The pump on my 1999 classic just stopped working between coffees yesterday. I brewed one coffee fine, and when I tried doing a second, the pump wouldn’t start. It still makes a click sound when the pump switch is pressed, so the solenoid still works. There’s definitely power to the machine because the pid lights up. So I have a couple questions.
Firstly, is there anything I missed in my diagnosis? Maybe there’s something obvious to look for when opening the machine…
Secondly, if the pump is broken, is it simple to replace with something like the one in the link? My particular model is quite old, so maybe they don’t make compatible pumps anymore
i would open it up to check a wire didnt get knocked loose, but it probably is that the motor just died. honestly if the motor on yours is original its lasted a lot longer than most. those vibratory motor’s usually die after like 8-10 years.
while you are in there checking for loose wires get the actual part number off the motor and you should be able to find the correct replacement with that.
I didnt even consider that the pump would have a part number on it. That should make things much easier.
I have no idea if this is the original pump, but I have owned this machine since 2020, so I’ve had a fairly good amount of use out of it without any issues. These things really are workhorses!
You got a dead pump. But lucky for you, parts are cheap and it’s pretty easy to work in these things. Search YouTube for Gaggia classic refurbishing or get more specific, there’s a ton of videos.
I’ve bought a few old classics and fixed them up for myself and friends. They’re pretty simple, you might want to take the opportunity to replace the boiler gasket and descale it while you have it open. If you’ve never done this before and it’s that old, you might be surprised how gross it is inside. You can buy a kit to refurbish them that comes with all the gaskets you need. I would also highly recommend preemptively replacing the thermostat. It just screws in to the boiler. I’ve had one short out and catch fire in a old one, now I replace them as part of the refurbish.
Swapping out the pump should be relatively straightforward. One thing you might consider when buying a new pump is getting the brass version (Ulka EX5) that many have said reduces noise. There’s also a higher wattage version (52W instead of 41W) of the same pump that has higher water debit and can give you more flexibility which is the one I got for my machine (Ulka EAX5)
