For the first time ever, we have decided to include a PDF and online versions of our popular YouTube video guides that customers love. We have mentioned the Digital Multi Tester in some past videos, but this time we have decided to dedicate a whole video guide to its practical uses, not only shower maintenance but also things like fuse or battery checking.
You can now follow the guide below, download it as a free PDF, or just watch the video guide on our YouTube channel. Don't forget that you can also buy the Digital Multi Meter from our website by clicking on the Digital Multi Meter image below.
Guide Contents:
- Electrical safety
- 240V testing
- Continuity testing
- Resistance testing
- Other tests
1. Checking if power is getting to the shower.
SAFETY ADVICE: BEFORE REMOVING THE COVER FROM THE SHOWER PLEASE SWITCH OFF THE POWER AT THE ISOLATING SWITCH. ONCE THE COVER IS REMOVED AND YOU ARE SURE THERE ARE NO LOOSE WIRES OR WATER DRIPS INSIDE, YOU CAN SWITCH IT BACK ON AND BEGIN TESTING. MAKE SURE THAT NO ONE HAS ACCESS TO THE ISOLATING SWITCHES WHILE YOU ARE WORKING ON THE SHOWER.
Switch on the Multi Meter and set it to 300V
Put the 2 probes into the shower power terminal. You should get a reading between around 220V - 240V. If there is no power getting into the shower, the Multi Meter will display 0V. Once you determined that the power is getting into the shower, you can perform further test
2. Continuity checks.
To check for continuity, switch on your Multi Meter and set it as shown in the photo below. The Multi Meter will now bleep whenever there is continuity.
For example, to see if power is getting into the solenoid valve, (I.E. getting continuity from the terminal block to the solenoid) place your probes as per picture below. Make sure that the power switch (marked with a red circle) is in the ON position for this test.
You can use the same method to determine if your TCO (marked with a red circle) has failed.
If it is difficult to get the probes in, remove the TCO from top of the heating tank and place your probes as per picture below to check for continuity (no continuity means it has failed).
3. Resistance tests - Solenoid Valve.
Set your Multi Meter to 20K Ohms for this test.
Place your probes on solenoid coil in the spots marked below. The polarity does not matter for this test. A faulty solenoid will typically have a resistance of less than 3.4 Ohms.
3.1 Resistance tests - Heating tank elements.
Make sure your meter is set to 200 Ohms.
Place your probes on the elements. Typically, electric showers have 2 different sized elements inside their heating tank, so you should get 2 different readings. A faulty element would cause the Multi Meter to display 0 Ohms or an erratic reading.
4. Other tests - Wire coil continuity.
Set your Multi Meter to Continuity mode, then place your probes at both ends of a wire. If there is continuity, the meter will bleep
4.1 Other tests - Fuse testing.
With the meter still in Continuity mode, place the probes at both end of the fuse. A working fuse will have continuity and so the meter will bleep.
4.2 Other tests - Battery testing.
For testing 1.5V batteries, set your Multi Meter dial to 2V. For 9V or 12V batteries, move the dial 1 position up to 20V.
Now place the probes at either end of the battery. The Multi Tester will display the Volt rating. In the example below, the meter shows 1.57V, meaning that the battery is brand new. A Volt rating much smaller than the nominal battery rating will mean that it has less power, and it’s in need of replacing.
Thank you for reading this Shower Doctor guide. We hope you have enjoyed it, but if you have any suggestion on how we can improve then send us an email at [email protected]