for me!
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> best,
>>>>>>> Ben McC
>>>>>>> Sent from my apple IIe
>>>>>>> 
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