When i manually operate the paddle on the micro switches i get hot water. From what i can see it may be the solenoid not operating because that also changes the red flag to green. Could it be the solenoid ? I am assuming it is a solenoid as something has to operate the plunger.

Tony Wilson, March 2009

Tony
re reading the question I realise that I was truly in another dimension for the first answer.
I assume now that the microswitches are in fact the switches the operating buttons press when the lids on
Its not electrical the fault is with the switches as Paul suggests sorry for talking through the wrong orifice hope I didn't lead you too far up the garden path and waste your time

kennyf, April 2009

Tony

"Was professional plumber for five years"

Humble pie over the scary comment then, best bet if its an electrical issue is to follow the flow as you would in a blockage situation if you have a meter look at the volts and see if they go through everywhere. ie in to the main terminal, through the on/off switch , through the overtemp, through the paddle switches or microswitches etc and to the solenoid then , if there is voltage to the solenoid and it still won't play ball replace it.

Be REALLY REALLY carefull when testing live wiring especially in a confined and wet location the bad company comment still holds.
try do it with the main switch (pullcord) off first using the ohms scale and only try the live and volts method if you don't get a result you feel happy with from that. if you don't have a meter you can try with a torch lamp and a battery , a good circuit will let the lamp light, get my drift?

kennyf, March 2009

Thanks guys, I admit i am not totally sure but quite happy to learn. Was professional plumber for five years. Thanks again.

Tony W., March 2009

Hi, sometimes it is the paddle that is the problem. Over time it relaxes and loses it's rigidity due to heat and pressure. So the movement from the pressure device on the valve is'nt enough to provide enough force to switch the microswitches. You could increase the thickness around the area of the paddle where it contacts the microswitches to take up the slack, or see if Triton send you a spare one. Good Luck.

Paul M, March 2009

Tony
There is another possible cause (1 at least) there is an overtemp switch on the boiler of showers this breaks the circuit to the solenoid and stops it operating. there may be other causes too. overriding the microswich proves nothing as you just bypass all your safeties that way and remove all potential mech faults such as things not lining up too.

See electrics and water mate? bad company!

I hate to say this but showers are actually a little scary when you aren't quite sure, and you aren't.
Call in the professionals: Sorry :-(

kennyf, March 2009