Lelit Mara X odd behaviour

eduk

A bit worried this might turn into something more serious!

A couple of times during use, the pilot light ‘machine ready’ has gone off and the machine’s stopped working (the on/off main switch stays illuminated). Both times this has happened, the water tank has been empty and the issue’s gone away when the tank is refilled. I’ve also noticed that the water tank pilot light isn’t coming on at all.

I can only assume that the’re something wrong with the water availability sensing and the machine’s cutting out for safety reasons.

Any thoughts?

BTW, the machine’s a bit over 3 years old and has had the OPV mod.

eduk

Bit of an update; thought the LED might have gone, so swapped the bulbs from the two pilot lights for a test and the tank light still works

eduk

Another update…

The tank pilot light flickers rapidly when the machine is turned on, then goes out a short while after.

Also, the steam pressure is way down, despite the gauge sitting at 1.5bar

DavecUK

It seems to me that there might be an issue with the tank low water sensing…this could simply be down to float positioning, the float system is in a little tubular section at the bottom of the tank. Confirm it’s moving OK, doesn’t have a leak and that the sensor below has not come loose.

As for the gauge sitting at 1.5 bar it could be:

gauge is broken, does it move from 0 to pressure when first turned on and drop to 0 when machine is cold?
There is a blockage in the steam tip, usually the tip has to be removed to clear/clean it fully
there is a blockage in the steam arm or steam valve (disassemble and clear)

Usually this sort of problem is improper cleaning/usage, or limescale.

Taking videos of the problems and issues can help, they should be uploaded to Youtube as unlisted and the link pasted here. The videos should be the best resolution you can do and show as much of the front panel as possible.

eduk

Thanks for the comprehensive reply Dave

I think the steam pressure could be coincidental, it looks like one of the nozzles was blocked (first time ever). I’ve cleared this and will recheck in the morning. The gauge seems to be operating ok, it’s back down to zero now the machine’s cold.

I had already checked the float and sensor. Both looked ok, but I’ll check again now that I know what to look out for.

eduk

Float & sensor seem to be working fine. I’ve taken some videos (in sequence) of the start up.

Doram

eduk Float & sensor seem to be working fine. I’ve taken some videos (in sequence) of the start up.

Sorry if I’m missing something, but other than the water light flickering - is the machine working correctly? If not, what is the issue exactly? (I tried to deduce this from the uploaded videos, but haven’t noticed anything obvious other than the flickering light).

eduk

Doram

The issue is that although the tank pilot light flickers during start up, it then turns off completely. I initially thought it was the LED that had gone,as the machine’s usually on before I get up.

When the tank drains, there’s no indicator, other than the the machine ready light goes off. I thought that there was also a steam pressure issue, but that was coincidental and has now been rectified.

Doram

eduk

So the problem is only with the light? If so, then although annoying, at least it’s not stopping use of the machine. I I misunderstood and the light is indication of some other malfunction - what is it?

eduk

Doram

Appears just to be a problem with the light, although the light itself does not appear faulty. I swapped the machine ready pilot light for the tank light and it came on solid when the machine was turned on.

The light goes off and stays off after a few minutes of turning the machine on, so there’s no visual indication that the water’s run out (other than the machine ready light goes out and, of course, the machine doesn’t operate!).

Doram

DavecUK I’m sure the light flashes on and off until it’s ready (correct temp for brewing).

I think the light that flashes on and off until ready is the temp light (on the left), but the issue in the videos is with the water light indicator (should be solid when there is water in the tank, or flash on and off when there isn’t. In the videos it’s flickering or off even when there is water in the machine and it’s otherwise working correctly).

eduk Appears just to be a problem with the light, although the light itself does not appear faulty.

You mean that the LED bulb doesn’t seem faulty, because when you swapped the two LED bulbs, the problem stayed in the water indicator light (on the right), right?

If the above is correct, then maybe the following resources about the water sensor system will have something useful:

https://www.1st-line.com/technical-support/lelit-technical-support-page/not-pumping-water-low-water-level-light-blinking-lelit-mara-x/

Failing that, I would try to send a video of the flickering light to Lelit. My impression is that they were quite responsive and helpful when contacted. Would be great to hear if you managed to find a solution.

DavecUK

I’m sure the light flashes on and off until it’s ready (correct temp for brewing).

eduk

Doram You mean that the LED bulb doesn’t seem faulty, because when you swapped the two LED bulbs, the problem stayed in the water indicator light (on the right), right?

Not quite, I was testing to see if the bulb was faulty by connecting to the machine ready pilot light circuit. The LED functioned (i.e. came on) when the machine turned on, so I assume the LED itself is not faulty.

eduk

Doram I think the light that flashes on and off until ready is the temp light (on the left), but the issue in the videos is with the water light indicator (should be solid when there is water in the tank, or flash on and off when there isn’t. In the videos it’s flickering or off even when there is water in the machine and it’s otherwise working correctly).

That’s pretty much sums it up

eduk

Doram Failing that, I would try to send a video of the flickering light to Lelit. My impression is that they were quite responsive and helpful when contacted. Would be great to hear if you managed to find a solution.

That’s the next step, I’ll keep you posted!

DavecUK

The flashing of the water light looks too fast to be a low water indication. Remove the float and see what happens.

eduk

DavecUK The flashing of the water light looks too fast to be a low water indication. Remove the float and see what happens.

I tried removing the float, no difference. The light flasher during warm-up, but then stays off, even when the tank is low.

As far as I recall, this light would always be on solid, except for when the water is low, when it blinks slowly & continuously.