Triton electric shower cuts off mid shower

ThisIsWeird

Starrygem said:

The light on the shower and the light on the pull cord switch both go off...which I would expect anyway since the shower won't come on if the pull cord is off, but the electrician who put the shower in said to leave it on as keep pulling it on and off puts stress on it.

These little neon lights consume next to zero power, so even a poor electrical connection is often enough to keep them lit.

Your shower, on the other hand, consumes kilowatts of power, 30+ amps - a heck of a lot. A dodgy connection then will tend to heat up or even arc, rendering it high resistance - so the power effectively stops flowing.

Are you competent enough to undo the switch to look at the wires? Obvs without killing yourself in the process, or else we'll never know.

Starrygem

ThisIsWeird said:

If you are saying that the pull cord light goes off during a shower, then that's a classic symptom. And if the p-c light goes off, any light on the shower is bound to too.
It's almost certainly a poor electrical connection inside your pull cord.
How DIYish are you with electrics? How safe are you...?
Cut the power at the CU, undo the pull cord switch - two screws - and you'll almost certainly find signs of overheating in there.

Thank you. So I need an electrician to check the pull cord switch and replacing it should hopefully solve the problem? Whats the CU? Is that the fuse board? If so, it was new 18mths ago.

FreeBear

Starrygem said: and was asking if I need a plumber or electrician because of whats happening...and if it was likely to be the shower unit or the pull cord switch. This now appears to have been answered. The housing association fitted a new fuse board in 18mths ago when they did the electrical safety checks.

Housing association - So a rented property ?

In which case, a fault such as this is down to the HA to fix. Contact them first thing Monday to get an electrician to check things over at their expense.

Albermarle

Starrygem said:

UThisIsWeird said:

If you are saying that the pull cord light goes off during a shower, then that's a classic symptom. And if the p-c light goes off, any light on the shower is bound to too.
It's almost certainly a poor electrical connection inside your pull cord.
How DIYish are you with electrics? How safe are you...?
Cut the power at the CU, undo the pull cord switch - two screws - and you'll almost certainly find signs of overheating in there.

Thank you. So I need an electrician to check the pull cord switch and replacing it should hopefully solve the problem? Whats the CU? Is that the fuse board? If so, it was new 18mths ago.

CU = Consumer Unit
These have replaced the old fuse boxes.

ThisIsWeird

Starrygem said:

ThisIsWeird said:

If you are saying that the pull cord light goes off during a shower, then that's a classic symptom. And if the p-c light goes off, any light on the shower is bound to too.
It's almost certainly a poor electrical connection inside your pull cord.
How DIYish are you with electrics? How safe are you...?
Cut the power at the CU, undo the pull cord switch - two screws - and you'll almost certainly find signs of overheating in there.

Thank you. So I need an electrician to check the pull cord switch and replacing it should hopefully solve the problem? Whats the CU? Is that the fuse board? If so, it was new 18mths ago.

It is the most likely cause, and solution.
Let's us know how it pans out.

Vortigern

Starrygem said:

The electrician who put the shower in said to leave it on as keep pulling it on and off puts stress on it.

I'd agree with that advice. It's an isolator and should only be used to shut the power off for maintenance. Frequent repeated operation will weaken the springs that hold the contacts closed. 

The user manuals always tell you to switch off after use but there's no benefit in doing so.

Starrygem

FreeBear said:

Starrygem said: and was asking if I need a plumber or electrician because of whats happening...and if it was likely to be the shower unit or the pull cord switch. This now appears to have been answered. The housing association fitted a new fuse board in 18mths ago when they did the electrical safety checks.

Housing association - So a rented property ?

In which case, a fault such as this is down to the HA to fix. Contact them first thing Monday to get an electrician to check things over at their expense.

Yes but when the houses were built in 1983 they didn't have showers so we could put one in as long as it was done by an electrician, but they won't come out to repair a shower that hasn't been put in by them. I suppose I could ask but I doubt they'd say yes.

Starrygem

ThisIsWeird said:

Starrygem said:

ThisIsWeird said:

If you are saying that the pull cord light goes off during a shower, then that's a classic symptom. And if the p-c light goes off, any light on the shower is bound to too.
It's almost certainly a poor electrical connection inside your pull cord.
How DIYish are you with electrics? How safe are you...?
Cut the power at the CU, undo the pull cord switch - two screws - and you'll almost certainly find signs of overheating in there.

Thank you. So I need an electrician to check the pull cord switch and replacing it should hopefully solve the problem? Whats the CU? Is that the fuse board? If so, it was new 18mths ago.

It is the most likely cause, and solution.
Let's us know how it pans out.

I will. Thank you for your help.

Starrygem

ThisIsWeird said:

Starrygem said:

The light on the shower and the light on the pull cord switch both go off...which I would expect anyway since the shower won't come on if the pull cord is off, but the electrician who put the shower in said to leave it on as keep pulling it on and off puts stress on it.

These little neon lights consume next to zero power, so even a poor electrical connection is often enough to keep them lit.

Your shower, on the other hand, consumes kilowatts of power, 30+ amps - a heck of a lot. A dodgy connection then will tend to heat up or even arc, rendering it high resistance - so the power effectively stops flowing.

Are you competent enough to undo the switch to look at the wires? Obvs without killing yourself in the process, or else we'll never know.

If the power to it is off I can undo the screws to look, but wouldn't know what to do about it other than 'look' for signs of overheating. I wouldn't fancy touching anything inside but I need to know before calling an electrician.

victor2

Starrygem said:

ThisIsWeird said:

Starrygem said:

The light on the shower and the light on the pull cord switch both go off...which I would expect anyway since the shower won't come on if the pull cord is off, but the electrician who put the shower in said to leave it on as keep pulling it on and off puts stress on it.

These little neon lights consume next to zero power, so even a poor electrical connection is often enough to keep them lit.

Your shower, on the other hand, consumes kilowatts of power, 30+ amps - a heck of a lot. A dodgy connection then will tend to heat up or even arc, rendering it high resistance - so the power effectively stops flowing.

Are you competent enough to undo the switch to look at the wires? Obvs without killing yourself in the process, or else we'll never know.

If the power to it is off I can undo the screws to look, but wouldn't know what to do about it other than 'look' for signs of overheating. I wouldn't fancy touching anything inside but I need to know before calling an electrician.

A look will probably be enough. If it is blackened and/or has signs of melting around the connectors, you can call an electrician and tell him you think you need a new pull switch for your electric shower. Hopefully he will then come with a suitable part and go straight to the problem.