A shower switch not working is often caused by heat damage to the rear of the switch.
This often cannot be seen without removal of the switch. Whether the shower has a pull cord switch or a standard rocker on off switch does not matter, the problem is usually the same. If you have a standard on off type switch then look for small cracks in the front of the switch. Often mistaken for the switch having been knocked, these cracks indicate that extreme heat, melting, and cable damage is often present behind the switch. Similarly with shower pull cord switches, any cracking or discolouration can indicate that excessive heating has occurred behind the fascia and this should be investigated without delay.
Why do these switches fail?🤔
Despite being correctly rated for the load they are supplying; these switches regularly go wrong and there are several reasons for this.
- Overuse / abuse
- Wear and Tear
- Age
- Loose Terminal Connections
- Poor quality
Overuse and abuse occur when these switches are used as on / off switches for the shower. I suppose some people find it easier to turn the shower on to get it warm without reaching in to the dial or button inside the shower, I get it…. But this can ruin the shower switch and the cabling leading to and from it. The shower switch or pull cord is not actually a switch like a light switch for instance. A light switch is designed to turn a load on and off so that when we press the switch the light comes on and press it again, the light goes off.
A shower switch or pull cord is ABSOLUTELY not designed to do this. The switch / pull cord is for ISOLATION. This means that when somebody is carring out electrical or plumbing work to the appliance that they can locally isolate the appliance and work in the same room. These switches can also be used when the shower needs to be turned off urgently and infrequently.
When these switches or pull cords are continually used as a light switch would be, they wear out quickly as they are simply not designed for this purpose whereas a light switch can operate hundreds or thousands of times before failure, the shower pull cord or shower switch is simply not designed to handle this kind of abuse.
Wear and Tear is occasionally a factor with these switches. What happens is that a lot of people don’t like leaving the little neon light on or worry that it uses lots of electricity when in actual fact, they don’t. So, the shower pull cord or switch is constantly turned on and off. Again, they are designed to be operated occasionally not continually so the internal contacts can become worn and cause failure. Its ok to leave these things in the ON position.
Age when electrical accessories age, the metal work inside them becomes worn and can corrode causing a high electrical resistance to current flow. This means that whilst the electric shower will still work, heat will be generated in the shower switch as the resistance tries to stop the electrical current flow, kind of like friction, but not. A side effect of this resistance is heat, heat then increases resistance as well making things worse and before we know it, we potentially have melting and burning along with a failed switch / pull cord.
Loose terminal connections in the back of every shower isolator, be it a switch or a pull cord, there are screw terminals for the cables to enter. These screw terminals should be sufficiently tight in order to contain but not damage the cable. If they are too loose or far too tight then problems can occur and we can see electrical resistance present in the circuit.
Should I call an electrician to fix these problems?📲
Yes. Any decent electrician will do. Does not have to be us 😊Electricity is dangerous, requires understanding of safety wiring regulations and the ability to sufficiently inspect and test the work that has been carried out and only an electrician has the skill, knowledge, and experience to do this. We understand that times can be tough and it is tempting to try and save money but electrical safety in the home is not one of the areas where anyone can afford to be frugal.
Electrical help and advice over the phone or online are always free with us and we will check out any photographs that you send to us and do the best we can to help. If you experience a SHOWER SWITCH NOT WORKING then it’s best not to take a chance. Turn the shower off at the electrical box and contact a professional to help you with the problems.
We can see from the photograph that there is an issue with the shower isolator switch in this property and as such the customer contacted us to investigate. There was also a faint smell of burning for a short time as well.
Thankfully the customer noticed this smell quickly as the shower switch was at nose level (I know, it is a new term) and this meant that we could get to the issue before it became serious and caused a fire.
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