Flashing lights on your DeLonghi Dedica espresso machine is not a serious problem. This machine uses flashing lights to indicate any issue that you need to address. Simple problems like an empty water tank, descaling, and cleaning, or an overheated machine.
The problem though it is hard to understand what these flashing lights indicate. Every sequence of flashing light indicates a different issue and it gets hard to keep up.
As I have been using my own Dedica Deluxe for a while, I can help you understand exactly what these flashing lights mean and how to fix them.
Explanation of Flashing Lights on the Dedica
To understand what the flashing lights on your Dedica mean, you’ll have to notice how many lights are flashing and the sequence they are flashing in.
Lights Flashing Three Times
1- Water Tank Issue
If all lights are flashing together, and the machine won’t make any coffee, this means that your water tank is either empty or not correctly positioned.
Fill up the water reservoir at least halfway up, and reposition the tank to ensure it is locked correctly in its place. As soon as do these two things, the flashing will stop and you’ll be able to make coffee again.
If this does not fix your issue, inspect the water tank for damage. Check the water valve on the machine to ensure that nothing is blocking the connection between the machine and the reservoir.
2- The machine is Self Diagnosing
If lights are flashing, but in an alternate sequence (one after the other), this is not an issue that you need to fix. It happens when you leave the machine on for a while without using it. The Dedica starts to self-diagnose for any issues.
If you press any button, it will stop and go back to steady lights and be ready for use. If it remains on for a long time, it will automatically shut off to save energy.
Two Lights Flashing
The two lights flashing are going to be the Espresso and Double-Espresso buttons. And they flash in different situations:
1- Machine Is Heating Up
When you turn the machine on, these two buttons start flashing immediately, which means the machine is heating up. When the machine is ready to use, it turns steady.
2- Machine Is Overheated
If the Dedica has been on and you used it to make espresso or froth milk for a long time, you’ll notice that the espresso and double espresso buttons start flashing, and the steam will cut off.
This is an indication that the boiler temperature is high and needs to cool off.
To cool off the Dedica, all you have to do is place a container under the steam wand and turn the steam dial on (while the buttons are still flashing, don’t press anything). The steam wand will start releasing hot water to help cool the boiler and bring it to normal temperature.
When it water stops, turn the steam dial off. The two lights will turn steady immediately and your machine will be ready for use again.
3- The steam dial is on
If you forget the steam dial on for a long time, the two buttons will start flashing. Switch the dial off and let the machine cool before using it again.
Steam Light Flashing Orange (or Yellow)
If you just switched your machine on but noticed that the steam button is flashing orange, this is the descale alert. This means it is time to descale your machine.
This light will continue to flash orange until you complete or interrupt a descaling cycle. The process takes over 30 minutes to complete and can’t be interrupted. So don’t start it unless you have the time to do it.
Bypass the Descaling Process to Turn the Orange Light Off
This is not something I recommend, but if you want to bypass the descaling process to get rid of the flashing orange lights, you can do so by resetting your Dedica.
Before you do that, please note that this will reset the machine to default settings, including the programmed coffee volumes.
1- Point the steam wand towards the drip tray (to avoid any accidental steam or water release)
2- Turn the steam dial on and press the espresso button,
3- The three lights will start to flash alternately, indicating that the machine has been reset.
4- Now, the espresso and double espresso buttons will start flashing.
5- Turn the steam dial OFF
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