Grinder a year old and stopped working after grinding about 3-5 pounds of coffee. is motor burnt? the grinding wheel still turns freely. is there a reset in the pc16?

No brand or model? Okay, general reasons why grinders clog up. Most common I've found is worn out burrs. The plates, depends on composition and usage. Metal plates last longer but not forever. If your grinding thousand pounds of beans don't expect it to last. I've seen massive grinders fail within a month. It all depends on two factors; How much and how fine. Large grind size will increase life and fine grinds wear the burrs out very fast. Especially Turkish settings. Fine grinds also generate a lot of heat. This can cook the coffee again and make it change in flavor. Heat also forces the oils in the bean to coat the burrs and make them dull out which causes more heat. Prolong grinding will also burn out motor.
* Worse case senario; Very oily beans ground to espresso fine. This is usually the case with 'local' roasters. Poor quality beans, extreme roasting (pushing the max on toasting limits), and extreme fine grinds for a particular roast. Fine grinding tends to work on dryer beans. Heavy moisture (under roasted or beans not aged enough to outgas and dry out) will gum up any grinder. Let your roaster know what your trying to do. Otherwise go with a name brand and correct bean for the flavor profile your looking for. Don't expect 5 star espresso from a cheap roast.
* Final, most likely worn burrs needs to be changed out. Off chance the motor is burnt out or starter capacitor needs replacement. If it is the motor or cap, then you need to review your grinding methods as grinder motors are usually tough enough to handle the range of grinds listed in the specs. burning the motor is a clear sign of abuse.
* Have your vendor look at the grinder. They will know right away what's wrong.
Aloha, ukeboy57

Most grinders, especially the larger professional models will eventually need to have the grinding wheels (set of 2) changed out. They do wear down. The grinder will struggle as the burrs on the wheel dull out. This increases the time it takes to grind coffee and puts a heavy electrical load. Burnt out switches, tripping breaker, overheating, and burnt coffee grounds on espresso size are all symptoms of a worn burr set.
It's common to find; stones, nails, jewelry, and small loose things found around coffee counters in the grinding wheels or burrs. Have a qualified operator remove all beans and hopper to check and brush out burr set. This should be done every day. Talk to your vendor if you find nails as they can easily correct this with a magnetic pick up.
Another cause is very oily beans. Sometimes poorly roasted beans come out extremely oily which will gum up everything from the burrs, Moving parts, and electrical components. Disassembly of entire machines may be necessary.
.Final note; since you mentioned a switch swap. It's possible the switch is underrated for use in this machine. Most will work in a pinch but like a 'spare' tire in a car, they are only ment to get you to a service center for replacement.

Most grinders, especially the larger professional models will eventually need to have the grinding wheels (set of 2) changed out. They do wear down. The grinder will struggle as the burrs on the wheel dull out. This increases the time it takes to grind coffee and puts a heavy electrical load. Burnt out switches, tripping breaker, overheating, and burnt coffee grounds on espresso size are all symptoms of a worn burr set.
It's common to find; stones, nails, jewelry, and small loose things found around coffee counters in the grinding wheels or burrs. Have a qualified operator remove all beans and hopper to check and brush out burr set. This should be done every day.
Another cause is very oily beans. Sometimes poorly roasted beans come out extremely oily which will gum up everything from the burrs, Moving parts, and electrical components. Disassembly of entire machines may be necessary.
ukeboy57

Unfortunately this probably means that the AC Motor within the device has shorted out. These motors will still allow the blade/shaft to move even if a fault has occurred. It is unlikely, but possible that this particular model is built in such a way that a replaceable fuse is accessible to the operator. More then likely however the motor will have 'burnt' out and will no longer function no matter what you try.
Try to check the power cord for nicks and check that the outlet functions correctly. Lastly check that the power switch is properly operational. If all of this seems in working order then you are stuck with a non-functional device.

I bought Mr. coffee grinder it broke , stopped working on the 3rd use... just 2 months. i called to see if any warranty, thank God i got a replacement with a different model. And now on my 4th time using the new one, it stopped working just like the first one. I'm so sad and frustrated, No one grinds coffee all the time but Mr coffee grinder would not work the only time you need it

First, I'm not a Baratza tech, but I have worked on commercial grinders. You should contact your vendor for service.
*** The following is for information only ***
* check on line for your model parts manual. The diagrams will help you identify the parts needed and should provide instructions on replacing/cleaning the burrs.
* As you've figured out, cleaning with rice is not a good idea.
* Burr plates do get dull and needs to be replaced. Longer grind times and frequent adjustments to get finer grinds is an indication of dull plates.
* The oil in the beans used gets caked up under and on the sides of the burr plates.
* Heavy usage and long grind times will melt the oils and fill every part of the burr chamber and even get into the motor and bearings. I've found oil in the on/off switches and rotary switches.
* The burr plates must be removed and chamber cleaned of all oil residue and beans (rice too). Use a vacuum cleaner and stiff brush to clean. Do not use water or any liquids in the burr chamber. You can clean the burrs in wash water once it's removed from equipment. Dry thoroughly before reinstalling.
* The motor should turn freely by hand (no power!) with nothing hitting the sides or under the plate. If it's difficult to turn or makes grinding or whirling noise. Then the lower plate needs to be removed and cleaned. The motor bearings will need to be replaced if the motor does not turn at all.
* Once cleaned and assembled(without any beans) Power up and check the operation. You should have a motor hum without any clanking or screeching (metal rubbing metal) sounds. Stop and power down if you do. Motor bearings are bad.
* If you get nothing then check the switches. Oil probably got in them. Replace.
* Runs okay? Then set the grinder to a large setting (like drip coffee; Turn on and allow to run while you drop some whole beans into the hopper. Use 1/4 cup or less. This should grind through smoothly.
* Placing another 1/4 cup of whole beans. Turn on grinder again. Just hums without grinding? Power down. Replace motor starter capacitor.
* The capacitor is round and usually attached to the motor like a 'hump' on the side or near the top. If you didn't take it apart then one of the wires in the switching side may be miss wired or loose. Check both for loose and correct wired. Careful around the capacitor as it may still have a charge! The capacitor is used to kick start the motor with it's heavy burr plates.
* If your still having problems with low power. Check the motor for burnt smell as you may have overheated and fried the motor. They usually have thermal resets, but if you kept forcing the reset to keep grinding then the motor is defiantly burnt out.
* Final; if everything is working but your not getting the fine grind setting (you should at least get espresso setting but not turkish) then the burrs are gone. It will only be good for drip coffee.
Aloha, ukeboy57

PS I found a cute video on how to clean the burrs (frequent cleaning)
https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=baratza+virtuoso+grinder+cleaning+burrs&&view=detail&mid=41DCCF0EB0CACFEA9E4841DCCF0EB0CACFEA9E48&&FORM=VRDGAR

This model sometime gets plugged up with grounds.

Unplug the grinder, and remove the bin where the grounds go. Look inside the grinder part where the grounds come from the grinder into the bin. This should be clear, and you should be able to see part of the grinder wheel inside. If this is plugged up with grounds, then you'll want to clean it out, but it's possible that the motor has already burned out (we killed two of them last year at my office this way)

Pour out any whole beans that are in the top part. You can pour them in a bowl to save them, you don't have to throw them away.

Unscrew the top part until it detaches from the grinder. This will take 20 or more rotations -- just keep turning it counter-clockwise.

You'll want to do this next part over a sink or a counter that's easy to clean -- you're going to dump a lot of ground coffee.

Looking into the grinder from the top, you'll see the grinding wheel in the center, and packed coffee grounds around the edges. Use a plastic knife or bamboo skewer to clean out the ground coffee. Don't use a screwdriver, metal silverware, or anything metal, as this can damage the grinder housing. You also want to clean from the bin opening. When you're done cleaning, the grinder wheel should turn freely.

Reattach the top portion, put the bin back in place, and turn the grinder on. It should turn on and spin the grinder wheel. If it still doesn't, then your motor is burned out. :(

If it does turn, then put the coffee beans back in and enjoy a cup -o- joe!

That one is hard to explain but I will try. On the front of the grinder is the adjustment wheel, on the wheel is a small screw, if you put your hand on the wheel it might be about 1/4 inch from the front, back up screw about 1/2 turn or more then make sure the grinder is on 3 or espresso, make sure you can pull out front part of the wheel ONLY. If not back up screw a little more and try again, now that it can move freely without moving the numbers, pull it out and turn it to about 5 or 6 then turn grinder on and very SLOWLY, (This is the dangerous part do not go to fast or you could damage the grinder) turn towards trukish grind when you get close you will hear the burrs slightly touching. Back off the knob a little just before the touching part and turn grinder off. Then pull knob out and turn it to turkish and set screw.

Hi
If you have tried opening the adjustment to a larger # and it still doesn't work. Well if the motor won't turn, I only hope the machine is less than a year old because the likely problem is the motor is bad. Sorry

Sounds like your coffee grinder is grinding too fine. I would up the size of your grinder. The larger the numbers the coarser the grinds. Also, should descale the machine if you haven't in a while. One of these two things may help.

Also, if the above two things do not work you can try to clean out your grinder using the instruction #2 posted on the website http://cerinicoffee.com/Saeco_technical_documents.asp

Sales, Service and Information of Saeco Machines visit:

www.CeriniCoffee.com

Hope Everything works out for you.