Coffee maker wont go on
DCC-1200 shuts off: How to fix it
A couple of weeks ago my DCC-1200 beganshutting off in the middle of the brew cycle, a problem commonlyreported here. I love my DCC-1200, and it ran like a top for the 8years I've had it. Luckily I have a backup coffee maker, so I wasable to take the time to find a fix rather than having to dropanother hundred bucks on a new one. I hope this helps some of you.
Behavior: The coffee maker beganshutting off during the brew cycle. The whole machine would go dead,including the LCD display. Changing outlets did not solve theproblem. Unplugging it and plugging it back in sometimes helped,sometimes not. Left plugged in, sometimes the power would restore andit would work for a time. This got progressively more frequent,though right before it quit working all together I was able to turnit on by pressing the self clean button. Pressure on the faceplateright above that button would shut it down again. I discovered thiswhile following norm49629's advice on cleaning the machine. Afterremoving the faceplate, I could see that any pressure on certainareas of the circuit board would restore or cut power to the entireunit. These experiences led me to conclude that there was an issuewith the circuit board. Please be reasonably sure this is the sameproblem you're having before beginning this repair. My coffeemakerwas out of warranty and I had nothing to lose.
If this is your problem, you will bebaking the circuit board to repair micro-fissures in the circuitrywhich are interfering with its operation. These fissures are causedover time by the repeated heating up and cooling down of thecoffeemaker when you brew. To do this repair you will need to removethe faceplate, so I am including instructions for that based on myexperience with this issue as there were none to be found on Fixyawhen I looked.
To remove the faceplate:
You will need a tiny standardscrewdriver (I used one from an eyeglass repair kit) and a smallishphilips screwdriver. Begin by removing the carafe, the basket (andpermanent filter, if you have one), the water filter, and the inserton the underside of the flip-up lid. With the lid open, you willnotice two round screw covers towards the front of the coffeemaker toeither side of the filter basket. Remove these with the smallstandard screwdriver. This is impossible to do without damaging themsomewhat. Remove the two philips screws underneath.
There are nine clips that need to bereleased to remove the plastic top of your coffee maker. First, pressin on and release the two located on the back just below the lidhinge. With the small standard screwdriver, gently release the sixclips along the top edge of the casing. These are located two inback, near the corners and two along each side. You will have to getup underneath the plastic bezel, be gentle so that you do not bendthe stainless steel housing (if you do, gently bend it back intoplace before you put everything back together). Lay the coffeemakeron its back. The final clip is located in the carafe “nook” tothe back of the drip outlet. The upper plastic portion should nowlift straight up out of the coffeemaker.
With the coffeemaker upright, removethe four philips screws holding the faceplate in place. Remove thefaceplate by pulling it straight out towards you. Unplug the circuitboard. Remove the three screws holding the circuit board I to thefaceplate, being careful not to lose the three clear plastic washers. Remove the clear plastic switch (for the function knob) by releasingthe clips.
These baking instructions are based inpart on the many tutorials to be found online for repairing video andgraphics cards. Preheat your oven on its lowest setting, preferably170˚. Place a piece of aluminum foilon a cookie sheet. Tear off some extra and make three small balls offoil to place the circuit board on. With the circuit board LCD up,position the balls under the upper corners and the center bottom,away from anything important.
Bake at 170˚for 10 minutes. Allow to cool and put your coffeemaker back together.Brew a nice fresh cup for your efforts.
Clean any scale off the parts youremoved before you put things back together. To test your repairbefore reassembly, reinstall the circuit board and plug in yourcoffeemaker. Test all the buttons, switches, and functions. Becareful baking, if your oven doesn't bake as low as 170˚,ask around. My “self clean” button didn't seem to work, so Ire-baked for 10 minutes at 180˚. Idon't recommend doing this. At that temperature the LCD screen turnedblack and the glue melted and spread out. Luckily upon cooling thescreen returned to its normal color, the glue hardened, andeverything turned out fine. I would recommend a longer 15 or 20minute bake at 170˚ rather than ahigher temperature, should you need.
YMMV. Good luck!
P.S. Self clean works fine, fullfunctionality was restored with this fix.
8/5/2013 6:45:20 AM •
Cuisinart...
•
Answered
on Aug 05, 2013