Senseo won't turn on or shuts off while heating up: replacing the capacitor

Does your Senseo not turn on, or does it shut itself off again while heating up or pumping? In almost all cases the problem isn’t the boiler or the button itself, but a faulty capacitor on the circuit board.

Does this sound familiar?

• The on/off button doesn’t respond, or the machine switches itself off again after a few seconds.
• While brewing 1 or 2 cups, the Senseo stops halfway through.
• The light comes on, but nothing else happens.

The cause

On the Senseo’s circuit board there’s an electrolytic capacitor at position C1. Over time this capacitor dries out and loses its capacitance. The result: the circuit board’s power supply becomes unstable and the machine shuts down or won’t start. This is one of the most common faults in older Senseo machines, and has nothing to do with limescale or the boiler.

What you need

A capacitor or a complete circuit board repair kit with electrolytic and capacitor, plus a soldering iron. Always replace a faulty capacitor with one of the same capacitance as the original — older circuit boards use values of 220nF, 330nF, 470nF and 680nF.

Important: safety

Always unplug the machine before opening the housing. A capacitor can still hold a residual charge even when unplugged — so don’t touch the terminals with bare hands until you’re sure the capacitor has discharged.

Not familiar with soldering or electronics? Have the repair done by a Repair Café or a professional instead of attempting it yourself.

Not sure this is your problem?

Not sure this is really your issue, or is something else going on? Also check Senseo shuts off too quickly and Senseo coffee not hot for related faults, or resetting if the machine does turn on but behaves oddly.