The coffee machine (cuisinart) shuts off by itself
DCC-1200 shuts off: How to fix it
A couple of weeks ago my DCC-1200 began shutting off in the middle of the brew cycle, a problem commonly reported here. I love my DCC-1200, and it ran like a top for the 8 years I've had it. Luckily I have a backup coffee maker, so I was able to take the time to find a fix rather than having to drop another hundred bucks on a new one. I hope this helps some of you.
Behavior: The coffee maker began shutting off during the brew cycle. The whole machine would go dead, including the LCD display. Changing outlets did not solve the problem. Unplugging it and plugging it back in sometimes helped, sometimes not. Left plugged in, sometimes the power would restore and it would work for a time. This got progressively more frequent, though right before it quit working all together I was able to turn it on by pressing the self clean button. Pressure on the faceplate right above that button would shut it down again. I discovered this while following norm49629's advice on cleaning the machine. After removing the faceplate, I could see that any pressure on certain areas of the circuit board would restore or cut power to the entire unit. These experiences led me to conclude that there was an issue with the circuit board. Please be reasonably sure this is the same problem you're having before beginning this repair. My coffeemaker was out of warranty and I had nothing to lose.
If this is your problem, you will be baking the circuit board to repair micro-fissures in the circuitry which are interfering with its operation. These fissures are caused over time by the repeated heating up and cooling down of the coffeemaker when you brew. To do this repair you will need to remove the faceplate, so I am including instructions for that based on my experience with this issue as there were none to be found on Fixya when I looked.
To remove the faceplate:
You will need a tiny standard screwdriver (I used one from an eyeglass repair kit) and a smallish philips screwdriver. Begin by removing the carafe, the basket (and permanent filter, if you have one), the water filter, and the insert on the underside of the flip-up lid. With the lid open, you will notice two round screw covers towards the front of the coffeemaker to either side of the filter basket. Remove these with the small standard screwdriver. This is impossible to do without damaging them somewhat. Remove the two philips screws underneath.
There are nine clips that need to be released to remove the plastic top of your coffee maker. First, press in on and release the two located on the back just below the lid hinge. With the small standard screwdriver, gently release the six clips along the top edge of the casing. These are located two in back, near the corners and two along each side. You will have to get up underneath the plastic bezel, be gentle so that you do not bend the stainless steel housing (if you do, gently bend it back into place before you put everything back together). Lay the coffeemaker on its back. The final clip is located in the carafe “nook” to the back of the drip outlet. The upper plastic portion should now lift straight up out of the coffeemaker.
With the coffeemaker upright, remove the four philips screws holding the faceplate in place. Remove the faceplate by pulling it straight out towards you. Unplug the circuit board. Remove the three screws holding the circuit board I to the faceplate, being careful not to lose the three clear plastic washers. Remove the clear plastic switch (for the function knob) by releasing the clips.
These baking instructions are based in part on the many tutorials to be found online for repairing video and graphics cards. Preheat your oven on its lowest setting, preferably 170˚. Place a piece of aluminum foil on a cookie sheet. Tear off some extra and make three small balls of foil 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 you removed before you put things back together. To test your repair before reassembly, reinstall the circuit board and plug in your coffeemaker. Test all the buttons, switches, and functions. Be careful baking, if your oven doesn't bake as low as 170˚, ask around. My “self clean” button didn't seem to work, so I re-baked for 10 minutes at 180˚. I don't recommend doing this. At that temperature the LCD screen turned black and the glue melted and spread out. Luckily upon cooling the screen returned to its normal color, the glue hardened, and everything turned out fine. I would recommend a longer 15 or 20 minute bake at 170˚ rather than a higher temperature, should you need.
YMMV. Good luck!
P.S. Self clean works fine, full functionality was restored with this fix.
5/23/2018 8:46:05 AM •
Cuisinart...
•
Answered
on May 23, 2018