20 Most Recent Gaggia Syncrony Compact Coffee Maker/Espresso Machine - Page 3 Questions & Answers

Your machine has a grinder assembly, a Very expensive part to replace in its entirety. What is happening is that the conical burr set, consisting of the two metal-to-metal grinding surfaces that actually grind the beans, is now worn. Instead of grinding the beans as it once did, resulting in the proper coarseness to make perfect coffee, it is now pulverizing them instead, making the shot too fine and powdery. The result is a long, slow drip-drip-drip instead of the classic crema-rich stream you miss so much.

The cure for this of course, is to replace the conical burr set. If you're a geeky type and can handle a regular screwdriver and a finer precision phillips head, and you can get your hands on a #10 Torx drive screwdriver as well to replace the lower half of the set, the parts are available for around $42 from partsguru.com. If this is beyond your skill-set, it will cost you $95 for a diagnostic (preliminary "bend-you-over" fee), then they will charge you for the entire grider-assembly brand new, approximately $175, plus labor calculated at a Bazillion-dollars per hour. I was quoted a total around $400, with a few days turnaround time... then decided to tackle the job myself, and found it kinda fun. But then I'm a geek.

Please feel free to email me for the step-by-step procedure. It's kinda techy, but most people with the "guy-gene" in their DNA can handle it... especially at a saving of over $300!

The controller of the unit monitors the motor by the current it draws: when it has to work harder or the grinder is partially jammed by very hard beans the current consumption shoots up and it triggers the warning. Eventually those beans get smashed and the grinder returns to normal.
Unless you are using an exceptionally hard type of coffee beans this is the most clear sign that your Gaggia machine is seriously worn out and it's dying of old age.
It can be fixed - in the end all you would have to do is to replace the grinder assembly - just that it's not an economical option: for a little more money you could buy a brand new espresso machine.

HI
I would suspect the seal on the machine where the tank sets on the machine. There is a plastic cap that looks like a doughnut, that will pry off (there are 2 hooks, 1 on each side). The seal is under neath. If you can stick your finger in the center of the seal and lift it out it needs to be replaced. When you put the new one in, run your finger nail around the outside edge of the seal to get it to slip in or you could damage the new seal.

Hi
You must make sure that the brew unit is ready to reinsert into the machine. To return the brew group to the centered position, you first need to drop the funnel. To do this, look on the opposite side of the brew group from the handle. At the top you will see an object that looks like a sharks fin. If you follow this piece down you will see 2 horizontal bars on the brew group body. Push your finger between these 2 bars and the funnel will drop. If you have you key you can insert it in the front of the brew unit. There is a round hold in the center below the "Push", and twist it clockwise until it stops and the 2 marks are lined up. If you don't have your key you can do this. Push the puck slide on the left side down and to the center. If you look down through the funnel you should see a piston. This should be centered in the funnel. If not, locate the slide on the left side of the brew unit, (it should be hanging down, a flat rectangular piece attached to the cylinder) and push the slide to the right until it does. Press the "Push" lever until you hear a click and you are now ready to reinsert the brew group in to the machine. First you must close the door with the drip tray and dredge drawer inserted, and turn on the machine without having the brew group in. You will hear the motor turn on and when it stops completely, open the door and remove the tray, and dredge drawer, now insert the brew group, and replace the tray. If it still won't go in check the cog in the back of the machine. There are 2 wide teeth that should be at the 10:00 and 12:00 position. If they are at a different position you have a broken drive gear.

Try running lots of water through the steamer if it will let you.

Check the end of the steam spout that may be blocked, use a paperclip to clear. If you still get the same result then the machine needs to be descaled.

Yes
That is where the pressure is relieved after brewing. The coarser the grind the more water. Less coffee also will give more water.

You have got the gears out of alignment. You don't really want to take out brew group unless at end of cycle. You can fool machine to get brew group back in.
At times, the gears in the brew drive assembly will not complete the cycle to the proper
start position for different reasons. Some of the reasons are:
• Brew group jammed or blocked
• Either one of the micro switches in the brew drive have gone bad.
• Brew drive motor Failure.
• Broken teeth on either of the brew drive gears.
• Dirty brew group, covered by coffee grinds.
• Brew group or gears not lubricated.
• Connections to the board from brew drive assy., or motor have gone bad.
A jammed or blocked brew group happens when the brew group starts the cycle but doesn't finish it.
solution follows:

HI
There is a panel behind the brew unit, that has 2 screws. Remove it and clean the coffee residue behind it. That is what drains the pressure relieved after brewing, and has coffee residue that can build up and cause the leak. It should leak into the drip tray though, except when you rremove it.

Your machine have scale deposits in a very hard form that is why the water can not run freely.
Here in this link you try descale
http://www.fixya.com/support/r4335301-descaling_espresso_machines_never_use
Try it for 3-4 days repeated, if you dont have any results then you need to desmndle the machine and manualy descale it.

Make sure that the sensor in the water tank has not stuck IIRC it's on the right hand side as you look at the machine from the front. Then run some water through the steam nozzle, it could just be that following the descale there is no water in the boiler and you just need to fill it as you did when it was new.
Hope this helps.

It is possible that the grind is too fine.

You have one of 2 problems either the grinds chute to the brew unit is blocked, or the grind is too fine.

Your thumbscrew is stripped. If you remove the brew unit and push down on the thumbscrew your filter screen should have a gap in it. You need a new thumbscrew. Don't use the key to tighten it. That is why they call it a thumbscrew. Finger tight.

For the steam check the end of the nozzle to make sure it is not blocked.
For the coffee run a coffee using the pre ground method but without coffee grounds, if water comes out then grinder is too fine, if no water remove brew unit and clean top shower screen, you might have to clean tube leaving from shower to discharge.

You need to push the hot water button on the machine panel to allow water to run out of the steam wand. After a few seconds the machines ventilate message should clear.

<b><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">We have a useful tip here in this link which can help you</span></b><br /> <b><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> </span></b><br /> <b><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><a href="http://www.fixya.com/support/r5772014-saeco_gaggia_spidem_ventilate_prime">http://www.fixya.com/support/r5772014-saeco_gaggia_spidem_ventilate_prime</a></span></b><br /> <b><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> </span></b><br /> <b><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Good luck</span></b>

If the grinder jammed it might have been because the grind was too fine, try adjusting coarser then using the + or - lever to add more coffee for proper extraction. To clear jam remove brew unit and locate door to grinder chamber on left, vac out grounds, also beans in hopper. When clean run grinder and set to coarser, then add small amount of beans and test.

Remove the brew unit and check the small chamber under the white plastic valve, make sure it is clear and the small discharge chute from chamber to the drain tray is not blocked.