Why would a washing machine cause a breaker to keep tripping?
Question:everytime i use my washer, it trips the breaker.its not b/c theres too many things plugged in, either, b/c its the only thing plugged into that outlet, and the washing machine is on a breaker by itself. help, im confused!
Answers:
When an electric motor starts, the momentary high load to get it moving generates a surge that can exceed the breakers rating and cause it to trip. Just because you have nothing else plugged into that wall plug does not mean that is the only outlet on the circuit, turn the breaker off and check if anything other outlets have lost power, may not even be in the same room. If there is nothing else on the circuit it should not trip the breaker, that would be an indication something is wrong with the motor or it's capacitor if so equipped..
If it trips after the motor is already running, it could be overloaded or there may be a short somewhere, or again there is a problem related to the motor, age is one of those things. The breaker can be faulty or under rated, most circuits are 15 or 20 amp and should easily be able to handle something like a washer, don't replace the breaker with a larger one or you can burn up the wiring.
As a simple diagnostic after you have made sure there really are no other things on the circuit, try plugging in a vacuum cleaner or a 1500 watt heater into the circuit instead of the washer, if they cause it to trip it's likely the circuit breaker, but you will likely need some diagnostic help from an electrician on this one.
The washer is drawing more ampreage than the breaker is for. probably 2 many appliances on the same circut.
Too many clothes in the washer maybe. My dryer does the same thing if i over load it. Or maybe it's just bad.
My best guess would be that the motor is tying up and overloading the circuit.
4 good guesses, but none have a nice blue hat. It may be that your breaker is weak and you can tell by plugging it in someplace else. If not, the transmission may be locked and causing the problem or the motor is just shot. Either way, it probably is not worth fixing. It could also be a short circuit someplace, but not likely.
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