My Krups model 288 toaster won't always latch down.

You can fix this yourself by following these instructions. Unplug your toaster before proceeding!... Clean the toaster first. Turn the toaster upside-down and shake out the crumbs. Remove and clean the bottom crumb tray. 1. Unscrew the four Phillips head screws located in the corners of the bottom base. Remove the screws completely if possible. Do this over a cloth or newspaper - that way a stuck screw won't get lost if it falls out later. 2. With the toaster right-side up, pull off the wide toast lever knob. Do not remove the round adjustment knob (it will not come off from the outside) but make a mental note of what number (1-7) is showing at the knob's adjustment mark. 3. Carefully pry up the end of the case cover with the knob on it (don't pull on the "stop" button). When the knob's plastic shaft is clear of the circuit board, gently pull off the cover. 4. On the inner part of the circuit board you will see a black plastic "cam" surrounded by two sets of electrical contacts. Rotate the cam to open the contact points if necessary. Insert a thin nail file between the points and rotate the cam to trap the file between them, then scrub back and forth several times to clean the contact points. Do this for each contact on both sides of the cam. When finished, rotate the cam clockwise so it is all the way back down to it's original position. 5. To make re-assembly easier, remove the round adjustment knob from the cover by depressing the half-round shaft flanges inside the cover with your fingernails. 6. Re-assemble the toaster by reversing steps 1 & 2. Replace the knobs, making sure that the round one is in the same position you noted earlier before you push it all the way down.

Variation for FEM 231
Ingbin's useful description has to be enlarged and adjusted for the FEM231 which is much more complicated to dismantle. I have reposted ingbing's commentary with variations
You can fix this yourself by following these instructions. Unplug your toaster before proceeding!...

Clean the toaster first. Remove the crumb catching plate that slides out from the lever end. Turn the toaster upside-down and shake out the crumbs. Remove and clean the bottom crumb tray.

1. Unscrew the six screws located in of the bottom base. On my toaster, 4 were Phillips heads but two were Allen screws (a booby trap to foil the initiated?). Remove the screws completely if possible. Do this over a cloth or newspaper - that way a stuck screw won't get lost if it falls out later.

2. Prise off the smaller adjustment knob. The indicator pointer end has a lip you can use for leverage. To take off the main action lever, first prise off the “stop” button. There is a third hole in between the two holes for fixing screws you have just removed at the knob end. Using a thin screwdriver reach up through this hole to the base of the stop button and lever it out.

The action lever is held in by two grub screws. Turn the lever all the way to the left and unscrew the small grub screw. It comes right out and you have to catch it and keep it. Then turn the lever all the way to the left and take out the second screw. Then take off the metal lever. One segment of the white disc beneath is loose. It needs to be slid out otherwise it will become lost within the body of the toaster. The chrome fascia will now come away.

3. This exposes one of the circuit boards which can be unscrewed and removed.

4. On the inner part of the circuit board you will see a black plastic "cam" surrounded by two sets of electrical contacts. Rotate the cam to open the contact points if necessary. Insert a thin nail file between the points and rotate the cam to trap the file between them, then scrub back and forth several times to clean the contact points. Do this for each contact on both sides of the cam. When finished, rotate the cam clockwise so it is all the way back down to its original position.


4. If you need to reach the second circuit board and the lever mechanism itself, you have to continue by removing the main cover. It will now lift out and can be carefully manipulated off. You then have to remove the black unit in which the turning mechanism sits, first the top part which will clear the white disk. Then, from the top, unscrew the four retaining screws and lift the unit out.

5. Re-assemble the toaster by reversing steps 1 to 4. You will need a magnetic screw driver or some substitute to get the grub screws back though the whole.
Shanks