How can I fix my Dualit toaster timer, model COMBI/11Ea56?

I followed the instructions provided by Martin of October, 2012. Worked like a charm - thanks so much.
New timer including shipping to the U.S., $43+, took about 45min. to take the old one apart and saved myself the $43.
Interesting tidbit, British toaster, but the timer is French! I'dheard they never got along, more proof!

FrankieRay
January 2018

The cleaning method didn't work for me, however the price of replacement timers has come right down. I just got mine for a 4 slice off Amazon for £9 including delivery. A few years ago I recal paying £32.

Gary Wilde
July 2015

Great post from Martin (2012) : thanks so much .... I followed your instructions to the word , bathing the mechanism in Meths for an hour (you said 30 mins but I gave it a bit longer!) & then left it to dry .... sprayed with WD 40 & bingo , once the oil had penetrated the mechanism was purring like new . Re-installed & works perfectly now ! Thanks so much Martin - you're a diamond !
Dave
PS : One tip : allow the WD 40 to penetrate .... it does take a little while .... I was impatient as after 10 mins the mechanism wasn't running properly still, but after 30 / 40 mins it was like new . It does take a little time for WD 40 to really penetrate and work it's magic .

david brock
July 2014

Merci beaucoup !!! I had the same problem on a vintage Auto-4, and a couple of drops of WD40 later, it works perfectly !!! Morality : the Frenchies always need advice from the British !

Michel
November 2013

Hy "A toast to you"
i have the same problem as you, a brass strip broken of an old junghans timer : since there are two on each timer, i would be pleased to get the second one from your timer, if posible.
Thanks

Pit
April 2013

Just pulled apart one of the older Junghans timers as no power at outgoing terminals. A lovely little clockwork mechanism (my impressively knowledgable wife tells me Junghans are a german watch manufacturer). The switching part of the mechanism behind the plastic plate (which is held on by three small nuts) has two contacts operated by a cam. Each contact is a brass strip with a contact point. One of the brass strips has sheared and broken - hence no power. Might try and make a replacement....

A Toast to you
March 2013

buy a new one asap!
and it is fixed and ditch the old one! ;-)

bob's your uncle ;-)
February 2013

I dimantled the timer mechanism from a 1994 that I got cheap off ebay. On my timer there are two metal tabs that hold the cover on when you take it off there is a plastic cover behind the two holes so any wd40 that gets sprayed in there probably wont make it to the mechanism. once you remove the metal cover and the plastic cover behind the clockwork mechanism can be removed so you spray wd 40 on the mechanism to clean it up then put some light grease on the cogs sparingly, I used vaseline. Reassemble making sure the clockwork mechanism seats in the socket at the bottom of the housing and you should be good to go. One thing to check if you have a voltmeter is to test resistance across the neutral and live posts on plug that goes in the wall the resistance be present during the timer on and when it clicks off resistance should go to infinity showing the switch is working to and isolating the power from the toaster.

Bob Green
January 2013

Just took the knob off and sprayed it and the holes and now working fine - brilliant, thank you

Chirps
November 2012

Amazing! Did the trick with the turps and WD40 and it's now working as good as new! Thanks so much as we would be lost with out our dualit 4 slice toaster! Also thought it was an Italian company!

Scott
November 2012

I am a mechanical engineer and if you have some elementary skills and commonsense it is not always necessary to replace a sticking Mi7 timer.
To repair:
Never work on any electrical appliance without first disconnecting the it from the mains supply. This golden rule applies to the Dualit toaster too.
Remove the timer taking care to note where the wires went, (I find taking a couple of pictures with my phone usually does the trick) How to do this is exactly the same as replacing the timer, you can find instructions all over the www.
The timer has a hexagonal nut around the spigot holding the front cover on; remove this cover to expose a metal housing with a few holes in it.
The timer is probably sticking because over the years the original oil that lubricated the moving parts of the timing mechanism has dried up and become stiff. If this is the case, and we can successfully replace this lubricant then the timer should run normally.
To do this find a small cup and fill it with methylated spirits, put the timer into the meths and let it soak for 30 minutes or so. Keep winding it the timer up and letting it rundown while soaking in the meths, this will help disolve the dried up oil.
Remove the timer and shake all the meths out. Then leave in a warm dry dust free place to completely dry out.
Then using the thin tube attachment on an aerosol of WD40 (or silicon oil if you have it) spray some oil into the holes in the metal front cover. Work the timer and spray a little more. Let the oil soak in.
Now test the timer and see if it runs through without stuttering or stopping. Mine takes 3 min. 10 sec. to rundown to shutoff from the 3 min. setting. In my opinion that’s good enough for a mechanical timer. I tested it 5 times, with identical results which is what we are after.
Should your timer still show vastly different running down times then it’s definitely time to bin it..
If you do decide to try to repair the timer you do so under your own free will, this description is meant as basis for thought and is definitely not in any way a guarantee of a successful repair. Should you decide to apply any of my repair guidelines you do so at your own risk.

ALWAYS REMEMBER: No toaster should ever be left running unattended, no matter what the brand or type of timer, a toaster will always create a fire hazard if the timing mechanism fails. Sods Laws states categorically that they can and will all eventually fail.
In the event of a timer failure the all metal Dualit toasters present a lot less risk than cheaper toasters made with plastic components.
Please use this information responsibly.

martin
October 2012

I just took the advice I read on this forum to WD40 my sticky Dualit timer. The timer was easy to remove. I gave it a quick spray all round, cleaned off the excess and it seems to work just fine.

Ron
September 2012

WD 40 did the trick for me too - excellent! Seems a shame that the supposed "Rolls Royce" of toasters has such a poor timing mechanism. Mine failed after 18 months. Also Dualit ignored my emails about it and where to find a replacement - very disappointing. Also it is not fail safe - that is, the toaster keeps on heating if the timer jams and one is not there to manually turn the timer to zero. I think Dualit needs to give their engineers a bit of a kick and also get some better customer service going. Their web site should point out this potential problem and the simple lube fix.

Jim the Engineer
April 2012

Hi, To add to the previous comments - I've a two slice Dualit model No. 2SLGB bought in 2002, and have had the old sticking timer (at about 1 min).. After reading the other comments - I took the unit out, unscrewed the nut on the shaft and sprayed a little gun oil through each of the little holes in the silver metal plate. I then wound it 7-8 times with the unit laying on each of the 4 sides in turn - to run the oil around the mechanism. ..so far so good! I love my dualit - it does exactly what it should - pop the bread in, dial up 2 minutes and you get toasted bread - no adjustments/no re-toasting/no ejecting cos it's burning
- FAB!

mmmtoast..
April 2012

The timer in my Dualit 4 slot toaster (costing just under £200) started to get jammed and burn the toast. it was 3 years old and was used very litttle just by myself. I bought it due to their alleged relaibility. However having done some research I learnt that is a very common problem. I sent 2 emails to them which were never acknowledged. when I contacted them over the phone they were rude, unhelpful and hostile. I shall never buy anything that spells DUALIT again. Learn from me don't go for their name.

P Thomas
March 2012

using WD40 sorted my broken timer out straight away. Shame I only saw this post after buying a new timer and fitting it. Oh well, at least I have a spare now!

JK
February 2012

Take the timer unit out of the toaster and soak it in a strong de-greasant, i soaked mine in beer line cleaner (sodium hydroxide) then flushed it out with water. then gave it a good spray with wd40. let it drain for a while then re-fit. Its as good as new now

dexter
January 2012

I replaced mine with a new mechanism bought online. The new one failed far quicker than the old one lasted. I did complain to Dualit, but they didn't want to know.
I think I was probably a minute away from it catching fire. As it was we experienced dreadful smoke damage to the kitchen units.
I shan't be buying Dualit again. A simple temperature overheat cut-out would have saved the day. Rubbish design.

Tom Bullen
November 2011

Well, my barely 2-years-old 4-slice Dualit toaster's mechanical timer has also performed rather erratically for some months. Duly removed it from the casing only to discover it is a totally sealed plastic-encased component. Hence, seemingly, only a replacement will now solve that problem.

Bryan N.
June 2011

Peter, I'm not sure exactly what the MI2 looks like inside but I suspect the clock mechanism is similar to mine.

There is a floating/spring loaded cog near to the main spring. This cog gets pushed aside when winding up the clock. If this cog doesn't return after winding that would have the effect you describe.

There are three possible reasons for this:
1) there is an obstruction in the elongated bearing hole of the cog preventing it returning after winding up

2) the elongated hole is clogged/sticky

3) the return spring is damaged or dislodged or stuck

The first two can be remedied by cleaning and/or oiling. If it's the spring then cleaning and oiling will help unless it is broken in which case I reckon you'll need a new clock.

Find me on Google...

Screwmaster
March 2011

Hi,

I have the MI2 timer. Problem isn't that the timer remains "on" ,but that it will not 'stick' to a set time. When turning the knob to either 2 or 3 it quickly rewinds to 1. How do I solve this problem?

Peter
March 2011

I have an older model called Dualit '2 Bread' serial no. 10/92. I think that means it was made in October 1992 which seems about right.

UNPLUG from the mains before starting.

Pull the timer knob off. Unscrew the two screws behind the knob - this releases the timer.

The timer is neither of the timers mentioned earlier (MI 2 & MI 7). It is a 19807 Typ 903 T125 092 made by Junghens of Italy.

It has six contacts:
The top two are screw terminals for the mains live (brown, left) and mains neutral (blue, right). Below the live are two spade connectors close together 1) RED centre element 2) BROWN live to toggle switch (1 or 2 slices) centre terminal. Below the neutral are two more spade connectors close together 3) BLUE 1st end element 4) BLUE neutral to toggle switch (1 or 2 slices) left terminal. The right hand toggle terminal (behind the II on the front of the toggle) has a RED wire going to 1st end element.

The back of the timer has a piece of brown laminate screwed on with three brass nuts (with a dot of red paint on each) unscrew these nuts and remove the back. Don't worry, nothing will spring out at you as the clockwork is a self contained unit within. You can now separate the clockwork mechanism from the switching mechanism. Lubricate and free up the clockwork and then reassemble.

That took me just over an hour including writing this post. Look for me on Google.

Screwmaster
March 2011

Bit of lube through the holes worked great for me! thanks all. £20 saved and a smile!

Barney Cordell
January 2011

My thanks to all who have posted to this site. Turned a headache into an easy job. WD 40 has sorted mine out too. Am going to buy a replacement switch just the same.

Tom
October 2010

WD40 done the trick for me, works fine now!

big
October 2010

I tried cleaning the mechanism and loobing it a bit but it still sticks at the same point (around the nominal 2 min mark). Just bought a replacement for £15 off ebay. You'd think the timers would be a bit better - the toaster cost nearly £100 after all!

Pansy
December 2009

Hey Chris O
Thanks so much! Those diagrams helped me switch from an old to a new timer.
Al

Al
October 2009

If your unit has the normal wind up timer you will need to remove and replace the timer as it cannot be repaired it is a simple repair when you have removed the bottom of the unit and cAn see the timer just remember to remove the plug from the mains

Diamond bloke
October 2009

I confirm that for my 16yr old wind up timer edd and jonna's responses combined worked:

Remove base plate
Pull plastic knob off timer on outside
Unscrew timer from two small screws on front
squirt WD40 inside mechanism though small holes!
check if no longer sticks - woo hoo
take chance to clean toaster out
reassemble in reverse order.
Costs nothing - takes 30mins - worth a try

Clare
September 2009

i removed the dualit timing device and then took it one step further.

using a swiss army knife i trimmed all the black plastic lips off the bottom of it, where they hold a single metal plate (with lots of holes etc and the long stem for the handle). there are two pins as well, which you can shear off.

the objective here is to get the METAL structure out, with all the cogs and wheels and ultimately of course the spring.

then oil it

then glue it back in place.

Nickk
August 2009

Hello,
I too have trouble figuring this out.
I have the old dualit style. and what i gather from here is that i can replace it with a new mi2 timer.
http://www.gramheavy.org.uk/junk/dualit_mi-2.pdf
I have followed all the instruction on the pdf, but now i am stuck with the right side element red wire and the two way switch? which requires 3 wires?
I do have a free standing brown wire with a connector on either side,and was wondering what to do with that too?
Many thanks
al

al
March 2009

Steve,
Thanks so much for the "timely" response! My 2-slice Dualit Toaster timer just started to malfunction today (no longer reaching the end of the timing cycle and remaining "on"), and I came across your post while Googling for a replacement.
Thanks for pointing out that there are two different timers, and thanks for the diagrams from Dualit.
Chris

Chris O
January 2009

I had the same problem but was unable to fix it by dripping oil into the mechanism, so I replaced the timer. Unfortunately I bought an MI-2 timer and my 20245 toaster had an MI-7 timer in it. It looked like the MI-2 would fit physically, but the pins are numbered differently and I didn't feel comfortable guessing which one should be connected to which wire.

I emailed Dualit and their excellent customer service team sent me back PDFs showing the pin-outs of each type of timer:

http://www.gramheavy.org.uk/junk/dualit_mi-7.pdf
http://www.gramheavy.org.uk/junk/dualit_mi-2.pdf

Using these I was able to successfully hook up the MI-2 and get the toaster working again. The only thing you'll need when switching from the MI-7 to the MI-2 is a new pair of screws. I found a couple from an old computer hard drive that were the right thread and length for the job. You may also notice that the shaft is a little shorter.

Once I'd tested the new timer and confirmed that it worked OK, I set about dismantling the old one to see what makes it tick (heh). It looks like it will come apart without needing to be destroyed. Don't bother removing the cover over the pins like I did, you'll only get yourself in a mess with various springs pinging around. It's easy enough to put back together, just takes a bit of time. To get to the business side of things, remove the nut from the shaft and take off the black plastic cover as above. Now get a craft knife or flat-blade screwdriver and cut/scrape off the two tiny black plastic blobs on either side of the shaft. When you put this back together, replace these with little blobs of Araldite. With those removed, the metal guts of the timer should lift out. You'll see the spring wound round the shaft, the shaft connected to a bunch of cogs to gear down the rotation, eventually getting to a small escapement mechanism. I couldn't see anything wrong with mine and, annoyingly, it works fine now it's out in the open. Maybe a good clean and re-lube will fix it permanently and I can keep it as a spare should the new MI-2 go wrong in future.

Hope this helps!

Steve Oliver
January 2009

My dualit was getting stuck so I disassembled as ed suggested,then took the nut and one side of the plastic casing off the timer mechanism and squirted a tiny bit of wd40 into a tiny hole where I could see a little of the clockwork mechanism. I also dripped little drips of oil into that hole as the timer unwound and after a few wind ups and downs the problem seems to have gone away. It could save you £20 if you are having the same problem.

Jonna
March 2008

Well, if like me your 4 slice toaster had the same symptoms then if you're game you can follow the instructions (above) to remove the timer, and then try to 'fix' it. It's important to note that my spring was fine, and so my assumption was that the mechanism was simply getting 'bloked'. If the spring's gone then you'll need to get a new timer (ebay's your best bet - search for Dualit Toaster Timer).

As this is a mechanical timer you could almost view it as something similar to a stuck lock and use a 'dry' lubricant to try and free the mechanism. Hey - it's worth a shot. I didn't try a wet lubricant (e.g. WD40) but if the procedure below doesn't work then it might be worth a go. The problem is you can't open the casing without breaking it so it's difficult to tell whether a wet lubricant will make matters worse.

Take a photo or note down the wiring before you remove the terminals from the timer otherwise you may be in for a big bang when you put it back together.

Once the timer's free from the toaster you can unscrew the nut on the shaft and remove the plastic casing to reveal (well - not much really), but there are a number of small holes just big enough to squirt some carbon into (don't flood it though). I hadn't actually got a container lying around so I actually got a Stanley knife and a pencil and literally shaved the lead into the holes!

After some backwards and forwards forced motion on the knob and shaking to ensuring the carbon gets into the mechanism you may find (as I did :-) ) that it ceases to 'stick' where it once did.

Put it all back together (using the diagram or photo you took previously), and hopefully it should all work OK again. The carbon should also continue to work its way into the mechanism keeping it ruinning smoothly. Good luck

Matt
September 2007

remove the bottom panel by taking off the feet and another two screws. pull off the wires attached to the timer mechanism and pull of the timer handle to reveal the 2 screws which attach the timer mech to the toaster body. the timer mech can be swapped as a complete unit for about £20 , call dualit customer care.

I would like to know if anyone knows where you can buy the spring inside the mechanism , as mine doesnt turn at a constant rate and consequently takes too long to stop toasting. £20 for a broken spring seems excessive to me.

edd
September 2006