home Fix label D.I.Y label_important Plumbing category Triton

MY TRITON OPAL SHOWER HAS SUDDENLY STARTED SHOWING LOW PRESSURE?

My shower has suddenly started switching to low pressure when turned on nothing has changed in the house to cause pressure change and we have tried altering the external flow on the shower this does not help.When switching to low pressure the shower goes cold can anyone help

jane, March 2007

home Fix label D.I.Y label_important Plumbing category Tritondone

Another one with the the same issue. I measured the values of the two X2 dropper capacitors. The larger 0.68uf cap was measuring 0.53uf and the 100nf (C3) was measuring 17nf. I scavenged a 100nf X2 cap from a board I had lying around, replaced it and it's now sorted!

A symptom that C3 may be failing is the shower taking longer to power on the heating elements from switch-on. Mine was taking round 3-4 seconds from switching on before it would energise the relays for the heating element. Gradually like others it was powering off the heating element and showing low pressure every 10-15 seconds. It now energises the heating element relays under a second from switching on. Very pleased!!

Obviously as has been said before, get someone competent to do this who knows what they are doing. Isolate all power to the shower beforehand!

Chris, October 2019

Thank you internet! Posts like this are the reason the internet was developed - to allow people to share information and learning!

My shower started flip flopping between low pressure (cold) and normal (hot) roughly every 10 seconds - so timing to get under the water during the hot parts was essential :)

Replacing the 89p capacitor from Maplin has fixed my shower.

Many thanks to everyone posting on here.

Paul Lawton, August 2017

Just fixed same symptoms on a Bezique 2, which is as far as I can see pretty much the same as a previously fitted Opal 2 - Bezique only three years old. I replaced C3 but noticed the upper relay contacts were quite burnt and relay sparking heavily when operating, so swapped that with the one from the Opal pcb - same rating. Soldered up, board back and all working fine. So not sure which was at fault but didn't want to remove the pcb twice!

Mr fixit, July 2017

Triton Opal ll. Replacing C3 capacitor worked (89p Maplins). Shower display showing low water pressure fault and would only run cold. When I removed defective C3 capacitor the low pressure light went out and the shower would run hot but unable to switch off or alter setting on front of display, could only switch of at mains. I didn't have soldering kit to hand so bent ends of pins of new C3 capacitor over back of pcb to get a connection and check working. Will now solder into place. Thanks very much, saved me cost and hassle of replacing shower. Details of C3 capacitor can be found in earlier posts.

David, January 2017

Replacing the C3 capacitor worked for me. Someone is a real
genius! 89p capacitor from Maplins fitted exactly. Hardest thing was taking the power board out to get to C3.
This was on a Triton T100xr.
I'm over the moon!

This is the one I bought from Maplin, but it looks exactly like the one on the board. (Grey rectangle)
http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/01uf-275v-x2-rfi-metallised-polypropylene-capacitor-n69cn

Owen, November 2015

Had exactly the same issue in a 10yr+ Triton Opal.

Turned out the electronics board had worked loose resulting in the low pressure switch (s5 on mine) not being activated during use.

Took the board off, reseated it and all's well now. I can have a hot shower again!

sellorm, September 2015

Triton Martinique. Solved! I followed the suggestions, changed the c3 cap, resoldered all the joints. This did improve performance, but not a cure. I then got suspicious of the over-temperature sensor on the outlet pipe - a small disk with two terminals. This switches off the hi heat relay if the outlet water exceeds something like 50C.
To test take off the two leads and short them. If this is the problem it should cure it immediately. It is important to replace this as it is a safety device to stop scalding if the water supply is reduced. My guess is that Triton do not use the best of contacts and they deteriorate and cause a resistance that leads to the relay being erratic.

MikeWally, June 2015

I had exactly this problem and fixed it with a bit of hardboard jammed in place to hold the switch forward, as described by other people posting here (thanks loads to them).

I wanted to post a picture, which might help someone else, so here is a link to the board before and after the fix:

http://goo.gl/JFejlB

http://goo.gl/O0w9Yh

I removed the main board to slot the hardboard into place, but in hindsight I didn't need to.

It really is an easy fix, and saved me buying a new shower, but do remember to turn the power off.

Bill Ray, February 2015

I have Just repaired an Aquatronic 4 Plus shower (which has the same electronics board as the Opal unit) giving no hot water and showing low pressure. I replaced C3 with a 0.22 micro-Farrad 250Vac capacitor as I did not have a 0.1 value and it now works a treat.
Thanks for tip particularly to who ever discovered the C3 fault causing the low pressure lamp to light.

Dave M, November 2014

Just like Mark Potts (July 2012), I bought the correct capacitor from Maplins, but as he said it is much bigger than the existing C3 (half-way down circuit board, slightly right of centre, not top corner as in some posts). C3 pins about 5mm apart, new(correct!) Maplin capacitor pins 15mm apart.

What now?

Walter G, October 2014

My triton T100xr was showing low pressure and wouldn't heat water. Changed C3 capacitor after reading all the comments on the forum. Sorted. 89p at Maplins!! What a bargain. Whoever worked that one out needs a medal.

Charles Evans, August 2014

The trick with the cardboard or bending the pressure switch back down, also works on the Triton Perea shower.

I have just used this fix on our shower which has been switching to low pressure/cold for the last few weeks with increasing frequency.

All fixed now though!!

Phil

Phil Pearn, May 2014

i had pressure fault also on my opal 2 shower changed c3 capacitor 0.1 on pcb as described in many answers on here and shower now works fine, thank you very much to all.

Simon, March 2014

My Opal 3 (2 years old) started showing the same problems. Changed C3 and no further problems.

Again, many thanks to the tech who fathomed out this issue.

POI the tactile switch mounting lugs had been resoldered,must have been done on the assembly line!

Steve H-B, February 2014

My Triton T100 xr started to intermittently show low pressure. Changed C3 and problem gone. Many thanks to person who worked out solution.

Big Lion, October 2013

I have bought capacitor and iron from maplin. It looks larger than the current one from memory.
Can I confirm that in the triton opal 2 the C3 capacitor is position in the top right corner.
I think the board has it marked as C3. Help would be much appreciated.

5upe's, May 2013

Replacing C3 fixed my shower. Since I have a small lab., I tested the old C3 and it measured 17nF. The capacitor is part of a power supply used by the control board, so reduced capacitance will starve the power supply of current. Because the capacitor is connected to the AC line, surges such as lightning will degrade it over time. Since the shower is only used by visitors a few times a year, I believe that the degradation has been hastened by having the power switch on all the time, thus allowing surges to reach the capacitor. From now on, I will turn the power switch off when the shower is not being used.

Steve Winder, February 2013

my opal 2 shower has been driving us mad hot and cold for weeks and making a wuurring noise phoned triton for advise think they said £95 for a engineer to call so grateful for this info site checked it out went to maplins for a capacitor c3 89p and hey presto it worked also didnt have a soldering iron £7.00 plus £5 for the non lead solder so for £12.89 we are up and running beats £103.20 for the cheapest shower at wickes with the same back plate so many thanks ive saved a fortune or my husband has!!!

angela, February 2013

My massive thanks for the advice on buying a capacitor and replacing it. It worked straight away. I'm well chuffed at only spending 89pence !

Only thing to be aware of is that you need the 0.1uf capacitor as Maplins also sell a 0.01uf capacitor. not sure if it would make a difference but I nearly bought the wrong one.

Ross, February 2013

....sorted with a piece of wooden clothes peg and a piece of cardboard wedged over top of switch unit and the thing above that!!! Thankyou all for your advise. Marvellous. Anarchy in the UK!

Claire, October 2012

At the very bottom of the pcb-in the centre is a tiny switch on a tiny bracket at a right angle to the pcb. This is above the solenoid\water inlet pipe. I found that the tiny right angle bracket had become loose, due to the constant-up/down of the plastic plunger when the shower is switched on and off. This, after time, weakens the soldered joint and the bracket moves the switch away from the plunger causing the switch not to operate. I unscrewed and unclipped the pcb, then pushed the bracket-switch back to a right angle to the pcb and re-soldered the bracket to ensure it would not move again. Since the the shower has been working just fine.

Peter, September 2012

same problem as all low pressure but mine has cut off completely. I'm not the most technical minded and can't work out which part is the micro switch to place the card/plastic, found picture of parts http://www.showerdoc.com/shower-spares/triton/trito-parent-88-triton-opal any help welcomed.

Thanks

Lee, July 2012

Hi, I am trying to fix a friends Triton Opal shower, which started showing the same symptoms as described on this thread. I purchased two capacitors (as described) from Maplins and they do have the same rating as specified. Today, I turned off the power, isolated the shower, took the cover off and removed the various connections so that I could see the circuit board. I am no expert in electronics, but I'm handy enough to follow instructions so, I thought 'piece of cake'! I located the C3 and... The C3 capacitor is a tiny little orange thing half the size of my little finger nail. The capacitors I got from Maplins is the size of my thumbnail. It will not fit. It is twice the size in every dimension and the solder points don't match up, even barely.

Any suggestions?

Mark L. Potts, July 2012

My Triton T300SI suddenly started showing low pressure and running cold. This had happened before and I replaced the PCB, that worked. I tried the same again, this time no effect. Looked on here, tried a piece of cardboard between pressure switch and microswitch. Worked. I have now put five of my son's little circular stickers on top of the pressure switch and it works a treat. I now have a spare PCB should that go again. I called Triton and they had no idea what to suggest other than the new PCB. Unbelievable!!

JeffSBoro, May 2012

wish i could even work out where C3 is ! opened the unit up and couldnt see anything relating to a C3. And keep reading and getting conflicting info some say you dont need to solder and others say you do, can anyone help me cant stand having cold and then hot showers

jan, April 2012

Yay our shower is working again thanks to this site. Our shower was fitted just over 4 years ago but assume it lasted longer as it's only really me who uses it. First we tried the cardboard but that didn't make a difference so we then went to Maplin's for a capacitor (89p) to replace C3 and that seems to have done the trick, we have hot water again. This is obviously a fairly easy job as we managed to do it ourselves though I did have trouble removing the cover but as soon as my husband pointed out that there were three screws holding it in place it was much easier to remove! Remember to take lots of photos of where the wires are positioned and you will be fine.

The stop button doesn't work for some reason now though so we have to turn it off with the cord.

Shell, April 2012

Thanks to all for your advice.
I investigated this problem and found C3 was faulty plus the P.S.B. had quite a few dry joints.
I replaced C3 with a 0.1uf 275v x2 cap and resolderd all the the P.S.B. SORTED

Regards

Mr Enzville, January 2012

I had the same issue,it first started flashing low pressure
and then all the lights would flash on and off until eventually it stopped on the blue circle and no hot water, the shower is just out of the two year warranty and triton wanted £99 to come and fix it , followed Nigel and Malc's instructions to replace C3 on the power PCB with an X2 275v 0.1uF capacitor from Maplin, today. It costs me 79p. thank you very much we've now got hot water.

julie, August 2011

followed the same advice re changing C3 component,same as bager,never used a soldering iron( although I have 2) took 15 mins,cost 70p.
Brill!!!!!

Nick Mc, July 2011

I bought a Triton Opal II just two year ago, 25 monthes exactly. I had the same symptoms with Low Pressure and cold (blue sircle) lights on, no hot water at all. I followed Nigel and Malc's instructions to replace C3 on the power PCB with an X2 275v 0.1uF capacitor from Maplin, today. It costs me 79p. My shower now works well. Thank Nigel and Malc very much!

There are so many people with the same fault. It seems that Triton makes its products working for two years only.

Lee, July 2011

My symptoms are that the shower will only produce cold water and only the power LED and the cold LED light (when the cold button is pressed). There is nothing wrong with the low pressure switch. Having read all the previous entries, I deduced that my problem must be with the voltage dividing capacitors as described below. So I bought two new ones (0.1 and 0.68 microF) from Maplins and fitted them today. Imagine my disappointment when nothing changed. Has anyone any further ideas? I have been trying to work out the circuit diagram but the logic is somewhat mistifying. Does anyone have a proper circuit diagram?

Bill H, July 2011

hi every bady.i dont now where can i say ebout my problem and saying this in here.i need some help for suply voltage without trance.i want one of them with 5v and 300ma .i want schematice of it.i now somethinge but its not enough.could u help me????????????

bager, May 2011

Having read this, I also bought a 100nf 275 x2 capacitor from Maplin for 74p. I had to guess which component needed to be replaced. If you are in doubt, mine was blue and rectangular 2nd in at top right of the pcb.

I had never used a soldering iron before but it was easy to remove the faulty capacitor and replace it with the new one.

I took the advice and took a photo of the wiring before removing the pcb. I would also advise removing the shower from the wall as it's difficult to manipulate the smaller screws when the shower is in position.

Thanks for the advice, I'm very pleased to have repaired the shower myself.

Finally, I showed the old capacitor to my neighbour who is an electronics engineer and he said that it was 30nf so I wonder if that is the issue as I've had two Opal showers that have gone wrong after a couple of years.

John Holmes, May 2011

My Triton Opal developed the same symptoms, low pressure warning light coming on 3 seconds after starting the shower, cold water only. Renewed capacitor C3 on the circuit board, bought a new capacitor 0.1 microfarad, 275 Volt, X2 rated from Maplin cost 74p. Fitted new capacitor, turned on shower, now working OK. Need to be handy with soldering iron and a good memory where all the wires fit onto the board as circuit board has to be removed to perform the job. TIP!! Take a photograph of the board and wiring before you start to refer to when reassembling.

Harry, March 2011

Where exactly do i place the card?

Chris, February 2011

There are a number of possible causes to this problem. Assuming that the water pressure is correct to the unit itself and the inlet filter is clear then a problem centred around the Power PCB is possible, there are a number of components on the PCB which may show the same symptoms.
We would not recommend adding any spacer such as cardboard - although this may provide a quick fix to the problem by doing this you are taking away one of the safety features of this product. In extreme circumstances you may allow the pressure switch to work when in theory it should be off resulting in elements being on without water flow.
If in any doubt and in the interest of electrical safety we woud recommend that Triton Service Dept be contacted where we should be able to assist with either the correct part(s) or a service visit.

TRITON TECHNICAL, February 2011

alex thanks for information soldering the back as you said works straight away thanks again

colin hyde, January 2011

incredible amount of two year old triton showers with the same fault.
mines has just done exactly the same as most of the posts on this pag, and yes its just two years old. is there any feedback from triton on this issue.

fdj1, December 2010

I followed the instructions re using the cardboard and it worked a treat. All done and working in 5 mins. Not sure this is a long term solution but as I don't have a soldering iron and there's snow on the ground I'm happy I have a hot shower again.....for now!

Andrew (Surbiton), December 2010

Yes thanks for the advice Malc and Nigel S, I've changed the capacitor and the problem has disappeared. Nothing wrong with the microswitch on my PCB (dated 2008) which looks as though it has been changed at the factory for something more rigid than normal, but is easy enough to check with meter on continuity test, with power off and checking between it and the adjacent capacitor. A 65p repair from Maplin. Bargain.

Doctor Robotnik., December 2010

Changing capacitor C3 on the main board of my Opal-2 has fixed the problem for me. A replacement capacitor is available from Maplin for less than £1. Make sure it is rated 'X2' (as Nigel S says). The capacitor I got was marked: 0.1uF (microfarad), 275v, X2. Thanks go to Maplin for stocking such an item in a high-street store.

Many, many thanks to Nigel S for finding the solution for me at long last.

For those who might want more technical info for diagnostics, the power supply to the two 4025 CMOS ICs on the push-button board was fluctuating just above and below 3v on pin14 (with the 2 ICs at the bottom, pin14 is the top-left pin of the IC) - the voltage should be nearer 7v to 8v. The fluctuating voltage causes the ICs to behave erratically, because their minimum working voltage is 3v. Because of the instability of the power supply, some of the transistors behaved erratically and became temperature-sensitive (when T6 was warmed up, the shower started to work again).

The pressure switch on my Opal-2 was fine, but the same old story as for many others - the 'low pressure' warning light kept coming on and the shower went cold. In my ignorance, I changed all the semiconductors first (ICs, transistors and diodes) because I thought they would be more likely to fail than resistors or capacitors. Oh well, an electronics lesson for me.

WARNING! There are dangerous voltages inside the shower than can kill you. Switch off the shower at the fuse box, and at the bathroom switch and make sure that it is well and truely dead before you open it. Replacing the capacitor C3 requires the ability to use a soldering iron to make a reliable solder joint. A poorly installed component (or a wrongly rated one) could be dangerous or a fire risk.

Malc, November 2010

I have been having the low pressure light come on. I read the posts and opened the front cover. I could see the white plastic piston coming up and switching the switch on the PCB, however the other side of the piston is pushing on the PCB's plastic housing puhing it up a few mm. I suspected that the switched was not being pressed enough, if at all. I put a small piece of card between the plastic piston and the switch and it seems to have solved the problem... thanks.

Paul, November 2010

This is a repair which worked when all other mechanical or faulty connection reasons had been eliminated and might be better appreciated by people who are familiar with electronics circuits:

I too have been plagued with the low pressure light fault and have delved into the circuitry on the main circuit board of the Opal II shower looking for faulty components. I found a capacitor which had aged and lost 90% of its' original value.

On the circuit board I examined, the black Omron relay RL3 is there just to open the water flow solenoid valve. It has no other function.

Two different 'low' DC voltages are generated on the board and are there to operate the relays and power 2 integrated circuits located on the push button board. The DC voltages are derived from the mains via two 'dropper' capacitors, together with associated diodes and zener diodes. The two dropper capacitors are gray plastic 'blocks' each with two connections and in locations C1 and C3 on the main circuit board. Please be aware that these capacitors are both rated at at least 250 Volts and are X2 rated. Mains interference suppressor capacitors have a very similar specification. I found that C3 was reading 10nF which is only 10% of the 100nF printed on the side of the capacitor. C3 will have gradually lost its' capacitance over time thus leading to the intermittent fault situation. Replacing C3 with a new capacitor of the correct value fixed the low pressure electronic fault problem by restoring the voltage feeding the integrated circuits from below 3V DC up to 7V DC and enabling the logic sequences to operate correctly. I obtained a suitable capacitor (actually labelled 0.1mF, 250V which is the same as 100nF) from Maplin.

Please note that the circuit design means that mains voltages are present on the circuit board when the shower unit is 'on' and I too must stress that this repair should not be attempted by anyone who is not competent to use lead-free solder on a modern circuit board and deal with dangers and safety aspects associated with mains voltage equipment.

Nigel S, November 2010

Same problem as everybody else by the sound of it, low pressure light accompanied by 4 seconds of hot water for every minute the shower is running. The unit is only circa 2 years old and was installed as integral to a complete new bathroom so I don't want to have to replace it with something else messing up aesthetics. I will follow up the suggestion of getting the micro switch repaired which sounds like the likely fault. You would think that the manufacturer would hold their hands up for this one and offer a PCB Board repair or advance replacement Board service charging a reasonable fee of say £20 or £25 so that we can all get our units fixed and shower happily ever after !

Ronald, November 2010

just done my shower with a bit of card, l will report them to watch dog. Triton were going to charge me £100 to do this when l only had it changed 2 years ago.

rich, October 2010

Relay Question?

Mr fixit Cheap:
My dad opened up the shower unit after buying the Omron relay you mentioned (12v), however the one on the board currently is a Schrack P7NS5D4-24 (24v)
Are we gonne have to replace it with a 24v relay and will Omron be okay?

Thanks

RupT, October 2010

Hi Folks,

Thanks for all the suggestions. Funny how the best solutions are often the simplest things (once someone points it out !). I had tried cleaning out the inlet filter/gauze and cleaning the shower head but had no joy. Supporting the micro switch has solved the problem, however.

Triton technical support I've found to be very helpful and knowledgeable on the 2-3 occasions I've called (once to get pressure relief valve spares). The girl had recommended a new power board, but suggested that due to the cost of sending either the spare or an engineer that a new shower was probably just as good an option.

Found this site and the symptoms were exactly the same as some other folks, where it was either very difficult to get the shower to come on without low pressure warning light and only cold output, or it would go off mid-shower (yes, always after applying shampoo !).

Tried a couple of different fixes. First was to wedge a wee sliver of wood on top of the white piece of plastic which engages the micro switch (effectively thickens the piece of plastic). Secondly though was I think the more sensible approach which was to follow what other folks had done and support the back of the micro switch, wedging another wee sliver of wood between the switch and the component above it to remove any play in the switch. Both worked a treat, but have left the latter to see if that works for a while.

If necessary I'll maybe go for soldering all the PCB joints on the reverse of the board, but we'll see.

Andy Cz, thank you sir !

James N., July 2010

Thanks for this - fixed in 2 mins with a bit of cardboard.

Many thanks.

Ken Anderson, July 2010

Triton Opal 2 Low pressure fault.
For all of you out there who have tried the micro switch (which is actually called a tactile switch) and found it to be ok whilst still showing the LOW PRESSURE FAULT, here is a solution which worked for me.

WARNING!

If you are not compitent with a soldering iron, or have two hams where your fist should be, DO NOT ATTEMPT THIS FIX!

Be aware that we are dealing with mains voltages here so BE VERY CAREFUL!

Ok here is the solution.

At the top of the power board there is a relay marked:

OMRON
G5LE-14
12VDC...
10A 250VAC
5A 250VAC

this relay switches mains to the majority of the components on the power board itself which is then in turn reduced in voltage via a very basic switched mode supply to feed the control circuit on the power board for the switching of the high current relays which in turn supply voltage to the heater unit.

I suspected that this may be faulty so i removed it from the PCB to test it out of circuit.
After removing it from the and energising it with a 12 volt supply I measured the resistance across the switching contacts and found it to be somewhere in the region of 130 Ohms when in fact if should be less than 1 Ohm.
I then replaced the relay for less than £2 and the shower works fine!
This is ever so slightly cheaper than price of a replacement power board.

I was able to do this repair since I am an electronics technician and have been in the trade for some 20+ years.
As I have stated above ONLY ATTEMT THIS REPAIR IF YOU ARE COMPITENT WITH ELECTRONICS!

anyway, if you do want to give it a go and were wondering where to get the relay, it can be obtained from rapid electronics.

here is a link

http://www.rapidonline.com/Electronic-Components/Relays-Solenoids/PCB-Relays/Subminiature-power-relay-SPDT-10A/62212/kw/60-4196?source=googleps&utm_source=googleps#techspec

make shure you get the 12 volt version.

you could also try RS components, or Farnell electronics, or CPC may also stock it - but they are part of farnell anyway.

http://uk.rs-online.com/web/search/searchBrowseAction.html?method=getProduct&R=0369472

http://uk.farnell.com/omron-electronic-components/g5le-14-12dc/relay-pcb-spco-12vdc/dp/9949798

hope this fix works for all, and saves you some money.

Mr Fixit Cheap!, July 2010

My Opal is 18 months old and I have the same problems with low water temperature and continuous cold water. I ignored the terms of the guarantee and contacted Trading Standards. They informed me of my statutory rights and advised me to write to the managing director of the retailer who sold the shower. Your CONTRACT IS WITH THE RETAILER, not Triton.

Jean, March 2010

sure as eggs are eggs i checked my micro switch and just as everybody has said the solder joints at the back of the pcb board had fractured and therefore not making contact.I re-soldered them and hey presto it only works! to re enforce the switch i sqeezed a tiny bit of mastick just behind the block and let it set.

john'y mack, February 2010

I too given the various possible solutions looked at the low pressure micro switch located at the bottom of the main PCB. I isolated the shower from the mains via the circuit breaker on the main house supply panel. Checked there was no power on the shower using a meter. Then photographed the connections to the main printed circiut board (so I knew how to reconnect the board later) undid the PCB connections and removed the board by undoing the two retaining screws and sliding the board out to the right. If you view the soldered connections to the micro switch on the back of the board there are four of them. Two electrical switch connections and two switch support connections. In my case none of the connections had been soldered properly by the factory so the switch was allowed to move and the electical connections didn't always make contact. I resoldered all four connections and rebuilt the shower. It now works fine. If you are not comfortable soldering and working with electronics I would suggest that you find someone that is and ask them to do the job. all in all it took about half an hour to complete

Steve, February 2010

I have wedged the micro switch with cardboard as suggested however, whilst this got get rid of the low pressure light, the shower is still cold at the maximum setting. please help!

ron, February 2010

After removing the front panel and disconnecting the feed cable to the board I found that the plastic strip which under water pressure engages the micro switch had rotated in its fitting by 45degrees and could not operate the micro switch.There are two very small lugs on the rear of the strip which should prevent this happening.To cure this I made two small wedges out of wood to fit between the strip and adjacent screws.The strip cannot now move.

Not so bodger Bill, February 2010

I found a similar fault on the same unit recently which was caused by the microswitch at the bottom of the main pcb becoming insecure. The switch is operated by a piston on the flow valve which puts a lot of force on the switch so the switch is bolstered by a blob of glue. This blob can come loose. replace/reinforce with araldite rapid or equivalent and leave to set before trying shower.

Patrick Richmond, January 2010

Trident Opal II Shower - low pressure warning

I spent over a week looking for a fix and was worried had to replace the whole unit! Can't believe Trident haven't fixed this fault yet after so many posts and people complaining about the poor quality of their electirc showers. It's simply poor design.

Problem: after a couple of years and with no changes to my home's plumbing, all of a sudden the shower started showing the dreaded 'low pressure' warning.
Result: no hot water - just cold.

Solution (5 min):
- switch off electric mains (health&safety)
- open the front panel
- disconnect the jumper connecting cable to front panel
- inser piece of paper/cardboard between microswitch (at the bottom-end of circuit board) and plastic connector (feeding the cold water to the shower)
- re-connect front panel
- switch-on mains
--> electric shower works a treat!

Note: you are following these suggestions at your own risk. Tampering the electric circuits and forcing the microswitch to work always, means that the shower will operate even when the pressure is too low. This perhaps goes against the manufacturer's specifications and may not be correct. Therefore I suggest getting a new shower from a reputable manufacturer whenever you get the chance!

Good luck.

Giuseppe, January 2010

my problem is almost the same fixed the micro switch and low pressure light goes out but nothings happend no water coming out no???? looks like that plunger stuck....

magic, January 2010

my problem is almost the same fixed the micro switch and low pressure light goes out but nothings happend no water coming out no???? looks like that plunger stuck....

magic, January 2010

I have had the same problem and found the fault to be a moving switch (not soldered correctly).
On the circuit board there is a pressure sensor switch located in the middle at the bottom. Try removing the circuit board and soldering the two bottom tags of the switch making sure you push the switch firmly to the board at 90 degrees.

Keith M, January 2010

Had the same issue ie low pressure light coming on. Got worse and worse until continuous cold water. Micro switch seemed OK and plenty of pressure in the water. Took the PCB off in line with previos comments. Inspected the contacts next to the coil and noticed corroded. Cut down one of the wifes cardboard nail files so it would fit in between and 'sanded' the faces. Took a while but when refitted not a hint of low pressure.

Shaun M, January 2010

My Triton Opal II started to indicate low water pressure after about two years. Just tried the fix suggested by Andy Cz April 2007, and it works a treat if you follow his instructions exactly, i.e. draw a diagram of PCB connections before removing them in order to extract the PCB etc. This assumes you are reasonably dextrous, know how to use a soldering iron, and have the necessary where withal not to electrocute yourself or damage the PCB during the process.
Gluing the piece of wood behind the switch in order to give it support is a bit of a fiddle, but best done to safeguard against the possibility of a recurrence.
Can't see how any of the other suggestion would give a reliable fix, bearing in mind the switch contacts become disconnected from the PCB.
It's saved me the Triton £95 call out charge. Thanks Andy.

Charlie, January 2010

My shower dial is from 1 to 10 it usually shows 6to7 as hot now I have to turn the dial to 9 to get it hot is the thermostat on its way out.

colin Measures, January 2010

i have the same cold water problem as others have experienced. can someone identify where the micro switch is located.

Rob, January 2010

Just checked in and found the answer why my triton shower was running cold..micro switch needed putting back to horizontal position.Thanks to you good people who sent in the ideas to this brilliant website.

Dominic, December 2009

Hi,

Just for the record I'm about to try out some of your tested solutions to the problem. Our Triton Opel 2 has been reliable but suddenly keeps shorting out and tripping. It appears this seems to happen around 2 years after purchase.

Daveo, December 2009

Thanks a lot folks for the advice folks. Had some problems with the low pressure, water running cold scenario. Fixed in 5 mins following the advice on here.

Cheers again

Colin, November 2009

hi just fixed mine thanks - used an old printer cartridge microchip and blue tac. you dont have to bend anything and the bluetac acts as a cushion.

peter, July 2009

plumbed shower in low pressure light on any answers

alf, March 2009

OK ! I have just solved a problem with my chrome Triton Opal........
Sympton......The shower stopped giving me hot water, cold yes , but no hot, and there was no light on the hot settings (only the power light)
Solution.... I took several digital photos (so you can zoom in on the picture of the wires for easy re- instalation) and removed the circuit board. I sprayed the board with WD40 and replaced it.(THE same can be accomplished by leaving the board on a WARM radiator for a few hours) And Now It Works Fine!!
I noticed the board had a few drops of water on it causing a short. I also noticed that the only form of protection from water was a little water seal at the top of the casing which only comes down the sides a few inches. I have now put a small bead of silicon sealer round it. (BUT NOT ACCROSS THE BOTTOM AS THE COLD SUPPLY WILL CAUSE CONDENSATION, and this needs to escape from inside the casing)
So Before you go and spend money on a new Circuit Board Give This A Try....

Phlash, March 2009

bit late for an answer, but the little filter inside the the water supply coupling blocks up, Take apart the water supply coupling. Inside is a filter the size of your thumb nail, clean it and re asemble

Phil, March 2009

Thanks to everyone who posted regarding fixing the micro switch. What a relief to get the shower working again!

Our low pressure light was coming on every time we turned on the shower, water stayed cold.

I wedged a folded piece of thick cardboard between the switch and coil which immediately did the job. It's an easy fix as you can very simply fold it to the required size, but it's possible that the cardboard may become a bit damp over time - I'll keep an eye on it.

To the poster who asked how to remove the front panel:
If you look at the side of the shower unit you'll see an obvious break between the front and back sections. Take hold of the front panel and pull it upwards and towards you from the bottom, you'll feel it click out of place, then pull the panel forwards to remove it. Note that it is still attached by a connecting cable, so don't pull it forwards too far!

Thanks again for the help guys.

Michael, February 2009

Shaun,

Did you find the Triton Opal II easy to install i.e. in terms of the existing plumbing and electrics for your old Triton Opal ?

Thanks

Ric, February 2009

only worked for a day :-( but was worth a go. got the replacement opel 2 model on order as i found it for £99 on plumbworld website and at that price its cheaper to replace than fix.

shaun, January 2009

hi, brilliant advice about the micro switch! my showers been cycling between hot and cold with the low pressure light coming on between it cycling. only 2 month out of warrenty! bent the switch ever so slightly down and it works a treat! havent put a piece of wood in there yet but if it gos again then i will.

shaun, January 2009

Same issue, on testing PCB has electrical flash across the board like it is shorting out.

When the shower is turned on, on heat setting 2, shower goes from heat setting 2 to cold instantly and the low pressure light comes on.

Micro switch does look bent though.

Thanks Triton.

James, Devon, January 2009

Its guaranteed for 2 years from purchase dig out them receipts you need it or they wont fix it

dodgyscouse, December 2008

The same happened to mine. It's not the fact that the pressure has reduced, one of the components has gone. We got a plumber and an electrician to look at it, we had to get a new one!

Jimbo, October 2008

Many Thanks for all your help. I actually found thet a short length of tooth brush handle fits exactly into the gap between the switch and the coil(?) just above it and does the trick

Ade, October 2008

how can you remove the front cover on triton opal shower

george, September 2008

The new replacement for this shower is the 'TRANCE' fits exactly in place of the old one . B and Q were cheapest .

nigel c, August 2008

I had exactly the same - low pressure light on all the time, and the shower sometimes heating the water. I tried the switch issue as suggested by Andy CZ, could physically see the pressure switch move up and press againist the microswitch. I took the main board out, I think the design must of changed as this was mounted in a plastic cradle/frame with just two screws and not a screw behind the L piece of metal. However have tested the switch with a multimeter this was working OK, as Andy suggested just seems to be wired using one the poles. The other pole is grounded and not used. To rule this out I even shorted the switch out and still low pressure light! Anyway I replaced the power board and all now working. Can only suggest there is some other issue with the power board.

This was for an aquatronic 4+ which I guess is the same as a triton opel

James, May 2008

My OPAL II is a superb little shower except that 14 months down the line it has started t play up :(

Using the shower as normal it does the Job but when you press the STOP button it misbehaves .... The heater light goes off as expected but the water keeps running....
Our temp fix at the minute is after STOP pressed , wind round to the highest heat setting (reducing the water pressure) then repeatedly press stop , pauses in between till it eventually stops.....
Has anyone else experienced this with the Triton Opal II ?

Thanks in advance..

Shaun

shaunweir88@hotmail.com, May 2008

My problem with my opal chrome shower,6 months old low pressure showing no hot water.I called an electrician he said i need a new pcb £60 plus fitting.I rang triton complained and they are sending me an engineer to fix the problem free of charge.So in my opinion its worth having a moan to Triton after all it shuddnt have broken down in the first place.

miss viki lampard, January 2008

If water comes out of the bottom outlet next to the hose attachment the pressure releif valve has gone. Thsi happened to me I was about to replace the shower then contaced Triton. Two pressure releif valves were about £15, easily fitted with two screws and has worked for past coupel of years. Looks like the micro switch low pressure has now gone so I off to solder that as mentined above.

Deano, January 2008

mine too!put a piece of wood or plastic above the micrositch to stop it bending up when the inlet valve opens up!the piece of wood or plastic has to be just the right size to keep the micrositch pointing stright out( so its flat) or it wont work properly.this will almost definetely be the fault!
cheers
evan rankin

evan rankin, December 2007

Exactly the same problem with mine - it ran fine for a while then packed up (thankfully i'd just rinsed the conditioner out of my hair!). It worked fine the following morning, then stopped after 10 minutes.
Think I will try the limescale remover first, if not looks like a £50 bill for a PCB!
Very helpful advice here - will no doubt use this website again!

Kelly, October 2007

Hmmm same problem here... Shower turned on nothing happening but low pressure light comes on.

I opened the shower up and found the plunger thing but mine looks down permanently, I tried holding the micro switch in and the low pressure no longer comes on but nothing happens.

When turning it on should something activate on the inlet pipe to open it to allow the plunger to move?

The shower is only about 2 months old and replaced a 6 year old one that died of similar causes except it chucked water out of the bottom.

Can i manually run water through it somehow, is there an air lock in it?

Spod, October 2007

Andy Cz was right, the switch on the PCB bends up a bit after repeated pressure.

It's a design fault (in a PCB that Triton use in a few showers). £50 for a new PCB - sweet if you're Triton.

I switched off the mains, removed the cover, bent it down a bit (technical I know) until it looked horizontal and then put a a small bit of a match in to keep it in place. Lastly, I replaced the cover.

There is always the risk that you will push it too low and then the shower won't cut out when it should - dead shower, scalded person in shower etc. So please bear in mind, I am not advising you what to do, I am just saying what I did.

Having said that, we have no header tank and it's a straight mains feed so I'll report back once her indoors has tried it out and I have carried out a controlled scientific experiment - varying the water pressure by flushing the toilet a few times!

Simon Worswick, September 2007

"Open the unit and switch shower on (being careful) you will see that around the centre of the unit there is a plunger thing (going to use my own technical words) on top of the white inlet, outlet thingy in the middle of the box. This goes up when there is water pressure going through the unit. The plunger pushes against a mini micro switch on the bottom of the circuit board (I think it was labeled SW1). This is the problem. It is a design fault. There is no way this switch can handle multiple pushes up and down without becoming loose eventually. Its easy to fix."

Thats the exact thing that happend to mine.
You could get away with just wedging a peice of wood behind the switch to stop it from bending back. Providing the soldered contacts are still connected.
Just dont use a peice of chopped pencil like I did as Iv'e now blown somthing. Stupid me forgot about the graphite in it and shorted somthing out. So now it wont turn off and buzzes.
The low pressure light went off though when I replaced the pencil with a peice of wood.
I'm not buying any parts for it though as they are too expensive, Might aswell buy the same shower again and have plenty of spares for next time.

Alex, April 2007

I have a Triton Opal Shower and my shower kept going cold then hot with the low pressure light on. Then sometimes cycling but more often stayed cold with low pressure light on. I fixed it last night and this is what I did:-

Open the unit and switch shower on (being careful) you will see that around the centre of the unit there is a plunger thing (going to use my own technical words) on top of the white inlet, outlet thingy in the middle of the box. This goes up when there is water pressure going through the unit. The plunger pushes against a mini micro switch on the bottom of the circuit board (I think it was labeled SW1). This is the problem. It is a design fault. There is no way this switch can handle multiple pushes up and down without becoming loose eventually. Its easy to fix.

Draw a diagram of where each and every wire goes on the circuit board only (there are similar wires so draw where they come from!!). Switch the mains power off to the shower. Disconnect all the wires on the circuit board and take it out by undoing the 2 screws holding the board down (one of the screws is hidden behind the "L" shape plate but is revealed once you unscrew the wires). To fix it solder the 4 connections on the back of the mini micro switch to make it solid again. You can test it with a continuity tester (battery and bulb) if you want to check the switch legs connect to the lines of the circuit board (I could only test one side of switch, other side seem to have both legs wired together permanently according to my continuity test). Put it all back together and it works 100% !!! I also put a small piece off wood behind the switch to support it for the future. (Get your act together Triton, or did you want it to only last a short while??!!)

Hope this helps someone.

Good luck. Andy Cz.

Andy Cz., April 2007

Hi Jane,
I changed the Power PCB at the weekend and the shower now works OK.
When I inspected the coil contacts on the the old circuit board, they were badly eroded. I'm assuming that that was the problem.
I don't know why triton don't run a service like this. You'd think they'd have all the answers and would only be too pleased to help their customers.
Anyway,wishing you luck!
Regards,
Mike

Mike Coady, April 2007

Hi Jane,
I have just experienced the same problem and have decided to replace the Power PCB. I ordered it today.
I did all the blockage type checks which might restrict the flow and although I don't have a meter, the mains pressure into the house doesn't seem to have changed.
My situation maybe different from yours but let me explain a little more.
The high temp setting suddenly stopped working and the low pressure light came on.
When I tried the economy temp setting, it did work and after maybe 4/5 minutes, out of curiosity, I tried the high temp setting and that worked too!!!
Unfortunately, the high temp setting doesn't work from the start and I started to look on the internet for a solution.
I found a case on a website which seemed to be the same problem as mine and their solution was to change the Power PCB and this worked for them.
This costs £51.18 including postage.
I will write to you again and let you know if it has been successful for me.
Regards,
Mike

Mike Coady, April 2007

try removing your shower head and run if this works your head is limescaled up. if not its your gauze filter in the mains pipe where it joins your shower is full of limescale.

hi-spec plumbing, March 2007

link Click here to see other fixes for Triton.