Gainsborough shower, no hot water.

[securespark]

Electric showers don't turn on if there's no electricity supply, on account of the water supply valve being solenoid operated.

Gainsboroughs do!! They just fire up cold if the power's off.

To get the cover off, set the temp control to minimum. Remove the temp control knob by pulling gently. GENTLY prise off the badge with the numbers on.

Undo the screw & the cover will lift out, up and off.

They are a pain to refit especially if your wall is uneven or if the cable fouls the lid.

 

[ColJack]

already been proven wrong by the OP's post to the effect that if he turns the breaker off the shower doesn't come on at all...

 

[securespark]

Well, I cannot call you a liar ( ), but in all my experience of that generation of Gainsborough showers (identical to mine), they all carry on letting water through, even when the power is off.

 

[GaryMo]

It's a Gainsborough.

The screw is behind a badge.

I know....

Looking at figure 8 it's located behind a badge, assuming the shower is of the same style.....

 

[W4SIM]

Firstly, my apologies for not replying and updating people any sooner but iv only just got the intrenet at the new house, so now il be around more often.

A big thank you to GaryMo and Dingbat for telling me how the cover comes off. Your absolutely right, the damn screw is behind the Gainborough badge (who the hell thought of putting it there )

Ok, having removed the cover i cant see any obvious wires, cables or buttons loose or in the wrong position, so it seems all alright behind it. Il try and get a photo of it up here if i can.

But it looks like i might have to get some one qualified to have a look at this, as things with the power supply have changed since the last time i posted, in a sort of a weird way.

Earlier i said the shower wont come on if the pull cord is in the OFF position. Which was tried and tested by me and the previous owner of the house. NOW however, it seems that it WILL come on and stay on with the pull cord in the OFF position. This sort of changed when i took the cover off. I havnt tested it from the main switch in the fuse box yet but all of a sudden after taking the cover off it wont switch off from the pull cord.

I wish it would make its bloody mind up.

 

[W4SIM]

http://www.gainsboroughshowers.co.uk/Customer-Services/Gainsborough-Technical-FAQ/#q2871

I’m only getting cold water from my shower?

* Is the power turned on?
* Is the dynamic water pressure high enough? If there is not a high enough water pressure running through the shower when its operating the heater elements will not be switched on. This prevents the unit burning out. If you have enough pressure the small white plunger between the black heater unit and the electrical connectors will drop down.

Ok, just checked both of these and yes the power is on, and yes the white plunger drops down when its swtiched on, which proves there is enough pressure behind the water.

 

[paulwilliams995]

There is a pressure switch built into the shower, power is only connected to the element when the water pressure drops as it flows, that is probably what has gone in your shower.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Paul - do you think that the OP has been without his shower for over 3 years now, while he tries to find out what's wrong with it?

 

[kai]

The shower could be in a second bathroom perhaps..

 

[W4SIM]

The shower could be in a second bathroom perhaps..

I wish . . . .

Although the shower is in the same room its actually in its own cubicle separate to the bath itself.

Anyways, i did call an electrician out who checked both the shower unit and the pull cord cable.

The shower turned out to be goosed as in the elements were shot so it wouldnt heat up. More shockingly the wires behind the pull cord were beginning to burn, either due to overloading or coz someone did a shabby wiring job.

I got it sorted by having a new pull cord fitted and fitted an exact same new shower. All was working well until about 2 months ago when it was nearing the end of its warranty. All of a sudden when you switched the shower on the water would start to pour from the bottom of the unit itself, not even getting to the shower head.

Iv now decided to abandon the shower cubicle and have fitted one of them tap style showers in the bath itself.

So far so good!

But thanks for the help anyway.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

All of a sudden when you switched the shower on the water would start to pour from the bottom of the unit itself, not even getting to the shower head.

Probably something burst or came apart, or the pressure relief device operated.

 

[EFLImpudence]

the pressure relief device operated.

Correct. Gainsborough are famous for this.

W4SIM If you want to repair it - take off cover - with thin, long philips driver remove white plastic tube at the bottom and in the part that was facing the wall there is a 'softish' plastic ball. Push it back through the hole with something blunt. That's it.

New valves about a tenner on website.

Complain to Gainsborough - they're used to it.

 

[SteveMetal]

I know this post is a few years old, but I have come across the same problem with my shower.

I have a Gainsborough 8.5se which has worked fine up until last weekend when I no longer have any hot water.

I have been reading all the comments here and have taken the cover off the shower unit. I have just checked the 'white plunger' pressure switch and have noticed that it does drop down very slightly, but is it supposed to drop right the way down to the bottom? If so, it does not do that, it only moves down about 2mm.

If the problem lies with the pressure switch, is it easier to try and replace the switch (If possible) or just buy a new shower unit altogether as to get another identical model is only about £60.

 

[CFulthorpe]

I also know this post is a few years old but i have also come across and fixed a similar problem with a Gainsborough 9.5 SE. After checking everything in this and other threads on internet forums and also the troubleshooting guide in the manufacturers manual I was still without hot water.

I found that although the plunger was coming down when I opened the water valve I had no continuity over the pressure switch (and could hear no "click" - although the "click" from the water valve and water flowing was making it hard for me to hear exactly what was happening). I tested the continuity over the switch with a multimeter whilst the power was OFF to the shower and the temperature dial was as far anticlockwise as possible (coldest) to get the maximum pressure (most likely pressure switch would work). The switch itself should be actuated by the plunger pulling on a spring. To better access the switch actuator I removed the push fit connecter on the contactor closest to the element and then used some long nose pliers to manually manipulate the switch. When I did this I could see there was continuity across the switch. I believe the switch had stuck and manually closing and opening it a few times freed the switch as when i turned the water on again (with the power OFF) I heard a click when the plunger went down and i had continuity over the switch (after reconnecting push fit connection).

Before testing after freeing up the pressure switch actuator I also made the mistake of removing the spring attached to the plunger and pressure switch actuator to see if it had lost any strength - it had not but was very difficult (but possible with some opening up of the pressure switch actuator side of the spring to easier attach) to reattach with long nose pliers - my advise is do not do this unless the plunger is moving, you have freed up the pressure switch and there is still no continuity over the switch when water is brought on.

Hope this helps someone