Shower Problems - High Pitched noise, Fishy smell

[swnshp]

We have two problems that I believe are the shower:

Firstly, on certain positions of the temperature control (from cold to hot), it makes a very high pitched noise unless moved to another position - this noise is enough to wake other people. Any Ideas?

Secondly there has been a strange fishy smell in the bathroom - noticed only ever after showering. Nothing appears to be the source and it disappears after minutes. After reading some other posts I believe this could be burning plastic? We recently had a rewire that didn't include the shower (it was fairly new), I need to test if this is the shower unit itsself or perhaps the light fitting. I don't believe it's the water as after bathing the problem is not there. Sometimes the smell is light other times it's too much to bare.

(We've had the service people out 5 times now to this Mira shower over

3 years to fix things)

[Steven Campbell]

Just back from a holiday cottage where every time we put on the shower* a fishy smell came from the electrical unit that was housed in one of the bedrooms and also housed the switch for the shower.

There was no smell from the shower / bathroom at all. I'm not sure if it was the cable or switch but why don't you remove the cover from your switch and use the shower and see if you can replicate the problem.

*tended to only happen when the shower was on for over ten minutes or so.

Steven.

[Bob Minchin]

Hot bakelite smells fishy so suspect a poor electrical connection leading to heating. If you have re-wirable fuses they could be heating up too.

Bob

[John Rumm]

The whistle is probably just the result of high water pressure causing a type of water hammer. Ordinary shower valves can do it as well.

Sounds like you need to check connections in the shower, and at its switch. Probably something getting hot at a loose screw terminal.

[meow2222]

Overheating of electrical parts in the shower. Which sounds to me like a Really Bad Idea. I wouldnt be using it again till fixed.

NT

[swnshp]

The wire and the terminal for the live to the load has burnt out completely inside the switch.

I'm going to try and strip back the wire but there isn't a great deal of slack, so it may be a job for an electrician. Any idea what this kind of job entails, and the cost? I guess they have to install a whole new length of wire from fuse box to the shower? This might not be so bad, it's quite straight and all external to the walls.

[John]

The wire and the terminal for the live to the load has burnt out completely inside the switch.

I'm going to try and strip back the wire but there isn't a great deal of slack, so it may be a job for an electrician. Any idea what this kind of job entails, and the cost? I guess they have to install a whole new length of wire from fuse box to the shower? This might not be so bad, it's quite straight and all external to the walls.

It could have been caused by the terminals being loose - or a poor or underrated switch. The copper wire would conduct the heat away from the source and damage itself. The switch will need replacing as well as the wire.

[John Rumm]

It will need a section of cable replaced at least, and a new switch.

[meow2222]

Its simple enough to fit a bit more cable to the end of the existing one, once any damaged cable is cut back. If the cable end is inside the switch box, a screw connector strip can be used to join, if instead the cable ends otside the box you'd just use a junction box to join old to new.

NT