thanks for your answers. I will go buy a multimeter, although I am not
what I should do to correct if I find it doesn't do what you explained
below.

What are the risks of using a non-GFCI outlet (not grounded as I live
in an old house) ? My in-laws are visiting soon, and I'd like to be
able to offer them decent coffee.

thanks. Fred




AutoTracer wrote:
Your expresso machine must have a metal body else it would not need a
grounded cord. Using a multimeter with the unit unplugged check the
resistance between the black and ground and the white and ground,
they
should both be open. Check the resistance between the chassis and
ground,
it should be shorted. Thats a basic test and if it failed, I would
expect
the GFCI to trip always (except if ground is open in which case it
would
never trip).

You say it is only tripping when the motor starts. This implies the
motor
is putting current down the green wire while running. Is it possible
the
green and white wires are swapped for the motor only.

" I opened the expresso machine, tied all connectors I could find,
tried
it again, and it made the GFCI tripped"

What did you do? if you reconnected any wires, you may have created
the
second fault at that time while eliminating an original short in the
old
cord. Swapping black for white or white for ground could be a cause
of
this.

Does the machine also trip regular breakers when the motor starts, if
so it
is not a GFCI condition but an overcurrent protection trip


"fredinstl" wrote in message
oups.com...
thanks for your responses.
I installed a new GFCI, and it was still tripping.
I then tried again to plug it into the other plug I tried before,
and I

realized it actually wasn't a GFCI (I couldn't see it as it was
behind
a 2 - 6 plug adaptor :-( Being in the kitchen, I just assumed it
was
GFCI, but it wasn't).
So now I know my espresso machine is at fault.
I opened the expresso machine, tied all connectors I could find,
tried
it again, and it made the GFCI tripped.
Next thing I tried: changed the cord. I had one at home, so simple
enough. One thing I wasn't sure about is that it had blue, brown
and
yellow-green cables (the espresso is made in Italy), but the cord I
had

was the typical black, white and ground.
I connected in: black/brown, white/blue and yellow-green/ground
(found
that info on the internet)
When plugged in, it doesnt' trip anymore. However, if I activate
the
pump, it trips again.
Any idea before I take it to repair. I probably should do that, but
I
bought it used on ebay, not exactly for cheap, and sent it to
repair
about 5 months ago (they cleaned everything), so my 10 years old
machine already cost me more than a new one :-(
I would hate to fork another $100 on it...


thanks in advance. Fred

PS: I am reposting, as, for some reason, my msg didn't show up as
new.

In my kitchen, my espresso machine is making the GFCI trip. When
plugging something else (such as toaster), it doesn't trip.
Also, plugging the espresso machine to another GFCI in my
kitchen, it

doesnt' trip neither.
So is it due to the espresso machine or shall I just change the
GFCI
?

thanks.


Fred.