Bosch Tankless HW Heater...Hot water flow becomes cold then hot again during shower. Have had only Bosch plumber in area out numberous times but never fixes the problem.

You are using the hot water at a faster rate than your tankless unit can provide. Either get a more powerful unit or reduce the amount of water flow thru the unit during the duration of shower.

I do not know how old this unit is or what model but many water heaters are not sophisticated enough to measure the temperature, but heat based on water flow and temperature rise. To start, tankless water heaters turn off every time you turn the hot water off. Lets use an example. You use the facilities, wash your hands then turned off the water and take a shower. You will bring the already heated water (from washing your hands) from the pipe up to the shower. Then the cold water that comes into the pipe from the reactivation of the water heater comes up the hot water pipe with warm then hot water just behind.

If this is not your problem, keep reading. Every unit I have been called to see were installed wrong. Check your installation manual to see if the problem with the system started with the contractor.

First, check the temperature of the water from the heater. If it is too hot and you are mixing too much cold water in, the unit will turn off because there is not enough water flow to keep it running.

Second, turn off the valve at the water heater and turn on the hot water at a faucet. If the water does not stop running, there is a "plumbing cross over" usually caused by a failing pressure balance valve in a shower.

Third, if the unit has not been serviced, go to bosch-climate.us to find a tankless water heating professional in your area. Totally Tankless LLC

Check for crossover.
Bad single-handle faucet cartridge causes cold water to enter hot pipe, so hot never arrives and tankless does not run consistAntly
http://waterheatertimer.org/Crossover.html

If you need further help, I’m available over the phone at https://www.6ya.com/expert/gene_9f0ef4df2f9897e7

This should run two showers at once with no problem. If you have a shut off valve on the cold side of the heater, try closing about halfway. This will slow the water flow and the water will have more time to heat up as it pases through the tank. If you dont have a shut off valve, just cut back the hot water valve on your shower and do not use any cold water. If it gets too hot then turn on a little cold water. The object is to slow the speed of the water going through the tank. Tankless heater take a little getting use to but they work great when you know how to treat them. On my shower I turn the hot all the way on until it gets hot and then add a little cold water to bring the temp down. You may have too much water going through too fast to be able to heat it up to what you need. Try this and see how it works.

1. COLD MIX, HEATER DEACTIVATES
   If inlet water temperature is over 70°F due to geographic location, water maybe very hot out of the tap. This requires a lot of cold water to be added with it in order to attain a useable hot water temperature. The addition of too much cold water will overpower hot water demand from the tankless water heater. This slows the flow within the tankless water heater, decreasing it below activation point, which shuts off the heater. The end result is nothing but cold water coming out of the outlet. See: TWH E2-04 Overcoming fluctuating temperatures [PDF].
2. FLUCTUATING WATER PRESSURE
   If the water pressure in the home is erratic and the water flow is not consistent while a tap is opened, then the temperature of hot water will fluctuate. The minimum water pressure for the home should be 30psi or greater. For people on well systems the minimum pressure range is 30-50psi. The use of a pressure reducing/regulating valve is an effective way to maintain constant water pressure to the water heater. Watts brand 25AUB- ¾" or N35B-¾" pressure reducing/regulating valves or equivalent is suggested.
3. CHANGING FLOW RATE
   Major changes in flow rate can adversely affect the output water temperature of the heater. Increases from one major fixture running to multiple fixtures running at one time can cause the temperature to fluctuate. Stay within the heater's specifications. See: TWH E2-03 Outlet temperature vs. flow rate [PDF].

From the Bosch website.

Good Luck,
Gary

I had the EXACT same problem (installed my tankless last winter and worked fine, now this summer it fluctuates, have to turn the shower completely off and then on again to get any hot water and then it only lasts for a couple of minutes!) Argh - it is frustrating!

Here's what I found: the demand for hot water is lower during the summer (hot) months because the "cold" water coming in is already quite warm. You don't need as much hot water to make the shower temp comfortable. SO, my tankless was shutting off due to low flow demand. I've removed the flow restrictor from my shower head and it helped alot but didn't completely solve the prob. Next step is what has been recommended to me by several people but is much more expensive - change the pressure valve on your shower to a temperature valve. Or just wait til winter and it should work ok again :)

Look for a water temp control on unit. Otherwise a lower temp can be attained by having a higher water flow to minimize temperature buildup in heating coil.

Problem new or old? How long you have unit? Sounds like not enough flow to keep burner on. Tankless need at least .6 gpm to keep hot water flowing or else the burner fires then shuts fires then shuts and you get a sandwich effect...hot cold hot cold. If you have new diverter valve in shower -vs- old two handle type try turning hot water ALL the way ON and see if hot stays hot. If it does stay hot then slowly adjust to cool and see if you maintain a good MIX for proper temp. If it goes cold again try this......LOWER control pad setting to a comfortable 105 degrees (ladies) 100 degrees(men) and turn shower valve all the way to HOT. See if your temp remains consistant now and if it does then problem solved. Tankless mindset...set temp on control pad and stop trying to MIX at shower valve. Thats how these things work. Thats why I install a control pad in each bath and one in the kitchen for adjusting ash temp during dishwasher on time. ditto for wash machine. You should never need to turn on cold water if your unit is set to proper temp at controller. Hope this helps

YOU MAY HAVE TO DESCALE YOUR UNIT I have this problem along with a bunch of error codes. Please don"t call the Bosch 888 number. They want to speak to a tech. In addition, their off during the weekend. Tankless water heaters are great when thier working. Mine is not.

Does it happen to any other fixture? If not, it's most likely your shower valve and not heater.