Posted by Firstly… don’t mistaken me for a shower expert, I’m really not – I just have a pretty crappy shower which I’ve taken apart a few times.
I have, for a while, had issues of getting up in the morning 20 mins before work starts and finding my shower doesn’t have any water coming out of it. This has usually been fixed by taking the cover off and wiggling stuff around a bit. Recently it’s been getting harder to fix (it’s taken more severe wiggling). I narrowed the problem down to the solenoidWikipedia: A solenoid (/ˈsoʊlənɔɪd/[1]) is a type of electromagnet formed by a helical coil of wire whose length is substantially greater than its diameter,[2] which generates a controlled magnetic field. T... valve which electrically controls whether or not water flows. I looked on shower spares sites for a new solenoid valve for my Triton AS2000XT shower and was fairly settled on buying a new shower as the valves were near £120.
I thought I’d have a quick check on eBay to see if I could get a new shower or a solenoid valve on the cheap. I stumbled across a posting for a solenoid coil claiming that this is the biggest cause of low pressure or water loss in showers and that replacing just the coil would normally fix this. As the coil was less than £10, I thought I’d take a punt on it. Handily, this paid off. It seems that the solenoid coil in a lot of showers is very similar and the fitting instructions are near enough the same. It’s probably best to ensure that your shower works with a particular coil before you buy it.
Here’s my shower…
To open it up, I removed 3 screws – 1 on the top of the case, one on the bottom of the case and one in the middle of the temperature dial. Before you take the temperature dial off, remember where it is pointing. I tend to turn it to “1” before removing it. When you put it back on, ensure it points to where it was originally or your temperatures will be out of wack.
Ensure the power is turned off before you open the shower! It’ll hurt.
The solenoid coil is the brown thing in the bottom left of the picture. Remove the wires from it by simply pulling them off. They should just be slotted onto the spade connectors of the solenoid. This is a closeup of the disconnected solenoid coil.
Removing it is a little tricky. It pulls off towards you (away from the back of the shower). Get a screwdriver behind it and gently leaver it off. Once it’s off a little bit you can just wiggle/pull it off. Mine got stuck about 1/2 way down because of the winged plastic clip you can see in the photo. I applied pressure into the end of the clip to stop it from moving and wiggled/pulled the solenoid coil until it came off. The whole plastic rod that the solenoid coil slides onto seems a little flimsy so don’t apply too much pressure as you may end up snapping it off.
Once it’s off, you can just slide the new one on and re-attach the wires. I lubed up the rod a little with some shampoo to allow the new coil to slide on a little easier. WD40 works too. I also used a small hammer to gently tap it on so as not to have to wiggle it and risk snapping the plastic rod.
The shower sounds so much healthier after changing the coil and the water pressure seems boosted too. Hopefully it’ll eliminate my early morning lack of water problems completely. Not bad for £10 and a 15 minute DIY job.
Edit @ June 2016
I’ve just had to re-replace the coil that I fitted when writing this article as the water stopped again. Just over 4.5 years later – that’s not bad going. Image of the coil below. It’s looking thoroughly rusted. I don’t mind having to spend a few quid on a new coil every 4-5 years – it’s better than a new shower.
Very strange. I’ve never seen a shower like that before.
I turn on the water, and boom there is pressure and it is there.
How is the water pressure in the rest of your house?
Shoddy, to say the least.
Thanks for this,shower works for around six seven minutes then stops,after reading your article think it maybe solenoid coil,ordered new one fingers crossed
Thanks
FANTASTIC!!! WAS REALLY HARD TO PULL THE COIL OFF IN THE FIRST PLACE BUT THEN WITH HELP FROM WF40 ZOOM OFF IT GOES!!
Thanks very much, now im gonna have a long shower! p.s. got quoted £100 by 2 plumbers, thank god I tried this first!
Nice to see a comment from a happy customer on an old post. Mine’s been running great since I replaced the coil 🙂
Another £100 saved here thanks to you. Cheers! 🙂
I’ve seen some other workarounds for low pressure in showers but this is by far the cheapest and quickest. Great Post Phil.
This is excellent advice !! It’s worked for us after having put it off for weeks thinking we would have to fork out for a new shower got this part for under £10 an shower is now working!!! 🙂
Where can you get these solenoids from?
Try eBay – http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_trksid=p2050601.m570.l1313&_nkw=shower+solenoid&_sacat=0&_from=R40
Thanks for the info. hubby followed the instructions and we now have a working shower – total cost £9.50!
Brilliant advice Phil cost me £11.00 from ebay….. Thought I was gonna have to buy new shower after some advice from a certified plumber. Thanks again.
I have recently installed a Triton TRANCE Electric Shower it seems to be running ok,but I am little disappointed as I thought the pressure would be a little higher than it is,I have installed a 15mm isolation valve from the mains feed also 15mm could this be a factor in the pressure light being on?
It could be a factor. Isolation valves will reduce the bore down to about 10mm in the middle. Worth replacing it with a standard coupling and seeing if that helps.
Fitted a new solenoid three wires 2 blue one brown how do you reconnect them
Hey Phil,
I have to say thank you so much for your post, just change my solenoid coil in my shower now.
It’s working perfectly and all because you post this, otherwise I would be buying a new shower!!!
Thanks again.
Andre
The replacement of valve coil may have sence, when your voltage drops down below 230V in peak hours. For best results, fit a single shower booster pump, electric shower compatible
cheers mate
Hello Phil.
Our shower started playing up a few weeks ago with the same symptoms as yours……I managed to limp on with it for a while but pre empted it fully conking out, so sourced a new replacement solenoid from a brilliant local suppliers.The shower stopped again this morning mid shower…..so I fitted the new solenoid took 3 or 4 mins (thanks to your excellent instructions) and hey presto we seem to be good to go again.Thanks again for your excellent post….hope you’ve had a lovely Christmas….all the best for a Happy and healthy New Year !
In July I fitted 8.5 kw triton shower in my bathroom on a second floor. We did not did not have any problems for 4 months but in November we had bit problem of shower sometimes getting hot and cold suddenly. I had 2 year manufacture guarantee by triton so called them out to see the problems.
the engineer from triton came and check and told us that the problem is due to the low pressure. They now charged me £70 for the call out charge as they said it was not the faulty shower but low pressure. I than called Yorkshire water to check the pressure of water in the house. They came and checked the pressure at the first point and confirmed that the pressure is ok. Triton engineer came second time and he checked the pressure at the shower point and also at the same time running the water from the toilet sink and told us that the pressure is low at 2 bar and it is not the shower fault but pressure of water. I can not understand this problem as shower works perfectly well and pressure only falls when I use other devices as flushing toilet or use other taps at the same time. can you please help in this problems Mr Patel
Get a booster pump fitted I got same issue lol
These showers have in-built pumps. The addition of an external booster pump is unlikely to improve the situation.
Replacement solenoid arrived in 2 days as promised, fitted and shower working again saving £100+ on a new shower, great service from this supplier, strongly recommend.
Hey Phil,
I have exactly the same shower (Triton Aqua Sensation AS200XT).
I’ve looked on eBay (I searched Solenoid AS2000, first item found) but our manufacturer is not mentioned. It looks exactly like the one in the picture however, looks can be deceiving. Can you point me in the right direction please?
They’re fairly standard, from what I’ve seen. This looks to be the cheapest on eBay UK. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Replacement-Universal-Solenoid-Coil-fits-ALL-Showers-inc-Triton-Mira-Creda-MX-/172174739878?hash=item28166a09a6:g:ymEAAOSwwpdW1ks3
Well I received and fitted my new solenoid coil – took just 10 minutes and was quite simple – however, it didn’t cure my issue (booooo).
Looks like it’s a new shower for me (£129).
Typical!
Hi,
Does anyone know how to change the solenoid coil on a Mira Sprint shower that is 2.5 years old.
Many Thanks.
Open it up and upload some photos. Shouldn’t be too different from mine.
There are 2 spades but 3 wires ? how does that work ? Please
What model is your shower? I imagine there’s 2 lives and a neutral. Live just tapped off for something else
Hey Phil,
I have exactly the same shower as you (Triton Aqua Sensation AS2000XT) and have searched eBay for a replacement solenoid. I searched for Solenoid AS2000 and the top answer, though visually the same, does not mention our manufacturer.
Can you point me in the right direction please?
Hi Phil just came across ur blog,very informative. Would it be very difficult to change the manual temp valve when I am replacing the solenoid coil
I couldn’t tell you for sure – I’ve never done it. From what I can see, it’s a fairly easy “slot in” replacement but you’ll need to shut the water off.
You’ll also need to bleed the shower after you’ve done the replacement. Mine has a little cover secured with a single screw, just above the inlet pipes. Once the cover is off, wait until water flows freely. Then try to put it back on… without spraying water everywhere. See the picture below – I’ve drawn a box around it.
Hi Phil,
I also have a Triton Aqua Sensation AS2000XT it switches ob, runs hot & cold as it should but the water pressure is non-existent. Could this also be that solenoid valve that you speak of?
Kind regards
Duncan
Hard to say, but it’s worth a try before replacing the shower. It could also be the pump inside the shower.
Hello, I have a triton T80si and the water flow cannot be switched off!!! Turning the electric off does not stop the water flow, is this a solenoid problem.
I’d suggest that is likely to be the whole solenoid valve, rather than just the coil. The valve has likely gotten stuck open. If you try turning the shower on and off a few times, the valve might free up and close properly, thus stopping the water. A new coil might help as it could “pull” the valve open more strongly, allowing it to unstick and close again… but this is quite unlikely.
Hiya I’ve got a triton aquatronic.I’ve been using for the lat few months with the main electric pull cord on as I can’t pull it to turn it off. So the electic indicator light has been on all the time. Then when I wanted a shower prested the white switch on the shower.
Yesterday went to have a shower and nothing. No water coming out but electric indicator shows the orange light.
Should I have left the shower with the dial towards 0 all this time (as the main pull cord switch didn’t work). And do you think I an repair the shower. Plumbers are so difficult to find as they only seem to want to do big jobs.
This was so helpful. No water from shower since my son moved into his first flat. Thought it was a problem with the supply but after reading above thought might as well replace solenoid coil. £10 including postage. Hey presto – shower working like a dream.
Hi there, I got similar shower can anybody tells me if I need to to cut if off water completely (electric is a must)? My problem is that I live in a shared household and main water control for whole property is located in another flat.
Many thanks
Han
What a relief it was to find this info – I have a triton as2000xt with the same problem.
Followed some instructions and managed to get the solenoid three quarters off the stork then stuck or so it seemed no joy?
I didn’t want to force anything or use too much pressure…. so a little wd40 on the stork and in the hole on the solenoid itself and a wiggle/pull and off it came! I was thinking how the hell am I going to remove the whole valve assembly which would of been a much bigger job I think.my new solenoid should come in the post tomorrow and I’m confident I can re fit and re connect etc without too much trouble. Fingers crossed for tomorrow thanks guys
Thanks a million…changed the coil there now and fixed my shower. My shower had lost power
Thanks — your webpage was super-useful, especially the part about being careful not to snap the rod. New solenoid fitting and working! I can have a shower again!!
We’ve got a Triton Opal 3 Electric Shower and it’s not working due to LOW PRESSURE is there a fix for this, if so what do I need to do please ?
I’ve got triton sensation press button makes noise as though tank is filling power goes off press button again water comes through then have to press button again for hot water stays on then just change solenoid no different
Thanks for the tip. I really thought I would have to have a new shower but read this post and ordered a coil. It arrived very promptly from shower doctor. Seriously it was less than a 5 minute job, and job done, water flow restored. I fitted this to a galaxy 2000lx.
I hoped this would work for me but it didn’t 🙁 I followed your excellent instructions and the flow is exactly the same (little more than a dribble now, when it used to be so powerful just weeks ago)
Any other advice?
Thank you
Thanks Phil for this great fix, really is community service !
My AS200XT would suddenly stop pumping water even though the pump was running – new
solenoid off EBAY £11 and all hunky dory.
Thanks again …
John
Hi Phil,
Thanks for the excellent fix. It worked for me but after a few days pressure dropped again but the solenoid valve seems ok, checked resistance. Trying to figure out what’s wrong now? Perhpas bleeding/switch?
Phil
Excellent stuff , Thanks for the advise its saves the Day, re the rust can i recommend to spray with wd40 the metal part and once dried then use it sure it will help as I just did the same thing.
Plumber quoted me 110 !!!!!!
Is this possibly going to solve the problem of low water coming into the house, our water fluctuates when neighbours are using their water, unfortunately there’s nothing the water board can do as we have a 15mm lead pipe serving 6 pre 1900’s cottages, we are a distance from the main road and other 5 properties don’t seem bothered to do anything about it, they’re not interested Spending the big bucks involved to sort it
It won’t resolve that, no. I did so in a previous house by replacing the old shared lead pipe with my own MDPE. The water company connected it up to the mains for free because it was replacing lead but it was extremely difficult to get it installed correctly as it needs to be buried 1m down and enter the house through the foundations in ducting
Hi guys,
Let me just post here (for you information), an email that I sent to Triton Showers this afternoon over my shower dripping water for months and now it not cutting the water at all:
Serviceenquiries@tritonshowers.co.uk
To who it may concern @Triton, My name is Lee and I’ve been having unresolveable issues with your showers now for the past 18 months. I bought a house and moved into it 3 and a half years ago and within 6 months of me using the Triton shower that came with the house, the shower was cutting out when it got to a certain hot temperature. So I found out after doing some reading online and watching YouTube videos on ‘TheShowerDr’ channel, that this issue was with the solonoid coil. I called you guys at the time asking if you sold the solonoid coil and you told me you didn’t sell this item by itself and that you only sell the solonoid coil with the valve that it sits onto as a complete unit. So I left it and just bought a new solonoid coil off Ebay for £10 and it resolved the issue for a little while. About 6 months after that, I used the shower as normal and turned it off and the shower head started dripping water. So I then tried replacing the solonoid coil again but that didn’t work. I then bought a whole new shower unit, replaced the old one with it, leaving the solonoid valve attached to the inlet pipe (because it had been screwed on so hard to the inlet pipe that I was too anxious to try yanking at it so I left it on there) and that didn’t stop the dripping either. So, despite me being suspicious that it was the solenoid valve still sitting on the inlet pipe, I got fed up with trying to resolve this dripping water issue and I just thought ‘fuck it’ and I let it carry on dripping.
So, yesterday I used the shower as normal and switched it off. The heating element turned off as usual but this time, instead of it cutting the water off and dripping like before, the water didn’t turn off at all! So, after having to turn the water main’s off in my whole house to stop the water coming out of the shower, I watched a fairly new video on YouTube I’d not seen before of a plumber talking about this solonoid valve being the likely culpret of the dripping water from the shower, and explaining that like me, he’d had enough of this issue. And after buying 2 replacement shower units over the last few years, this time he decided to investigate what was causing the constant dripping he eventually gets with these showers. He found that the copper gauze in this valve is too flimsy to last very long. Copper is a very flimsy and weak material to use as a gauze and it eventually breaks down into bits and cloggs up the valve itself, causing the on – off fault we’re both experiencing. Furthermore, you guys don’t sell the coil or the valve separately, despite these 2 bits of hardware becoming separately faulty. I also called Triton customer services today and asked them why they didn’t sell these pieces separately and they had no answer other than ‘we just don’t’. So I priced up the solenoid valve and coil together that you sell as one item and I was told that it was £35! That’s bloody expensive!
So my questions to you are as follows:
1. Why are you only selling the solenoid valve and coil together as one unit without the option of being able to purchase them separately?
2. Why are the solenoid coil and valve units so expensive to buy at £35 when a brand new shower that the solenoid unit fits to only costs about £60?
3. Why are you using copper gauze when copper as a material corrodes when exposed to water after a while? Why are you not using stainless steel which last much longer and is probably just as cheap to manufacture?
Regards,
Lee
Thank you!!! 10yrs on this is still helping people as have me the information and confidence to fix our shower… cheaper and probably quicker than a plumber could’ve done (based on lead times for call outs not actual time to replace!)
This has made showering a lot easier for a busy mum and dad and 2 small children so thank you for this article which has allowed us to get a bit more time out bathroom cheaply before having to replace the whole lot.
Don’t suppose you do articles for dropping taps, replace plug holes, noisy pipes and funny noises made when turning taps on…?… only joking!!
Thanks again! And the best thing is I get to tell my husband I did it myself and didn’t listen to his ‘call a plumber’ 😉
Glad it’s still helping after 10 years (dear god… where has the time gone??!). From comments I’ve seen from other people, plumbers will rarely replace the coil and will usually opt to charge you for a whole new shower and the cost of installing it so it’s probably a good job you didn’t listen to your husband 🙂
In the throw-away society that we’ve found ourselves in, I think it’s critically important to fix whatever you can – if not for the environment, for the sake of your own pocket! I’ve found myself fixing my fridge, TV, washing machine, dish washer, baby monitor, air conditioner, hoover, et al. over the years and it rarely costs more than a few quid and a bit of head scratching. Realistically, what have you got to lose? It’s broken anyway 😀
Hi we have changed the solenoid but shower is still going off, what else could this be ? Do you think it maybe the pump and we need a new shower ? Thanks
Feasibly, yeh. Does the pump start up (make a noise) when you turn the shower on?
Hi Phil,
I have a Redring Expression 520s power shower and have same issue of no water even after the motor working. But the solenoid for this model is now available in the market. Can I interchange the solenoid with something that is available? Or do I have to change the whole shower?
Thanks.
I always use a generic solenoid. In my experience, they’re pretty much the same in all showers. I don’t know your shower but it’s worth trying a generic one to see if it works.
What a great result, finding your page. I have a power shower that suddenly developed a serious attitude problem. It seemed to have all the hallmarks of a dripping possession.
My shower, just like so many others on this forum, developed the exact same pressure problem. It lights up an LED and beeps a “Low Pressure” Alarm.
Your information has brought the shower back to life. I cant think of anything much worse than taking a shower, and have no water half way through.
Have a great day and many thanks for sharing your knowledge.
THANK YOU, I called the electrician when I saw the low flow error I thought it was electrical issue, he charged me £70 call out charge and £30 to charged the switch, he left check the shower it ran for few mins and later came up with low flow error. I decided to change the unit but came across your post and the testimonies from other readers, I order the solenoid coil via eBay and behold it is another Thursday miracle in my house, thank you grateful for proving the solution. Thank you.