Brew light doesn't turn on

Howdy,

So I've been tinkering with my 1990's Gaggia Classic and noticed the brew light never comes on.

I will turn the power on and let it heat for 15 min, but no light. I hear the thermostat click (i think) and see my lights dim (again making me think the thermostat works) but no brew light.

Also, the espresso is never quite hot. I've been messing with turning the steam on for a minute or so before and flushing before locking the portafilter in. Without that, the espresso is only just warm

Does it sound like a problem with thermostat, switch light, or something else? Would I be able to test this with a multimeter?

I mentioned this to an all-around technician with espresso experience and he lobbed that the heating element might not work, but that doesn't seem right because it gets to steam temp easily.

I also recently cleaned and descaled the boiler thinking that would solve the issue but no luck.

I'm waiting for the gaggiuino kit to come (one day, who knows when) so I may never bother with thermostat if it's getting replaced anyway.

TL;DR: brew light won't come on, weak brew temps, is it a switch problem or thermostat or something else?

Howdy,

So I've been tinkering with my 1990's Gaggia Classic and noticed the brew light never comes on.

I will turn the power on and let it heat for 15 min, but no light. I hear the thermostat click (i think) and see my lights dim (again making me think the thermostat works) but no brew light.

Also, the espresso is never quite hot. I've been messing with turning the steam on for a minute or so before and flushing before locking the portafilter in. Without that, the espresso is only just warm

Does it sound like a problem with thermostat, switch light, or something else? Would I be able to test this with a multimeter?

I mentioned this to an all-around technician with espresso experience and he lobbed that the heating element might not work, but that doesn't seem right because it gets to steam temp easily.

I also recently cleaned and descaled the boiler thinking that would solve the issue but no luck.

I'm waiting for the gaggiuino kit to come (one day, who knows when) so I may never bother with thermostat if it's getting replaced anyway.

TL;DR: brew light won't come on, weak brew temps, is it a switch problem or thermostat or something else?