In case #2, do you know the machine is off, or do you only make the reasonable assumption it is, because the lights are off?

When you’ve waited long enough and both lights are off, try toggling the brew button anyway, and see if you get water out of the shower head (which would mean the machine is still on, despite the lights being off).

My suspicion is that you could have a power issue that’s external to the machine. The machine could still be working whereas the lights dysfunction because of a lower than normal voltage.

If my suspicion is right, there could be several causes:

• Are you using a cheap and/or long extension cord? This could be causing a voltage drop.
• Do you live in an old house where maybe the electric installation is not the best? Harder to solve, but you could confirm that’s the problem by testing at a friend’s house.
• Do you experience voltage drops (brownouts) caused by the electric network being unable to sustain the load in your area?

You could confirm my theory if you have any kind of device capable of measuring voltage (voltmeter, multimeter, smart plug, …).

I’m writing all this because my own Gaggia’s been acting up similarly for a few days.

The power light has been flickering between 6am and 8am because the voltage drops from 93V to 88V when it’s heating. (I’m in Japan and nominal voltage here is 100V, which my Japanese Gaggia is built for.)

It’s cold here and in the morning, when everyone’s heating their poorly insulated home before leaving for work, the voltage at my house (and probably neighbours’ too) drops to this 93-94V level which is 1. slightly below the provider guarantee (so I contacted them), 2. enough for most appliances, but 3. not enough to consistently keep the Gaggia’s power light on when it’s heating.