La Spaziale Vivaldi II Flow error

If you have a question or comment specific to the VII that doesn't fit in any other VII category, submit it here.
Post Reply
jsloan

La Spaziale Vivaldi II Flow error

Post by jsloan »

All,

I have an issue with my machine and am kind of stumped. I seem to have plenty of pressure to the boiler for water and steam, but I am getting the no flow error. I have disassembled the flow meter, cleaned the screens and verified the openings there and when I loosen the fitting that feeds the tank behind the grouphead I get water flow there. I get nothing at the grouphead and after about 3-4 seconds the lights flash...well, sometimes they flash. They did flash all the time before, but now they are kind of intermittent. Any help will be appreciated!

Maybe I need to descale the whole thing? Maybe during back flush I didn't flush it enough? Can the group head be clogged?

Jeff
User avatar
chas
Vivaldi Dreamer
Posts: 3044
Joined: Wed Jun 02, 2004 11:52 pm
Location: Central Maryland
Contact:

Re: La Spaziale Vivaldi II Flow error

Post by chas »

Do you hear the 3-way valve solenoid click when you press the one-cup or two-cup buttons?
Chas
LM GS/3 & LaSpaziale Dream v 1.25 (US 120V)
Mazzer Kony E, Customized Rocky
Hottop P/B
jsloan

Re: La Spaziale Vivaldi II Flow error

Post by jsloan »

That would be a no.
User avatar
chas
Vivaldi Dreamer
Posts: 3044
Joined: Wed Jun 02, 2004 11:52 pm
Location: Central Maryland
Contact:

Re: La Spaziale Vivaldi II Flow error

Post by chas »

Sounds like you've narrowed it down then. However, it could be 1) No voltage to the solenoid 2) solenoid dead 3) valve stuck really bad. Of these #2 is the most likely but it's worth checking the other two.

The S1 has a screw on, covered electrical connector. With that screw removed, unplug the connector, then use an AC voltmeter to check that there is 115VAC across those leads when you press one of the coffee buttons. In all likelihood, there will be.

If that checks out then it is either #2 or #3. If your AC voltmeter can also do ohms, while you have the Vivaldi power off and the solenoid connector removed, check the coil resistance. If it has gone bad the resistance may well be infinity instead of a low number. Of course, it shouldn't be zero (shorted) either.

If the resistance doesn't immediately show you the problem, you can next check to see if applying 115V directly across the solenoid leads does anything. I have a special, easy-to-make cable I use for this. It consists of an old, cheap extension cord that I cut the socket end off. II then added the correct crimp connector on each wire. I connect the crimp connectors directly to the solenoid leads and then plug the cord into the nearest socket and listen for a click or at least a hum.

If the above tests show you whether the solenoid is bad or the valve is really stuck, you can replace just that part. If in doubt you can buy the solenoid and the valve together preassembled. The solenoid is $33 and the value is $46 or both together for $76 at http://espressoparts.com. No free shipping but it doesn't look like they mark up the shipping rates. If you are not sure which are the right parts on the website, give them a call at: 1 (800) 459-5594 (8AM-4PM PST) or try their live chat from the website. FYI, I replaced one of these on my S1 Dream last year. I opted for the complete assembly even though I think the solenoid was OK.
Chas
LM GS/3 & LaSpaziale Dream v 1.25 (US 120V)
Mazzer Kony E, Customized Rocky
Hottop P/B
jsloan

Re: La Spaziale Vivaldi II Flow error

Post by jsloan »

Thank you , thank you, thank you!
I will test the voltage as soon as i get home. As far as the valve goes...would that be something that could be cleaned? Could that have gotten stuck by maybe not flushing enough after a clean with Cafiza?

Thanks again!

Jeff
User avatar
chas
Vivaldi Dreamer
Posts: 3044
Joined: Wed Jun 02, 2004 11:52 pm
Location: Central Maryland
Contact:

Re: La Spaziale Vivaldi II Flow error

Post by chas »

That's possible, if being stuck is the problem. BTW: I've never seen one so mucked up that the solenoid couldn't open it. The more frequent problem is that gunk in the valve prevents it from closing all the way and then it leaks constantly. But there's always a first time for everything!
Chas
LM GS/3 & LaSpaziale Dream v 1.25 (US 120V)
Mazzer Kony E, Customized Rocky
Hottop P/B
jsloan

Re: La Spaziale Vivaldi II Flow error

Post by jsloan »

Well, there is a drip drip drip at the 3-way..
User avatar
chas
Vivaldi Dreamer
Posts: 3044
Joined: Wed Jun 02, 2004 11:52 pm
Location: Central Maryland
Contact:

Re: La Spaziale Vivaldi II Flow error

Post by chas »

If you determine that the solenoid still works, it may be possible to disassemble and clean the valve itself. I have found that I need to complete remove the valve, stick it in a vise, and then really torque on the nut to get the valve loose from the body. But if you can get it free then there is not much to the valve inside. It's just a small plunger with a seal on the bottom and a small spring to hold it down and closed until the solenoid pulls it up.

The last time when I purchased the entire valve was only after I gave up from not getting that nut loose.
Chas
LM GS/3 & LaSpaziale Dream v 1.25 (US 120V)
Mazzer Kony E, Customized Rocky
Hottop P/B
jsloan

Re: La Spaziale Vivaldi II Flow error

Post by jsloan »

Seems to be #1. when i connect the tester to the plug, it reads like 1.2V, when i press a brew button, it goes to 2.5V. I have 121V at the plug. I am checking the 2 small plugs. I will rig a cable to test the solonoid next.

Solenoid checks out.
When i take the black wire off the controller and press brew, I get 120V. When i put 120V to the solenoid, it opens and water flows to the grouphead. Neutral and ground both ohm out. When I plug everything it, I get 118V at the solenoid plug...Now I'm scratching my head again. Maybe just a bad cord that isn't making a solid connection at the Solenoid?

Power supply or relay?
User avatar
chas
Vivaldi Dreamer
Posts: 3044
Joined: Wed Jun 02, 2004 11:52 pm
Location: Central Maryland
Contact:

Re: La Spaziale Vivaldi II Flow error

Post by chas »

It's possible that one of the contacts in that connector was barely making contact and it finally arced and burned away the connector so that you aren't really making contact when plugged in or else a wire is broken somewhere in that connector. Alternately, perhaps whatever holds one of the connectors in place is loose or broken inside the connector housing so that when you plug it in the terminal just pushes into the housing and doesn't make good contact.

You can also take off that connector and just put shielded crimp connectors on the ends of the wire. I have a GS/3 and that's how they connect to the solenoids.

I don't recall if there is a way to remove that cover or if you'd have to cut it off. BTW: Since the solenoids use AC, there is no + and - connection; i.e. it doesn't matter which wire goes on which terminal.
Chas
LM GS/3 & LaSpaziale Dream v 1.25 (US 120V)
Mazzer Kony E, Customized Rocky
Hottop P/B
User avatar
chas
Vivaldi Dreamer
Posts: 3044
Joined: Wed Jun 02, 2004 11:52 pm
Location: Central Maryland
Contact:

Re: La Spaziale Vivaldi II Flow error

Post by chas »

I'm not saying this the way you should go, unless you have spare cash lying around, but I did find one website albeit in the UK that sells just the replacement covers.

For your situation what that tells me is that this part does come off, hopefully easily, so that you can just bypass it as I noted in my previous post. Perhaps you can also inspect it to see if it is repairable.
Chas
LM GS/3 & LaSpaziale Dream v 1.25 (US 120V)
Mazzer Kony E, Customized Rocky
Hottop P/B
jsloan

Re: La Spaziale Vivaldi II Flow error

Post by jsloan »

I traced it down! Turns out that the Neutral connector inside the plug was not inserted all the way and wasn't making a good connection. I took the connector apart and helped it on there and then reassembled the plug while it was plugged it. Voila! I can pull shots again!

Chas, thank you for your help. You put me on the right track.
User avatar
chas
Vivaldi Dreamer
Posts: 3044
Joined: Wed Jun 02, 2004 11:52 pm
Location: Central Maryland
Contact:

Re: La Spaziale Vivaldi II Flow error

Post by chas »

It's great to hear that you are back up and running. You had already done most of the troubleshooting work by eliminating everything it could be except the solenoid. You're additional troubleshooting yesterday made it clear that the problem had to be in the connector. And the fix ended up being free, even better!
Chas
LM GS/3 & LaSpaziale Dream v 1.25 (US 120V)
Mazzer Kony E, Customized Rocky
Hottop P/B
Kaffenv
Freeze Dried
Posts: 1
Joined: Tue Oct 27, 2020 5:23 pm
Location: Denmark

Re: La Spaziale Vivaldi II Flow error

Post by Kaffenv »

Sorry for high jacking, but where do I find the correct gasket for the flow meter?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Post Reply

Return to “VII General Q&A”