Shower wont work?

[carolmac]

Hi guys

Ok, got up this morning & went to have a shower. Pulled the cord on the ceiling switch & although the switch moves from 'off' to 'on' and vice versa, it isnt lighting up, nor am i getting any water through it.

Its the same ceiling switch and shower that's been in the house since i moved in 9 yrs ago & never had any probs with it before, its just suddenly stopped working, as i had a shower yesterday without any probs.

Could it just be that it needs a new ceiling switch or do u think its the shower? I suppose it makes sense to try the smaller things first than run out and buy a new shower lol.

Whaddya think ?

 

[EdwardCurrent]

Hello,

Have you checked to see that the circuit is still 'live' ( not tripped ) ??

Ed

 

[carolmac]

yes sorry Ed, i should have said, checked fuses & none of them have tripped

 

[DESL]

When you say checked fuses do you have MCBs or rewireable fuses?

Also when you operate ceiling switch does it need a harder pull than usual or feel slacker than usual as this would indicate a failure in the mechanism.

 

[carolmac]

hi desl - i have the traditional type fusebox, rewireable.

actually now that u say it, the switch does need a slightly harder pull to get it into the 'on' position. So a new ceiling switch/fitting could be in order then?

 

[DESL]

i have the traditional type fusebox, rewireable.

Hi Carol

How did you test the fuse had not blown?

Even just by inspection it may look ok but failed by own of the attachment screws.

 

[Lectrician]

And it may be you are looking at your 'tradional' fuseboard, and missing the newer 1 way CU close by installed purely for the shower

Just a thought.

 

[carolmac]

all i did was just have a quick look at the fuse & it appeared ok. maybe i should put a bit of new fusewire in first then

 

[DESL]

It would be better be able to test the continuity across the fuse to see whether it has blown or not.

Do you have or know anyone who has a multimeter who can do this test.

I would advise against changing fuse wire as if there is a fault then it will blow immediately and you will still be none the wiser.

 

[carolmac]

thanks for the advice. dont have or know anyone with a multimeter. i'll just head off to b&q, see if a new ceiling fitting does the job, if its not the fusewire.

 

[breezer]

buy an "el chepo" meter while you are there

 

[DESL]

What rating is the suspect fuse ?

If it is 30A (red dot) you could swop it to another circuit and see if there is power on that circuit. Do not put a known good fuse in the shower circuit as it may blow.

Remember always to switch OFF main switch before removing AND replacing fuses.

This way we'll know for sure whether the fuse has blown.
And tbh it's a pain replacing a ceiling switch.

 

[carolmac]

thanks guys, lots of good advice here. been & bought the switch, but didnt buy a cheap meter, dunno how to use one Gonna change them over 2moz morning, so i'll let ya know if its a success or not

 

[EdwardCurrent]

Carol,

Please ensure the circuit is 'dead' before you do any work, and without a meter I would suggest turning everything off at the CU.

( I have seen pumps wired from the upstairs ring controlled by the 45A dp pull cord before ! ?? )
Best be Safe than shocked.

Ed

 

[carolmac]

hi guys

tackled shower this morning. turned off all the power at the fuse boxes, took apart the ceiling fitting & saw that one of the neutral cables had a kinda worn look about it. Luckily i had plenty of cable to play with, so i snipped off the bad part to a good bit of wire & put it all back together with the new fitting. After switching power back on at the mains, shower worked first go

Thanks for all the help, appreciate it