Shower not working- Water and Power present

[ickle]

not sure if anyone can help or suggest anything,

i have a dowstairs shower and it was working fine and then one day just stopped working,
presumed the unit had a fault and i purchased a new shower,

had this connected up, but the shower did not work. had it tested and there is Water and Electric to the shower, but nothing happens when you turn it on.
contacted the manufacturer and they sent out a replacment unit as they presumed it was a faulty unit.

have fitted another new unit and yet still the same problem, but have had an electrician out to test the power to it and they say it has power. also had the water tested and they have confirmed water is getting to the shower.

Not sure were to go next to get this working? as when i get a plumber in they say it must be a electric fault! but when i get an electrician in they say it must be a plumbng fault, so going round in circles

any help, suggestions welcome

 

[jj4091]

What do you mean when you say it will not work? Is water flowing through it but not heating up or is it not doing anything at all. What make & model is it? Who installed it, the plumber or the electrician?

 

[Leccy758]

Did the electrician use a meter/tester that checks the neutral as well or just a power indicating neon screwdriver.

I have been called out to a few because the shower does not work,
power and water appear to be present

The neutral in the switch for the shower circuit had burnt out so the voltage was getting to the shower but there was no return path for it (pull cord type switch in ceiling usually)

 

[kevindgas]

have you checked that the cables have not been clamped on the sleeving rather than the wire. does the face cover have a multi pin connector and is it plugged in to the PCB on the main body?
did he check power to the heater and the water valve?

 

[wotan]

Coil on water solenoid valve burnt out?

Wotan

 

[ickle]

thanks for your replies

the shower was fitted before i moved, i will get the make and model of the shower later on when im back home and post it on here. but the shower does nothing at all when you turn it on

i know the electrician just tested it with a neon screwdriver

there is no pull cord in the shower room. i have one of these in the upstairs bathroom, but not downstairs (the bathroom downstairs was an extension put on by the previous owner)

How do i go about testing to see if the neutral in the switch had burnt out?
water solenoid valve burnt out, how do i test this?

or will i need to get someone out to test the above?

 

[wingcoax]

Forget the neon, get yourself a multi-meter,(not too expensive)This will tell you if the neutral is ok as it should read about 230v at the shower.

 

[foxhole]

Did you have water pressure tested? below minimum and they will not turn on [safety measure].

 

[ickle]

i currently dont have a water pressure tester or a multi meter, but am hoping to get someone to test this for me over the weekend.

from looking into it a bit more, it seems the shower is wired directly into the fuse box and running off a 45A fuse, is this normal?

 

[wingcoax]

NO! It should be connected to the fuse box via a double pole switch of 45A or higher.

 

[ickle]

the more info i get on this, the more worried i get about the person who fitted this.

dont suppose anybody could recommend a plumber or electrician in the reading area? as the ones ive had out dont seem to know what there doing, and i think this is well out of my capabilities to sort out now

 

[Steve]

An electrician who tests a supply with a neon screwdriver would not be given a penny by me. A neon screwdriver tells you NOTHING.

Two electric showers on one supply = not normally practical unless there is a changeover switch so only one can be used. Your electric supply may burn out if you have both showers on at once (if you have an 80 amp main fuse, and two showers pulling 45A, you do the maths)

You have no pullswitch

You may not have RCD protection to the showers.

It stinks of bad DIY.