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Wilfa Svart - Motor cuts out

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72K views 65 replies 33 participants last post by  Rincewind  
#1 ·
The motor for my Wilfa Svart grinder has started to cut out immediately (< 1sec) after pressing start. If you repeatedly cycle the start button it will repeatedly start, but cuts out instantly each time. Does this sound familiar to anyone? Is the machine a write off or is there something that anyone would suggest trying?

I have actually already had a refund from the manufacturer but they were not able to send a replacement due to Brexit, so I thought id give fixing it a try.
 
#2 ·
Might be the suppression capacitor. It'll be a square plastic bodied cap with X2 stamped on it and something in the region of 0.4 to 0.6 uF capacitance. Usually on the main PCB across the live and neutral. They're cheap so worth a try.
 
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#4 ·
Might be the suppression capacitor. It'll be a square plastic bodied cap with X2 stamped on it and something in the region of 0.4 to 0.6 uF capacitance. Usually on the main PCB across the live and neutral. They're cheap so worth a try.
Interesting, that sounds slightly beyond my expertise to be honest!



The manufacturer has actually already refunded me (but weren't able to send a replacement). I just feel bad throwing it in the bin if it can be fixed.
 
#14 ·
All fixed, back together, and working. Easy job.


As a 'pay it forward' I'll list it in the for sale section for what I paid for it, which wasn't a lot!
Impressive that you were able to repair this! Way beyond my technical abilities.

I find myself with the same problem as OP, although my unit is unfortunately out of warranty so the retailer isn't willing to exchange the item.

I wondered if you might consider taking at shot at repairing mine if I were to cover the shipping and of course pay you for your services?

Best,

Luke
 
#15 ·
Yes I'll take a look at it. If it's just the capacitor I'll do it for nothing. Of course no guarantee that will be the issue but there's a good chance. A bit of a gamble on your part, it's up to you.
 
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#21 ·
Hello!

I just joined this forum 5 minutes ago because the wilfa Svart that I got new at Christmas has started giving the exact same issue! Thankfully it's under warranty so I'm being sent a replacement, but I don't want to just dump the old one in the bin!

It looks like this issue could very well be endemic!

Any kind of tutorial (or even just a link to buy the correct replacement part) would be greatly appreciated!

I'm generally handy with mechanical repairs, but am much more sheepish when it comes to electronics, so I'd like to treat this as a learning opportunity.

and if you'd let me I'd like to return the favour in beans!
 
#22 · (Edited by Moderator)
@PKearns
Sounds like Wilfa purchased a bad batch of capacitors!

I'll happily walk you through the process. The hardest part is putting the case back together, as it involves aligning 5 tabs at once whilst you try to slide the base on, you need 3 pairs of hands!! The actual repair is easy if you can solder.

I don't have one in front of me so this is from memory - apologies if I forget something.

If the faulty capacitor is the same as the other two I did then you need one of these:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07QXZKZJX/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

It's a bag of 15 mixed but you need the 0.33uF at 275V. You may find one cheaper just make sure the pin pitch is 15mm so it fits the PCB.

There are two caps on the board with different ratings, I can't remember what the other one is, but the grey one is the one that failed on both occasions so far.

The cap is surface mounted, i.e. the legs go through the holes in the PCB but it is soldered onto the top side where PCB traces are.

Also the grey cap is glued down so you will need to cut the glue with a scalpel or Stanley knife.

To disassemble the case:

Unplug the unit from mains.

Take off the hopper (fully unscrew it and lift it out)

Take out the stationary burr

Turn the unit upside down

Pull off the rubber feet

Unscrew the cable cover and the 4x screws holding the base on. You will need a tri-wing security screw driver/bit for this

Remove the cable cover and base cover.

Pull off the on/off button and the timer adjuster knob.

Take out the 3x philips self-tapping screws that fix the base onto the case

Carefully split the base from the case. You will need to carefully pries the case over the timer adjustment pot so it doesn't catch on the hole as you pull it clear.

Remove the screws that fix the 2x micro switches to the frame. One for the grinds bin, the other for the hopper.

Unscrew the self-tappers that hold the motor/burr in place and carefully split to release the PCB

You should now have access to the capacitor (see photo above)

De-solder it and clean the holes using braided solder wick. I don't advise using a solder pump on these as the traces are very fragile

Pop in the new cap (doesn't matter which way round) and solder it back in

At this point I test the unit by jumpering across the micro switches with a short cable directly onto the PCB (see photo above) and pressing the start button BUT - Only do this if you know what you are doing - this is 240V live mains electricity !!!!!

Let me know if you need anything else - good luck.

TIP - the case will only go back together one way, if you find an edge sticking out after re-assembly, release the base base and try again - try not to swear too much! Also there is a small plastic plunger do-hickey that must fitted onto the on/off button BEFORE you put the case on! 🤬

Andy.
 
#26 ·
What an absolute cracking guide. My Wilfa Swart began stalling and got worse when I would have to press the start button 3 - 5 times for a 15g grind. I would not have had a clue how to fix it without this guide. I thought it simply needed a good clean. It's as strong as ever now. Thank you very much.
 
#27 ·
The motor of my Wilfa WSCG-2 is really weak and stalls if I grind more than one bean at a time. It is new old stock, so it had never been used before I got it but it is also no longer under warranty.

I have disassembled it and located the 0.33uF capacitor, but instead of gray it is yellow with a pin pitch of 20 mm and the PCB also looks different from the one in the photos above. There is also another yellow capacitor on the front side of the board rated 0.1uF. Could the problem with my unit still be the capacitor, or do I have an updated version and the problem is something else?
 
#28 ·
The motor of my Wilfa WSCG-2 is really weak and stalls if I grind more than one bean at a time. It is new old stock, so it had never been used before I got it but it is also no longer under warranty.

I have disassembled it and located the 0.33uF capacitor, but instead of gray it is yellow with a pin pitch of 20 mm and the PCB also looks different from the one in the photos above. There is also another yellow capacitor on the front side of the board rated 0.1uF. Could the problem with my unit still be the capacitor, or do I have an updated version and the problem is something else?
I've managed to fix the machine. The capacitors were fine and within spec when I desoldered and tested them. The problem was in the gearbox where a steel disc under the burr was held in place against a plastic gear with springs and ball bearings. The springs and ball bearings where loose in the gearbox so the disc and the gear just slipped against each other. I bent the springs that had been chewed by the gears back into shape and put them and the ball bearings back in place. Now the machine can grind effortlessly. I don't know why the machine was broken in the first place, since it was an unused previous display model from a store. Either a customer in the store had broken it trying to grind something that was not a coffee bean, or some of the springs and ball bearings had come loose already during assembly in the factory.
 
#32 ·
Hi,

Apologies for joining the chorus but I too have a faulty Wilfa Svart. It was just out of warranty and the seller did not acknowledge my emails asking for help (the pandemic had started so they may have not been able to).

The issue with mine was it has started sounding like the speed was fluctuating, even when no beans were in the grinder. It has now stopped working altogether. Does this fit the profile? I assumed the motor had burned out.

Appreciate any advice you can offer.

Thanks
 
#34 · (Edited)
Hey all. I followed the above guide - soldered on a new 0.33 capacitor, put all back together and it still is doing the exact same thing - <1 secs of action then nothing. Could it be the 0.47 capacitor on the underside of the board?

It was my first ever time soldering and the desoldering wick didnt really seem to be working so used the pump and the copper pcb bits may be a little damaged...?
 
#35 ·
I too had the issue with the motor cutting out every ½ second, thus starting the grinder 20 times to grind a single portion of coffee.

Thanks to inspiration from lake_m in this thread I gave it a shot, and purchased a new 0.33uF capacitor from Elextra for €1,6. After grinder disassembly (see video example), I desoldered the faulty capacitor from the back of the curcuit board using a desolder wick,. Unfortunately it also took along the curcuit board copper both of the capacitor legs was attached to, probably what Jimlee99 has encountered. To fix this the outmost hidden copper curcuit was revealed from the curcuit board by scratching it free with a hobby knife.

Also the legs of the new capacitor was a little short, so they were lenghtened. The left leg of the new capacitor was attached to the revealed copper circuit and the right attached to the "bump" from another solder joint.

After that the grinder is now working again. The faulty capacitor measured an impedance around xx nF wildly fluctuating.

I was lucky to get help from an experienced electronics mechanic and use his good soldering equipment and tools.
Assembling the grinder casing was indeed quite difficult and took many tries before it succeeded.

Wilfa customer support has been really helpfull and has sent me a new grinder, which I still haven't used, since I felt bad throwing out an only 1½y old grinder.

Thank you
 
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