Ninja coffee maker suddenly does not recognize the Tea brewing basket

Placing a strong magnet on the top of the machine above the back of the basket will lock it in either coffee or tea mode depending on where you locate it.

I finally figured out how to hack the failing magnet. I placed a strong magnet on top of the coffee maker in the place where the coffee magnet would be (see picture).

You do not know how long I looked for mechanical switches. Didn't think to check for magnetic ones. This is brilliant. Lets me reuse pieces from other types of Ninja coffee makers so I can always have one in the dishwasher and one in the coffee pot. Just keep a magnet by the machine.

Sorry to hear that. Been working perfectly for me since I posted to this thread. I switch to a different basket every other week so use this often. The magnet I use happens to be very strong. Wonder if the strength of the magnet matters.

I finally found a fix!!! Buy a new coffee maker and throw the old one in the dumpster.

The magnet trick is great, until it’s not. Fixed mine for a day or so, and now acts like the magnetic switch isn’t working properly. I can switch to tea mode just fine with the magnet, but i can not switch it back to coffee no matter what i do. I can even get the display to not say “tea”, but it’s blank and doesn’t display “coffee” either and when i attempt to brew it blinks “coffee/tea” 3 times and then nothing happens. Just a heads up for everyone thinking that magnet trick is some be all end all fix. It’s not at all.

Buy a new coffee filter holder from ninja for $15. It solved my problem.

Problem:

My wife's Ninja Hot & Cold Brewed System (CP307) stopped recognizing the coffee basket — no matter how many times I cleaned or reseated it. It looks like the tiny magnet in the basket built / glued into it weakened over time.

Solution:

Taped a small magnet to the top of the brew lid directly over the "coffee" internal sensor. Trial and error moving the magnet around found the coffee spot versus the tea spot. My wife only uses coffee, so taping it in place is a workable MacGyver temporary solution for her. I do like the toggle switch idea mentioned by another and might look into that for the permanent solution.

I did this on a Sunday when the Ninja support line wasn't open. I'll call tomorrow to see if there's a warranty solution. The painters tape doesn't really fit the kitchen aesthetic. :)

Magnet taped on lid in the "Coffee" location.

The next pic shows where the weak magnet is on the coffee basket. You can also order a new coffee basket from Ninja (1-877-646-5288).

#NinjaCoffee #CP307 #DIYRepair #DIY

I managed to fix my Ninja CP307 (same as CP301 but with insulated steel carafe instead) tonight (took about 4 hours). If you are counting your hours, it's not worth spending the time. If you want the satisfaction of fixing something and stopping waste, it's worth it!

My hunch is, the reason why these break is that the magnetic switches located in the coffee machine's showerhead break. They are probably cheap and very fragile. When you insert either coffee or tea basket, each of those have a magnet on one side or the other and then they are pushed into the machine the magnet magnetizes the magnetic switches turning them on so the machine knows which basket you put in. If you can find replacement magnet switches (something like this would probably work and the repair would be 200x easier lol), I suggest starting there. The below repair is more of a hardened / rugged method of fixing the problem.

Here's what I did to install a physical toggle switch for coffee/tea modes:

1. Took apart the swing-out basket holder (the thing that you put either the coffee or tea basket into)
   • There are 4 or 5 screws that hold two halves together. You will need a very long but very skinny Phillips PH1. If you don't have one of those, you will end up drilling out the holes where the screws are very dumbly recessed.
   • BE VERY CAREFUL to not lose the spring that goes in the basket holder. It's what lets the basket click into open or close position. As soon as you take this apart, it will fall out. My recommendation is to hot glue a very tiny tab on this spring and reinstall it so that you do not lose it while working on this project. Picture:
     

• The bottom ring also comes off in this step. It's connected to the basket holder with a small spring. This is pretty easy to take off and put back on when you're ready to reassemble.
• Remove the pin that connects the swing arm to the swing-out basket holder
  • This was super difficult. You can either use an awl or a very skinny long punch. I used an awl. It was not easy because the basket cannot really swing out much, and there is basically no clearance to get the tool in. You really have to manhandle it. Please someone chime in if they were able to find a better method here.
• Drill out an access hole for the pin to slide back in during the reassembly steps
  • As you know now, getting the pin out was difficult. Getting it back in at the end is a Manhattan Project. To make it easier, I drilled a big hole and cut off part of the plastic on one of the halves so that the pin can be held by my two fingers and slid back thru the half, the swing-arm, the holder basket, and the swing-arm again. Picture:
    

1. Remove the screws (6 I think) that hold the showerhead in
   • You have to pull it back pretty hard to get the tube to release. It will feel like you are breaking it nearly. Be careful to not rip it out too hard as there are some wires that we will get to.
2. Remove the magnetic switches in the showerhead and snip off the wires as close as you can to the switch to preserve wire length
   • I believe these were glued to the showerhead. You can pry them off. There are 4 wires in total.
3. Drill a hole on the right side of the showerhead assembly for the wires to go thru
   • NOTE: This is flipped upside down. Make sure you drill it on the correct side. The hole I drilled out ended up being much bigger than the picture, but this is where it needs to be drilled.
     

1. Strip the 4 wires with a wire stripper about 3/4 in
   • Slip some heat shrink tubing onto the wires.
   • Connect 6.5 in of similar gauge wire (do not exceed the gauge; we want the wires to be very flexible and thin, otherwise they will get in the way in a future step) to these and shrink the tubing over your connections.
   • Using a paint marker, mark each set of wires with their own color (ex: the coffee side yellow, the tea side purple). This will be useful in the next step.
   • Strip the extended wires too about 3/4 in.
2. Run these wires thru the hole you drilled in the showerhead
3. Cut out a hole centered above the clock display on the machine using a Dremel rotary tool just big enough to install a small DPDT switch
   • Here's where I cut mine:
     

• Here's the type of switch you need:
  

1. Using a drill with a very long drill bit or a Dremel / rotary tool with a very small drill bit, cut a hole about 1/2 in wide and 1/3 in tall in the upper-right edge where the top-left of the machine and the top (where the showerhead would be) connect
   • This is where you will run the wires thru.
   • Here's where I cut mine (you can probably cut it in a better spot so the hole is not visible in the end; I ended up covering some of the exposed hole with black silicone):
     

1. Fish the wires that you extended thru this hole and out the hole above the clock
2. Connect the wires to the DPDT switch like this:
   • Switch diagram:
     [ 1 ] [ 2 ] [ 3 ]
     [ 4 ] [ 5 ] [ 6 ]
   • Coffee red → pin 2
   • Coffee black → pin 5
   • Tea red → pin 1
   • Tea black → pin 4
   • Jumper pin 3 → pin 6
   • Solder the wires to the switch so they don't come off in the future.
   • Use hot glue to seal the connections / wires (to be waterproof).
3. Turn on the machine and test the switch
   • Ensure both COFFEE and TEA modes light up.
   • Turn off the machine once confirmed.
4. Insert the switch into the hole you carved out
   • Put a tiny bead of silicone all around it.
   • Wipe off excess.
5. Run the wires thru the channel in the showerhead so they don't get smushed
6. Reinsert the showerhead and screw it back in (about 6 screws)
7. Put back together the bottom ring, basket holder, and two halves in this order:
   • Bottom ring goes into basket holder. Connect the spring too (easiest by hand).
   • Basket holder goes in between the two halves, then screw back together (4 or 5 screws).
8. Reinstall the swing-arm pin
   • With extreme patience and nobody around that you love, work on getting the pin from the swing-arm back into the basket holder assembly.
   • Since you drilled an access hole already, it will be much easier. Take the pin in your fingers, line up the swing-arm and basket holder connector, and slowly position the pin so it goes thru all 4 holes.
   • The top of the pin is textured, so you may need something small like an Allen wrench to push it all the way down due to minimal clearance.
   • This took me about 45 minutes.
   • DO NOT WORK IN AN AREA WHERE YOU CAN EASILY LOSE THIS PIN. You will drop it many times.
9. Once everything is back together, test the machine by brewing both a cup of coffee and a cup of tea (you deserve them).

Finished product: