WasherRepair.center (844) 398-5711Mon–Sat, 8am–8pm Book a visit
A gray electrical panel on a laundry room wall in a US home with one breaker switched to the off position, a white top-load washer visible below and to the side.

Washer
Tripping Breaker

The breaker or the outlet's reset button cuts power when the washer starts, fills or spins.

(844) 398-5711

Mon–Sat, 8am–8pm

  • Water or electrical risk
  • 5 questions that narrow it
  • 5 causes, cheapest first

Book a visit

Three short steps, about a minute.

or call (844) 398-5711

Stop the cycle and shut the water off

Treat repeated tripping as an electrical risk. Do not keep resetting the breaker or the outlet to finish a load. Unplug the washer, keep the floor dry, and wait for a technician to find where the current is going.

What it
usually means.

A breaker that trips is a safety device doing its job: it saw more current than the circuit should carry, or current leaking toward ground. In a washer, water is the usual partner in that leak. A drip that reaches the motor, the pump or a wire harness, a motor with damaged windings, or a pump that locks up can each pull power the wrong way. The moment in the cycle when the trip happens, whether at the press of start, during the fill or at the start of the spin, points toward the part.

The 5 causes, cheapest first

Answer these first

01

Does it trip the moment the washer is plugged in or started, or later in the cycle?
02

Is the washer on an outlet with a test and reset button?
03

Has the washer leaked recently, or is the floor under it damp?
04

Does the breaker trip when something else on the circuit is running at the same time?
05

Did the tripping begin after a flood, a move or a repair?

Check these
before you book.

Washer tripping breaker: 5 checks, and none of them costs anything.

01

Leave the washer unplugged and the breaker off until the cause is found.

02

Look under and behind the washer for water, and dry the area before you touch the cord.

03

Check whether other appliances share that circuit and were running when it tripped.

Also worth checking

  • Look along the cord for a pinch, a cut or a melted spot.
  • Note exactly when in the cycle the trip happened; it is the best clue the technician will have.

The causes,
cheapest first.

5 things washer tripping breaker turns out to be, from water reaching a motor or wire to overloaded or worn circuit.

The cost guide
  1. 01 low to moderate

    Water reaching a motor or wire

    A slow leak inside the cabinet can drip on the motor, the pump or a connector, and the outlet's shock protection cuts power. The leak has to be fixed along with anything it damaged.

    Book a diagnostic visit See washer leaking
  2. 02 low to moderate

    Locked or shorted drain pump

    A pump that has shorted, or one jammed so hard it draws too much current, trips the circuit when the drain begins.

    Fixed by drain pump repair
  3. 03 low

    Damaged power cord or wiring

    A cord pinched behind the washer, or a harness chafed on the cabinet, can short when the machine vibrates.

    Fixed by controls and sensors
  4. 04 moderate

    Shorted drive motor

    Worn insulation inside the motor lets current reach the frame. It usually trips when the motor starts to turn, at the first agitate or the spin.

    Fixed by drive motor and belt repair
  5. 05 varies

    Overloaded or worn circuit

    Sharing a circuit with a dryer or a space heater, or a worn breaker, can trip without anything wrong in the washer. An electrician checks the circuit side.

    No repair: check it yourself
  6. What it costs

    Every repair on the site's cost scale, side by side

    Open the cost guide

The makes
it happens on.

14 makes on this site; washer tripping breaker can show up on any of them. Each mark opens that make's own page.

All 14 brands

Washer Tripping Breaker,
where we come out.

9 metros, each with its own page.

All service areas

Tampa BayFL · 31 areas

OrlandoFL · 30 areas

Miami / South FloridaFL · 47 areas

New York MetroNY · 75 areas

HoustonTX · 36 areas

ChicagoIL · 50 areas

Los AngelesCA · 95 areas

San DiegoCA · 31 areas

San Francisco Bay AreaCA · 74 areas

A parent and a child loading towels into an open front-load washer together in a bright laundry room
For the heart of your home.

Questions about
washer tripping breaker.

Can I just move the washer to a different outlet?
Not until the cause is known. If the trip comes from water on a motor or a damaged wire, another outlet only moves the risk. If it comes from an overloaded circuit, the move may help, but that is the less common case.
Why is there a reset button on the washer's outlet?
Laundry room outlets often carry shock protection, the GFCI kind, which trips when even a small current leaks to ground. It is more sensitive than a breaker, and it is often the first to notice a wet motor.
It only trips at the start of the spin. What does that suggest?
The spin is when the motor draws the most power and the drain pump is often running as well. A worn motor or a pump pulling hard shows up there first.
Is a washer that trips breakers worth repairing?
Often it is. A damaged cord, a pump or a leak into one connector are modest repairs. A motor with burned windings on an older washer is where the question gets closer.

Back to your everyday

Still seeing washer tripping breaker?

Book with what you checked above — 5 answers save the technician the first part of the visit.

Schedule a repair Call (844) 398-5711
(844) 398-5711 Schedule a repair