Shower electrical cabling overheating

mort58

Hope someone can help with this.....

We have a shower room off the main bedroom and firstly we noticed the shower water temperature had got alot hotter but turning the temp control right down was a temp fix.(thought the thermostat for the shower was playing up).

Now notice a strong "fishy" smell outside the shower room door,tracked it down to the power supply switch for the shower which is red hot to the touch.

Took the cover off the switch and the live feed into the switch is obviously overheating,black on alot of the sleeving and where its been up aginst the back of the plastic switch casing its actually melting the casing.

A diy friend of mine said it sounds like the feed into the switch is loose and needs screwing back in properly,that would probably account for why its only the feed cable into the switch thats getting hot and not the cable out .

Problem is I cant get the cover of the switch more than about 3 inches away from the casing to get to check wether the cable is loose or not as the cable is cut so short.

So what do you think,loose cable or the thermostat on the shower causing it?

Just need to know who I should call out to look at it,some one for the shower or just an electrician to look at the switch.

YorkshireBoy

The switch needs replacing. You cannot simply "screw the wire back in" as your "DIY friend" has suggested (He might be able to re-hang a door but don't ask him any more questions on electrics!).

Your problem may well be larger than you think though. What size is the cable? If it's only 6mm sq, has the shower been upgraded to a 9.5/10.5KW unit over time? If so, you need to replace the cable with 10mm sq.

With the new Part P regs & bathrooms (or rooms containing a shower), and your obvious lack of skill, I would suggest employing an electrician.

However, if you do decide to do the work yourself (and I wouldn't advise it), do not simply replace the switch and re-connect the existing wire (even though only one is damaged). The copper will have lost it's "nature" and the joint will overheat again. Ensure your "electrician" shortens back to "sound" shiny copper.

HTH
YB (Electrical Engineer)

mort58

Thanks YorkshireBoy, will take your advice......