Documentation

Installation

Gaggia Classic Pro/Evo

Installation procedure for Gaggia Classic Pro/Evo/etc machines

Tools and Materials Needed

Tools

  • Phillips head screwdriver
  • Wire crimpers (for female and male spade connectors, ferrules and JST connections)
  • Wire strippers or knife
  • Multimeter (for testing connections)

Materials

  • K-type thermocouple
  • Solid State Relay (SSR)
  • Assembled control board
  • Assembled display
  • 18 AWG wires for 230/110V connections
  • 22 AWG wires for power to the display and buttons
  • 2* JST XH 2P connector
  • 1* JST XH 4P connector (if doing buttons)
  • PA2.0 4P connector
  • Spade connectors (male, female and piggyback)
  • Ferrules
  • Heat shrink tubing (optional, for added insulation)
  • Electrical tape or zipties for organizing
  • Labeling tape or markers for wire labeling

Preparation

Safety First! Unplug your machine to ensure there’s no live connections while working on it.
Work in a dry environment to prevent electrical hazards.

Start by gathering all the materials and tools listed above so you have everything ready for the next steps. Follow these guides if you haven’t already: Printed Parts Assembly and Flashing.

Make yourself familiar with the wiring diagrams for your machine in Wiring.

Batch 1 notice If you bought your PCB in batch 1 you might still have some rails on the top and bottom of the PCB that will prevent you from plugging in a USB-C plug. These can be carefully broken off by bending them up and down.

Disassemble the Machine

Remove the top panel of the Gaggia Classic to access the internal wiring and components. Document the existing wiring configurations with photos or diagrams for reference.

This is what it should look like when you open up your machine:

Gaggia Classic Pro Disassembled View

Eco Switch Mod

The EU (240V) machines have an Eco PCB installed in them, meaning they’ll switch off after 20 minutes. There is two ways to bypass this mechanism.

1. Trick the Eco PCB

The simplest possible way to bypass the shutdown timer is to trick the machine into thinking you’re pulling a shot of espresso constantly. There are two wires connected to the left side of the Brew Switch (from behind) that run to the Eco PCB. Make a short jumper with 2 spade connectors and bridge them.

Eco Bridge

2. Remove the Eco PCB

We don’t have our own guide on this yet so check a Youtube Video on how to bypass it. (e.g. YouTube)

HV Wiring

Use 18 AWG wiring for all 120/240V connections.

Label All Wires

Use labeling tape or a marker on the plugs to mark each wire according to its function.

PartLetterPins
Power SwitchPSIL - IN Line, OL - OUT Line, IN - IN Neutral, ON - Out Neutral
Brew SwitchBI - IN, O - OUT
Steam SwitchSI - IN, O - OUT
HeaterHI - IN, B - BRIDGE, O - OUT
PumpPL - LINE, N - NEUTRAL
ValveVL - LINE, N - NEUTRAL, E - EARTH (if present)

Replace Brew thermostat

Unscrew the brew thermostat (around the middle of the boiler). If you have trouble accessing it you can unscrew the steam wand and the group head and tilt your boiler slightly. Screw in the K-Type thermocouple into the M4 threads. Make sure not to overtighten this, it only needs to be hand-tight.

Thermocouple Install

Prepare a small jumper wire with 2 spade connectors at the end and connect it in place of the brew thermostat.

Thermostat Bridge

Install SSR

Unplug the wires from your steam thermostat. If you want you can remove the steam thermostat as well, it is no longer needed. Run those wires to the SSR or make extensions with ferrules at the end. They need to be connected to the output side of the SSR. Since the output side is AC the orientation does not matter. Screw the SSR against the back vents of your machine for added cooling.

SSR Install

Pump connections

Remove the existing Line wire from the pump. Make a new 18 AWG wire that connects from the pumps Line connection to the P port of the PCB.

SSR Install

3WV connection

Use the Line wire that usually runs from the pump to the 3WV or an extension from there and connect it to the V port of the PCB.

SSR Install

Switch wiring

This is what your switches will look like with an Eco PCB installed. Remove all the connections to the Eco PCB for the next step if you use one. If you did the Eco mod above the connections from your Brew switch should already be missing.

Stock Buttons
Steam Switch

Move over the black wire on the top row of the steam switch to where the green wire is on the picture. Remove the white wire from the right side of the button.

Modded steam button

Now make an extension with a spade connector on one end and a ferrule on the other from the loose white wire to the N port of your PCB.

Neutral wiring
Brew switch

Remove the brown connector from the brew switch and make another extension with a spade connectors and a ferrule to the L port of your PCB.

Stock Buttons

Each of your buttons should now have one side that is free of HV and can be used to wire up the buttons to your PCB in the next step.

LV Wiring

Connect thermocouple

Connect the thermocouples wires to the thermocouple port of the PCB. Orientation matters for this connection! The wires come precrimped with ferrules so you don’t have to do anything to the wires.

Make the screen power connection

The standard use case is to connect the screen to power from the PCB. Make a cable that consists of 2 wires with a JST XH 2P connector on one and a JST PA 4P connector on the other side. Check the pinout on the back of the screen if you’re unsure which pins to use. You can route this wire in front of the grouphead, through a gap at the corner of the cup warmer or through the buttons if you plan to remove them. Connect it to screen and PCB.

You can run the cable through a gap between the frame and cup heater and fasten it to the back of your Screen casing.

Screen Mounting

Connect buttons (optional)

Make a 22 AWG cable with 4 wires that has a JST 4P on one end and female spade connectors on the other. It should consist of two GND, Steam Button and Brew Button connection. Connect the GND connections to the inputs of the Brew/Steam switches. Connect the Brew connection to the output of the Brew switch. Connect the Steam connection to the output of the Steam switch.

SSR logic

Make 22 AWG cable with 2 wires with a JST XH 2P connector on one and ferrules or a fork connector on the other end. Connect it to the SSR output of the PCB and the input side of the SSR. Be sure to connect it the correct way (+/-).

LV SSR wire

Double-Check All Connections

Review all your labeled connections for accuracy and completeness. Ensure that there are no exposed wires and that all connections are secure and insulated.

Once you have completed that step, test your wiring for possible shorts with a multimeter and make sure you haven’t connected any LV connections with HV connections. Also test the switches operation for continuity in the different switch positions.

Testing

Now is the big moment. Turn on your machine for the first time. The heater should not be heating on power-on and nothing else should be running. You can check if the heater is doing anything by observing the LED on the SSR. The screen should turn on and show the Standby screen of GaggiMate. Touch the screen once to switch to warmup mode, you should see the current room temperature being displayed and the LED on the SSR will light up indicating it’s heating up.

Final Steps

Reassemble the Machine: Carefully put the panels back on, ensuring that there are no pinched wires.
Conduct a Safety Check: Perform a final inspection to ensure everything is insulated and that there are no exposed wiring connections.

If you have any further questions or need additional clarifications, feel free to go into the Discord and make a help thread or post on our Subreddit.

Congratulations

You have now finished setting up your Gaggia Classic Pro with GaggiMate and can start making coffee. To check more tasks on your first startup go to First Start.

GaggiMate install

Have questions?

Still have questions? Join the Discord!