The Rancilio Silvia is a semi-automatic espresso machine. With a single boiler, and a full-size portafilter, it’s a nice machine at a mid-range price point.
This page collects a couple of debugging problems.
Leaking Around the Portafilter
I had leaking around the portafilter. This problem is common, and is because the gasket in the grouphead wears out.
A new gasket is less than $10 in 2021. Search for “silvia grouphead gasket”. Changing it out it is easy, with a dozen videos on YouTube.
No Water from the Grouphead
One day my machine just stopped putting out water from the grouphead. I could hear the pump working, but the light on the brew switch (the top left switch) did not come on, and no water came out.
Surprisingly, the water or steam from the steam wand worked. That rules out pump or boiler failure.
Examining the flow hose showed I was getting pressure when I ran the brew switch. The flow hose is the longer of the two hoses in the water reservoir, and has an uneven bottom end.
After much searching, I found this discussion from bertelman and Headala. Bertelman had exactly the same problem, and Headala showed how to diagnose it.
The problem is: the brew switch has two throws (meaning: it controls two circuits), one for the solenoid (the switch that turns water on) and one for the pump (the motor that pushes water through). One throw had spontaneously failed on my machine, so only the pump was turning on and the solenoid was not activating.
To confirm this is the problem, I did what Headala suggested: swap the orange and white wires into the brew switch. If the pump stops and you hear clicking, you’re now controlling the solenoid.
The fix: swap out the switch for a new one. I had one from a retired Silvia, but searching for “rancilio silvia switch replacement” shows they are available for $5-10.
To swap the switch: (1) Unplug the machine (!). (2) Open the top (4 obvious screws). (3) Detach the 4 wires going into the switch. (4) Push the switch out the front (It’s held in by plastic springs at the top and bottom, so use two flat screwdriver from the outside to lever the frame, and push from the inside.) (5) Insert new switch from the front and reverse the process.