Wire keeps burning for some reason

Hi, about 2 weeks ago the switch for my shower head started flickering and when I opened it up one of the wires had melted insulation and the switch was cracked. I switched out the wire and bought a new switch, and everything worked fine for like a week until someone saw smoke coming from behind the new switch. Opened it up again to find the same wire burning. What exactly is causing the problem and how do I fix it?

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  1. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    its because you live in brazil

  2. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    either the wires are too small, the wires are shit, or the connections you made were shit. make sure the wires are properly sized, not corroded and make good connections. also your shower head might be just be shit - a meter might tell you that.

  3. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    The frick kind of showerhead needs electricity

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      All those installed in houses without central hot water heater. Which is most houses. You'd know this if you didn't live a sheltered life.

      • 1 year ago
        Anonymous

        >btw I'm a poorgay in a country without resources to do a DIY fix

        You should start your posts with this disclaimer, anon

      • 1 year ago
        Anonymous

        Seems like it would be better to install a water heater.

        • 1 year ago
          Anonymous

          Water heaters are surprisingly expensive. And they kinda depend on having power all day. If you don't have ready cash, and can't rely on 24/7 power, then a heating head is good option.

          >btw I'm a poorgay in a country without resources to do a DIY fix

          You should start your posts with this disclaimer, anon

          Sheltered little boy is sheltered.

          • 1 year ago
            Anonymous

            why are you on an english-speaking STEM board but can't buy a water heater

          • 1 year ago
            Anonymous

            >Water heaters are surprisingly expensive.
            What? No they arent. 2000 bucks for a cheap one, 5000 for a really good one. If you cant afford that, you are very poor.

          • 1 year ago
            Anonymous

            >Sheltered little boy is sheltered.
            Lol, what a broke Black person. Keep coping I guess

  4. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    >Hi, about 2 weeks ago the switch for my shower head started flickering

    Also might be ghosts, so be extra careful.

  5. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    okay, being honest this time;

    Does it always happen when the showerhead is on? Even the second time? if it's the same heater-showerhead you've been using and the problem just started, it's probably losing efficiency or otherwise dissipating more power than it used to, for some reason. It could also be just because it's colder and you're turning it up higher, or have more people using it in a row, etc.

    If you want a zero-cost fix, you could just turn your showerhead temperature down (does it have a dial?), which should cause it to draw less current. But the overall problem is still that it's wasting power somewhere so you might just want a new one.

    Other than that, other anons are right in that the wire is just too thin for that much current/power draw. If it's breaking at a specific spot each time, that spot is definitely the thinnest, or it's a poor connection there (twisted together, wire nut, soldering, etc).

    To me, those wires do look like standard household stuff ion the thinner side, which is probably just not adequate for the current draw of a many-GPM heater at full blast. You could replace that section of wire with a thicker gauge, but that would probably just move the issue somewhere else, even more dangerous or hard to detect.

    If it's happening even when the showerhead is OFF, then it's one of two things; the showerhead itself is super fricked and has an internal short circuit (and could kill you, throw it away asap), or the wire is burning because it's making contact with some other metal (another wire or the metal panel/box) in there, in which case you can just electrical tape over all the connections real good (or use heatshrink insulation) and you'll be fine.

  6. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    Sounds like too high amperag. Are you running any new devices on that circuit? Do you have a proper breaker installed?

  7. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    your heated showerhead is broken and might have a short to ground, careful you aren't being electrocuted

    the same wire smoked twice because the load is the real issue

  8. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    Wouldn’t this also imply that other wires inside the wall are burning too? I’m sure you didn’t pull the whole length of wire.

    I’d be fricking terrified to get in that shower

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