Electric Shower Broke Xmas Eve

xBuNn

Hi MSE,
I don't know where to start, basically I have just went to have a shower after wrapping all the presents and hoovering the house on the eve of christmas and it's just tripped.

It is pumping out cold water at full pressure. We have a pull cord next to the shower to turn it on. This light comes on, but as soon as we turn the shower on, the orange light goes straight off.

The electric shower itself has an orange light but it doesn't come on now. Is it likely to be something simple like a fuse in the pull cord or the shower unit itself, or do I need to start crying now and take out a loan

Last thing i wanted a day before christmas, so hoping someone on the MSE boards can cheer me up and give me a simple answer :mad:

It's an Aura LX100 model if anybody technical needs to know

Myser

If the neon (light) is on when you pull the cord switch on, that means that fault is most likely with the shower.

The pull-cord switch does not have a fuse in it.

The only fuse is most likely to be at your main fuse box and as the neon light is coming on when you pull the cord switch, that fuse wouldn't have blown/tripped.

Do you still have the manual for the shower? Have you tried the reset procedure if there is one?

Initially, I'd suggest switching off the pull-cord switch for 30 minutes and then try again. There may be a thermal trip inside the shower.

Myser

Just came across this:

http://www.shower-spares.co.uk/glen_dimplex/aura_100.htm

It seems that the shower does have a thermal cut-out.

xBuNn

The neon light on the pull switch comes on when pulled. However as soon as the shower is turned on, it trips straight off and neon light goes off.
The neon light on the shower unit itself doesn't come on whatsoever now.

I don't have the original manual for the shower and can't locate one on google, unless someone is better than me and can do a better search for it. I bought the property about 6months ago and it has been working daily without any problems.

Its just typical that its today of all days

xBuNn

Myser wrote: »

Just came across this:

http://www.shower-spares.co.uk/glen_dimplex/aura_100.htm

It seems that the shower does have a thermal cut-out.

Im not very technical when it comes to electrical/plumbing things. What does it mean by a thermal cut-out?

Myser

If the internal parts inside the shower overheat, the thermal cut-out will trip preventing a fire.

They are usually resettable which means that once the unit has cooled down, it should reset.

I'm not entirely sure that is your problem though.

Have you tried rotating both dials a few times?

fto

Bad news...sounds very much like a fault on the shower.Could be a water leak or the heater element.
Best not to switch on again,untill you have had it checked out.

xBuNn

It has been cooled down for a good few hours now and still nothing. I don't know whether it is worth ordering the Thermal-Cut Out mentioned previously for about a tenner plus whatever delivery is.

Or alternatively, there is the cost of getting somebody out to look at it, would it be a sparky or a plumber!?

I've just looked online for the price of a new shower unit and they're quite cheap, but god knows how much installation would be, or are they completely DIY these days?

Myser

I wouldn't order the thermal cut-out as it may not be that.

As fto says, it could be the element or a water leak. Something is drawing a huge amount of power but not enough to cause the fuse at your fuse box to trip/blow.

Fitting a new shower may involve a little plumbing and some knowledge of electrics. You'd also need the correct drill bits to drill into your tiles.

Myser

Just a thought, is there a 'fishy' smell coming from the switch?

It is possible that the pull-cord switch may be faulty - this is quite common as they switch a large current.

Does pulling the switch on/off a few times make the shower neon light come on at all?

fto

depends how the shower is plumbed/wired in,but it can be a real pain to swap for a different model.