Absolutely try resetting the CPU first! Read on and you'll discover why. Don't let disappointment and frustration over this cause you to give up. As frustrating as this common problem is with this model, it's my favorite coffee maker and nothing else comes close to it's convenience or flavor. I don't like carafes and I love 12 cups - so auto dispensing is the only way to go. Before this brand, I had a Hamilton Beach brew station that didn't work after 14 months and began to leak. Flavor was impacted over time as well. But it was their cheaper model. I bought my sister their $80 model of the brew station in Nov of 2008 and it's still working nice for her and she loves it. But it's Russian Roulette with any coffee maker and only a small percentage of consumers get units of any model that work beautifully for a long time. She's had it for 1 year and 4 months so far. But it was only $14.99 cheaper than our Cuisinart anyway.
I've had two of these models. The first one after 1 and 1/2 years just up and died - all the lights and clock on but nobody home - it just wouldn't brew. I called their support and was given a brand new one shipped to me free of charge and it arrived in about 3 weeks. My remaining year and a half on the 3 year warranty transferred to the new one. I was suppose to cut off the end of the cord on the broken one and send it back but we were in the middle of remodeling and having a baby and experiencing great coffee from the new one so it got lost in the shuffle. When we moved into a new home 3 years ago, I found the old one all boxed up and ready for cord-cutting. But no sooner were we in our new home when the new one died also! At exactly the end of my warranty. [Same thing only this time no lights and no clock either. I read a lot of posts and reviews and found they have a commonly known problem of the power switch malfunctioning or shorting out and leaks (which we never experienced.)] I tried some of the tips I'll give you, but none of them worked. Just out of curiosity and frustration, my husband brought the old one back up and plugged it in and WALLAH! - it worked. Huh??? Well, I never new about the "tips" back then so didn't know to try it on the first one. We've now been using the first one for about 7 months, until this morning - no brewing!! Light on, everything looks fine, just didn't brew.
This is what I did just 40 minutes ago, and in order, but I do not know which was really responsible for getting it to work or if it was a combination:
1) I pressed and held all 3 middle buttons for 30 seconds - no brew.
2) I pressed and held just hour and minute buttons for 30 seconds - no brew.
3) I reset the timer to 1 minute ahead and let the auto brew start - Power button came on exactly at the right time - but no brew.
4) I unplugged the unit for 60 seconds and then plugged it back in - time and everything was the same so I unplugged it again and walked away. (Maybe all the first one needed the first time was a good amount of time to be disconnected in order to re-boot. That might be why it worked after "being in storage") I ran to the local coffee shop and got a warm cup of coffee, came back, and about 25 minutes had passed. I plugged in the maker and the time had reset to 12:00. Cool. I reset the clock and set it to brew; turned it on; light came on - no brew.
5) I literally gave it love and expressed how much I didn't want to get rid of it (heh heh) and flicked the power on button back and forth and back and forth several times just hoping that it would trigger the spring to get the brewing going.
SUCCESS!!!!! It started immediately.
Why put up with this? Because all the alternative mid-priced makers either lose good flavor after a year or two or break and have to be replaced anyway. They have the stupid carafe that gets banged alot or breaks and needs to be replaced often for additional expense and they are a pain to keep clean and looking nice after typical usage.
The DCC-2000 always looks savvy and new, is convenient, easy to keep clean, and has a 3 year warranty that I feel is awesome since they did a complete replacement.
Now that this has started to happen again with the first one, I will begin to keep my eyes open for a new one on sale. I remember 3 months ago at Christmas time seeing this very model on sale for $39.99 at Lowe's on Black Friday!!!! As soon as I find a brand new one for under $50 I'll grab it and keep it ready for when this one is completely fried. It's that worth it. If it dies long before that kind of special surfaces, it's worth buying a new one and then grabbing it again when the special does arise. If that's how I have to do it, I'll get 2 coffee makers for $139.99 and about 5-6 years of use (far cheaper than the other models after 6 years. Other models which are in the $35 - $75 range have tons of problems too and most need replacing every couple of years anyway. Since I know I can take advantage of sales, specials and clearances when I see them for the DCC-2000 I can get something far superior in the same price range, than that's the way to go.
Try unplugging it for 30-60 minutes. Plug it back in and reset all your times and settings. Flicker with the power switch back and forth if it doesn't brew the first time you try. Somehow that worked for me to get it to trigger the brew cycle. If it's under warranty, call the 800 number and express your love for it and your desire to not want any other brand but that this isn't acceptable or fair when you were willing to pay a whopping $100 for it. Tell them you've cleaned it, power-cycled it, and taken very good care of it. When you get the new one, send them back whatever they need to keep this warranty option available to future consumers. I felt so guilty that I hadn't and I read that they tell some people to provide the original receipt for proof now. Luckily, I registered my warranty when I bought my first so I didn't need to do that. (Keeping the original receipt taped inside it's manual or on the bottom of the coffee maker is a good practice.)
Keep your eyes open for sales in the meantime and nab them when you see them!!! ;)
Good Luck!
Judy, April 2010
