--- title: "Dishwasher Tripping the Breaker: Causes and Fixes" description: "The breaker or GFCI outlet cuts power at the start of a cycle, during heating or at random." url: "https://dishwasherrepair.center/problems/dishwasher-tripping-breaker/" --- # Dishwasher Tripping the Breaker The breaker or GFCI outlet cuts power at the start of a cycle, during heating or at random. ## Stop the water and power first A breaker that trips is doing its job. Leave it off, close the supply valve under the sink if there is water in the tub, and do not bypass the GFCI or swap to a larger breaker. If you see scorching, smell burning, or feel a tingle touching the door, keep everyone away from the machine until it is checked. ## What it usually means. A breaker trips because the circuit sees more current than it should, or because current is leaking to ground. On a dishwasher, the heating element and the motors draw the most, and water is never far from either. When the trip happens is the most useful clue: at the moment the machine starts, when it begins to heat, or only when the disposal on the same circuit runs. The 5 causes, cheapest first Answer these first 01 Does it trip the instant the cycle starts, or several minutes in when the water heats? 02 Is the dishwasher on a GFCI outlet or a GFCI breaker, or a standard breaker? 03 Does the garbage disposal or another appliance share the same circuit? 04 Was there a leak or water under the machine shortly before this started? 05 Does it trip on every cycle, or only now and then? ## Check these before you book. Dishwasher tripping breaker: 5 checks, and none of them costs anything. 01 Leave the breaker off after the second trip; resetting it again and again can damage wiring. 02 Check for water under the dishwasher by removing the kick plate once power is off. 03 Find out whether the disposal or another appliance shares the circuit, and whether both were running. ### Also worth checking - Note the point in the cycle where it trips; heating and startup point to different parts. - Check whether the outlet under the sink is a GFCI with its own test and reset buttons. ## The causes, cheapest first. 5 things dishwasher tripping the breaker turns out to be, from shared or undersized circuit to wash or drain motor drawing too much current. [The cost guide](https://dishwasherrepair.center/cost/) 1. 01 no repair ### Shared or undersized circuit A dishwasher and disposal on one 15-amp circuit can trip it when both run. That is a wiring layout question, not a dishwasher repair. No repair: check it yourself 2. 02 low to moderate ### Heating element shorted to ground An element with a cracked sheath leaks current to the tub, which trips a GFCI as soon as heating begins. It is the most common cause. [Fixed by heating and drying repair](https://dishwasherrepair.center/services/heating-and-drying-repair/) [See dishwasher not heating water](https://dishwasherrepair.center/problems/dishwasher-not-heating/) 3. 03 low to moderate ### Water reaching wiring under the tub A leak that drips onto the terminal block or a motor connector creates a path to ground. Fixing the leak and drying the wiring may be all it needs. [Fixed by leak and seal repair](https://dishwasherrepair.center/services/leak-and-seal-repair/) 4. 04 low ### Damaged power cord or junction box connection A pinched cord or a loose wire nut in the junction box shorts intermittently, which is why the trip can seem random. [Fixed by controls and sensors](https://dishwasherrepair.center/services/controls-and-sensors/) 5. 05 moderate ### Wash or drain motor drawing too much current A seized or failing motor pulls far more than its rating at startup, which trips the breaker when the circulation or drain step begins. [Fixed by wash motor and circulation](https://dishwasherrepair.center/services/wash-motor-and-circulation-repair/) 6. What it costs ### Every repair on the site's cost scale, side by side Open the cost guide ## What else it could be. Most often confused with dishwasher burning smell, then dishwasher not heating water. [All problems](https://dishwasherrepair.center/problems/) Water or wiring at risk ### Dishwasher Burning Smell 5 causes ### Dishwasher Not Heating Water 5 causes Water or wiring at risk ### Dishwasher Leaking Water 6 causes ### Dishwasher Not Starting 5 causes ## The makes it happens on. 27 makes on this site; dishwasher tripping the breaker can show up on any of them. Each mark opens that make's own page. [All 27 brands](https://dishwasherrepair.center/brands/) ## Dishwasher Tripping the Breaker, where we come out. 9 metros, each with its own page. 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No. The breaker size is matched to the wire in the wall, and a larger breaker lets that wire overheat before anything trips. If the dishwasher and disposal genuinely overload a shared circuit, that is a job for an electrician, not a bigger breaker. ### It only trips the GFCI, never the main breaker. What does that mean? A GFCI trips on a small leak of current to ground, not on overload. On a dishwasher that usually means moisture on wiring or an element whose sheath has cracked. It is a useful clue and worth telling the technician. ### Is it safe to run the dishwasher with the breaker reset until the visit? It is safer not to. If it tripped on its own, the condition is still there. Hand-wash for a few days rather than letting a shorted part heat up each cycle. ### Could the problem be the outlet rather than the dishwasher? Sometimes. GFCI outlets wear out and get more sensitive with age, and a damp sink cabinet makes it worse. Plugging a lamp into the same outlet does not prove much; a technician can measure the dishwasher's leakage directly. --- **[Read on the site: Dishwasher Tripping the Breaker: Causes and Fixes](https://dishwasherrepair.center/problems/dishwasher-tripping-breaker/)** **[Book a visit with DishwasherRepair.center](https://dishwasherrepair.center/schedule/)**