DeLonghi grinder is jammed

Grinder rattles or does not move

A foreign object in the grinder can cause the motor to do nothing at all and stand completely still. It can also happen that the grinder rattles loudly. A foreign object can be, for example, a stone or a small piece of wood.

The grinder cone is equipped with a slip clutch, which consists of three balls pressed with springs into openings on the underside of the cone. If the cone is slowed by a foreign object, the balls slip out of the holes and prevent greater damage.

If the grinder rattles, it is because the slip clutch has been triggered. This can be clearly seen in this and these videos.

Whether rattling or complete standstill, you must fully open the grinder, readjust the balls and springs, and reinstall them. In this case, use this guide. Also compare with the very similar Jura grinder.

Then try the following solutions:

Set the grinder to very coarse setting and start the grinding process. If you are lucky, the grinder will clear itself. Try this only for a very short time, otherwise there is a risk that the electronics will be damaged.

Open the device and expose the grinder. Remove the foreign object with a suitable tool, for example tweezers or a screwdriver. Try if the grinder can be turned by hand.

The best solution: Remove, disassemble and clean the grinder as described here.

If the machine does not work even after removal of the foreign object, proceed with the following troubleshooting attempts.

Grinder motor runs fast, but the grinder does not turn

The grinder no longer grinds, but the motor can be heard running fast? Then it could be that the drive belt of the motor is torn. This often happens when the grinding stones have been blocked by a foreign object.

Completely remove the grinder. Here are the instructions for ESAM models and for ECAM/EAM models. Turn the grinder over so that the bottom faces up. Unscrew the cover on the bottom. The gearbox is exposed, and you can see gears and a drive belt. Check if the drive belt is damaged or even torn. If so, you can remove and replace it. We don’t have a guide for this yet, but the repair is quite simple. After replacing the drive belt, check if the grinder can turn. If it cannot turn, the grinding stones could still be blocked by a foreign object. How to proceed then is explained above under “Foreign objects in the grinder.”

The motor is simply dead

If the grinder does not grind anymore, it may also be due to a defective motor. To test the motor, you would need to operate it. This is somewhat problematic because you must disconnect the motor and connect it directly to the mains voltage, for which a specially made power cable with flat plugs on the wires can be used.

You can definitely check if the motor turns easily by hand. Then set your multimeter to resistance (ohms) and check if the motor has electrical continuity when you turn it slowly. This allows you to determine if a winding is blown.

But even if the motor has electrical continuity, it does not necessarily mean it will work. This can only be verified when it is connected to mains power.

If the motor is damaged, there is unfortunately no replacement (except possibly as a used part). You must completely remove and replace the grinder; this also gives you new grinding stones. Here is the guide to opening for ESAM models and the manuals for ECAM/EAM models.

The grinder may be perfectly fine, but the machine’s electronics are faulty.

This is a rather difficult repair because you must identify and replace the defective component on the mainboard. The test is not simple either: you must trace the two wires from the grinder to the mainboard and unplug the connectors so that the grinder is disconnected. Then connect a multimeter instead of the grinder to the mainboard to measure the voltage. If the coffee machine starts a grinding process – the test mode is also suitable for this – the meter should then show mains voltage because the motor needs to be powered. If no voltage is shown, you may need replace the mainboard completely. If you want to attempt a repair on the board, trace the circuit paths to the grinder on the board and see if they lead to a transistor or triac. Replace this component. A tip can be found in this guide.

It could also be that a bit in the memory is flipped and the error is caused by software. This explains how to reinstall the firmware of the board on an ECAM. The process is complex!

After opening and cleaning, you need to properly adjust the grinder again. If you marked the setting of the grinding stones with a felt-tip pen, you can easily reinstall them correctly now. If not marked:

1. Empty the grinder completely. Remove all beans with a vacuum cleaner. There must be no coffee beans left between the grinding stones.
2. Turn the adjustment ring – the large white gear – as far right as it will go so the grinding stones press tightly together. Then turn a few clicks to the left. This should be the medium setting.

Place an empty toilet paper roll vertically on the grinder, fill it with a handful of beans, and start a coffee grind so that the grinder works. You can also use the test mode with the grinder submenu. Observe the ground coffee. Basically, the grind should be as fine as possible.