Introduction: How to Repair/remove the On/off Switch on a Breville BCG450XL Conical Burr Grinder

The Breville BCG450XL is a great conical burr grinder that my father loves for its ability to help him produce an amazing cup of coffee. However, it has a serious design flaw: the on/off switch, which is redundant with the start button, tends to fail and render the whole unit useless.

This instructable is all about how to remove this redundant switch and continue being able to use your unit.

Step 1: What You Need & Warnings

Warnings: This WILL violate your product warranty if you still have one. This also requires you to be comfortable with a soldering iron, which can burn you if you are not careful.

Here's what you need to get started:
 * A broken Breville BCG450XL grinder
 * A TA18 triangle head screwdriver (I used this kit, see picture)
 * A soldering iron
 * Some solder
 * Pliers
 * Wirecutters

Optional, but a good idea:
 * Some electrical tape
 * A small length of wire

Step 2: Preparation

To prepare, unplug your coffee grinder. You want to remove any remaining coffee beans from the reservoir, remove the unground reservoir, and remove the finished grounds reservoir.

Since we will be turning the unit upside-down, you should also remove the grinding unit underneath the bean reservoir.

Find a nice, easy-to-clean spot, because there will be some ground coffee that comes out of the machine while we work on it!

Step 3: Remove Screws, and Open Up the Unit.

Now we're ready to take apart the unit, but we don't need to go too far. Turn the grinder upside-down on your work surface.

There are 6 screws to be removed. 2 are very clearly visible, and there are more under each of the 4 rubber feet. I was able to remove the feet easily with my fingers.

Make sure you save all of these screws, we will need them later!

Lift out the small round plastic piece first, then the larger bottom plastic.

Step 4: Remove the Switch

This step requires a little dexterity, but I chose to do this instead of trying to disassemble the unit further.
Grab the holder part of the switch, and use your wirecutters to cut the two wires that are connected to it. Try to leave as much of the wire as possible, because you will need to join them together. Then carefully strip the wires, exposing as much of the wire as possible (about 1/4 to 1/2-inch). The pictures tell the story.

Step 5: Join & Solder

If you have a small piece of insulated wire, twist each of the grinder wires onto each side of the wire. Use the pliers to twist them together tightly, because you want good contact.

I didn't have any wire around, so I just used pliers to connect the two ends together directly. This is doable, but difficult.

Once the connections are good, solder the wires together, and once cool, wrap them with electrical tape.

Step 6: Clean Up & Finish!

Follow the disassembly steps in reverse to put the unit back together. Remember: there are 6 screws!

Once you have it assembled, plug it in and give it a test to make sure it works. If not, go back in and make sure that the solder joints are strong.

Now that everything all works, you should cover up the hole in your coffee grinder with some tape or electrical tape to prevent debris from getting in.

Enjoy your next cuppa joe, thanks to this easy and simple fix!