Ready Indicator for the Rancilio Rialto Espresso Machine

The Rancilio Rialto (also known as the Miss Audry and the Miss Nancy) is really a great espresso machine. It produces great crema and lots of steam. However, using it requires a bit of guessing as to the water temperature in the boiler. Most other Espresso machines have lights to indicate whether or not it is up to temperature.

Wow! since I have posted this page, I have found others who have also moddied their Rialtos. Check out Chia-jui's Rialto hacking site. He re-used the low water indicator light (no drilling!). The directions are in Chinese, but he has great step-by-step pictures

Modifying your Rancilio to add an indicator light is relatively simple if you are handy with basic electricity. Note that modifying your espesso machine will probably void the warranty.

First step: Unplug your machine!

Remove the semi-circular black plastic on back of the machine. Remove two screws from the top of the machine and remove the black plastic.

The front piece is held on with four larger screws (at the rear, near the top). Remove them.


  • Connection A: To the yellow feed wire that goes from the water level pneumatic switch the low temp thermal switch. On my unit (and the unit at work) this switch is marked with a red dot. To connect the wire, I used automotive parasitic crimp connectors. They are a bit cheasy, but they work if you are careful when crimping them.

  • Connection B: To the wire coming from the steam thermal switch to the boiler.

  • Drill a 9/32" hole in the front piece.

  • Mount the neon lamp. I used Radio Shack 272-708 green neon lamp. If you use a different neon lamp, make sure it has an internal current limiting resistor.

  • Attach the wires to the neon lamp. I used butt splice crimp connectors. Make sure the wires don't touch the boiler. Use more zip ties or if you are lucky, feed the wires thru the existing zip ties.

  • Optional: The green neon lamp will light when the machine is powered up and the boiler is off. You can also attach another lamp to indicate the boiler is on by connecting it to the two boiler terminals.

  • Put the machine back together and test it out.

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