Delonghi BCO Not Heating Properly

This is common in the Delonghi BCO machines. And is a relatively easy fix for the do it yourself’ers. If you went and got this issue fixed by a technician, it would cost you around $90-130 (Canadian) to repair.

First thing first, if your machine is less than 6 months old, please call Delonghi to have it fixed under warranty. If not, you can still call Delonghi to find the closest service center near you to have it repaired or you can attempt to do the repair yourself, which is what ill guide you through here on this post.

Tools you need to make the repair

• Security Torx 20 (this is a torx with a hollow in the middle) – Available for cheap on Amazon.
• Philips Screwdriver
• Any type of multimeter (use to measure resistance) – Available for cheap on Amazon.

Basically, you would have one of two scenarios (keep in mind the following applies if your machine is displaying properly with power, but just won’t brew). With both issues, there is a fusible wire (wire with a fuse in it) that leads from the interface board to the element under the hotplate.

When I perform this repair, I like to take off the top panel and the bottom panel of the machine. To do this you will need a security Torx 20 tool, which is available at any retail tool store if you don’t have one – or you can get the tool on Amazon for cheap.

Delonghi BCO Coffee wont brew Coffee properly

With the bottom off, it exposes the underneath of the hotplate and the element including the fusible wire “TCO” (Thermal Cut Out) as Delonghi calls it. This is what I do to confirm the bad wire.

Do not plug your machine in, you are just measuring resistance in the wire, and you do not need power to the machine to do this. The part of the wire with the TCO will be easily spotted by a clear/white sheath over it and it is close to the element.

Use your multimeter with the setting on-resistance (upside down horseshoe), unplug the wire from the hotplate.

Be clear of the sheath and I would pierce each side of the TCO straight into the wire. You are only making a small incision to touch the wire inside and this will give you a reading of resistance.

If you see zero (00.000) resistance you have a good wire. If you have any resistance reading then you found the bad wire.

You can test the other wire with the same approach, if you see the multimeter to show resistance this tells you this TCO is bad.

Isolating the wire is the hard part, now you will have to order the part. Delonghi can help you with the replacement part number, or if you know of a repair shop in your area you can order it. I personally field inquiry’s all the time with clients and I find they just want to purchase the parts. 

Once you have isolated the bad wire from the bottom and the connection to the top interface board, you can use this bad wire to feed the replacement good wire up through the middle of the machine. I do this by tapping the new and old wire together and pulling the old wire out and the new wire into the machine.

This is an inexpensive part, but the service time is the larger investment. If you are paying a service center out of pocket you can expect to be looking at about $90-130 (Canadian) to repair. The part itself can be 10$-20$. 

There was an update to the wiring so if you have an older unit which could add to the cost. If you need the kit it is required to change both TCO as the trigger points have been modified to eliminate future failures. If you have the update already you can just order the part required. Delonghi can help you with any replacement part numbers or if you know of a repair shop in your area, I hope this helps. 

This is how the update looks:

Update kit part number: AS00000809

Left TCO: AS00000829

Right TCO: AS00000830

Once you have the wire connected and installed, I would test the machine to confirm the repair has fixed the issue. Once you do you can put the panels back on and you’re ready to brew.

Delonghi BCO Espresso will not brew properly

This is an issue that is very similar to the above and requires the same approach.

Start by unplugging your machine before working on it. You will need to use your multimeter again to measure the resistance on the TCO. You will be working on the top of the machine this time and need to locate the TCO wire that connects to the element at the top of the espresso boiler. Unplug it from the boiler and check this wire for resistance.

Replace this TCO, the part number is: AS00000828 

In a lot of cases, it can be easier to take the unit to a repair shop to complete the repair. It isn’t a high-end machine, but I have many clients concerned about it just going to a landfill versus investing a small amount to get their machine going again.

Just a tip – When you change the filter make sure you soak it in water -5-10 minutes before you install it. The dry filter could have caused the machine to overheat and created the failure, if the filter went in dry and the machine was starving to have water circulate in the system then it overheats.