washer trips gfci

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journeyman0217

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philadelphia,pa
hey everyone, i know this is a very common problem, homeowner calls up and says washer trips the gfci! after doing some troubleshooting you come to find out that it is the washer machine itself that is tripping the gfci, no other electrical hazards. i tried to research this and a lot of people are saying that it is do to current leakage in the motor windings of the washer machine. how is current leaking over to ground through motor winding? my knowledge on motors is limited. and if this is the problem is this a concern to the homeowner? thanks for any advice you guys have!
 
journeyman0217 said:
hey everyone, i know this is a very common problem, homeowner calls up and says washer trips the gfci! after doing some troubleshooting you come to find out that it is the washer machine itself that is tripping the gfci, no other electrical hazards. i tried to research this and a lot of people are saying that it is do to current leakage in the motor windings of the washer machine. how is current leaking over to ground through motor winding? my knowledge on motors is limited. and if this is the problem is this a concern to the homeowner? thanks for any advice you guys have!
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Motors fail. Age. Moisture. Mice. Heat. All or any could be the problem.

The GFCI tripping means there is a problem and a concern...the washer quits in the middle of the load. The age of the unit will help point in the direction of repair or replace.

Make sure the EG is intact to reduce the chance of shock and repair/replace asap.
 
I am going to lean more toward conductor insulation worn off someplace (maybe a point that gets rubbed against some other object during operation) is much more likely then motor windings having any leakage. Motor windings pretty much need to be overloaded to break down their insulation before they will become an issue, and the motor probably does have some overload protection that will reduce that risk.

Appliance repairmen don't get GFCI concepts and will almost never find anything wrong when the appliance has GFCI tripping issues, because they don't know what to look for.
 
yeah I've seen gfi failures but in this case gfi was working properly...and yes thats whats frustrating when you tell a customer its something with the machine itself and then you have an appliance guy that says he can't find anything!!
 
journeyman0217 said:
yeah I've seen gfi failures but in this case gfi was working properly...and yes thats whats frustrating when you tell a customer its something with the machine itself and then you have an appliance guy that says he can't find anything!!
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I've had to find the fault myself and tell the appliance guy where/what to look for, if it wasn't something simple that I was willing to fix.:roll:

Usually refrigerators/freezers. Melted insulation on grounded conductor somewhere in the appliance that faults to the frame doesn't trip anything when there is no GFCI, but trips GFCI immediately. Of course that melted insulation usually has a terminal that overheated and a component that also needs replaced - which is one reason the appliance guy gets called back - I don't want to mess with finding that part.
 
It is pretty simple but unfortunately you have to be there at the same time the appliance guy is.

(I'm pretty sure you know the procedure.)

Load up the GFCI with any thing other than the washer.
Plug the washer in and start it. If it trips only when the washer running or as soon as you plug it in, it's not the GFCI.
 
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