Tripping the circuit breaker plunges your room or the whole house into darkness. Most often a less-reliable fuse box is remembered for this inconvenience. You can face this issue despite upgrading the old fuse box. Perhaps, there are a few more reasons you aren’t familiar with.
So, it’s normal to be inquisitive about “why does my pressure washer keep tripping the breaker?”. Some mechanical errors may exist like a short circuit, overloaded circuit, etc. behind it. Besides, a faulty part of the pressure washer i.e its valve can be responsible somehow.
Whatever the reason for the problem is, you don’t need to call an expert. You can resolve the existing issue on your own by finding the exact reason behind the problem. However, you can bring an expert if you find it complicated after the observation.
Why does my pressure washer keep tripping the breaker?
You must be eager to know about “why does my pressure washer keep tripping the breaker?” Some possible reasons behind the inconvenience are depicted here.
The short circuit keeps tripping the breaker
Your pressure washer may create a short circuit issue that trips the breaker. The circuit breaker is a safety device that saves the home by cutting the high-flow electricity. A short circuit generally occurs when the hot wire and a neutral wire meet together in an electrical outlet. You may check the fuse box when you notice that you have no electricity but your neighbors have. Now, you need to know if the circuit breaker is tripped. To know this, observe the switch handle. If you find the switch handle in the middle of the ON and OFF position, that’s a bad sign. It also may show a red area alerting you about its tripping. As the switch handle moves only a few, you need to observe it from the close.
Additional amperage flow overloading the circuit
Each electric wire is limited with a specific amperage flowing. A wire can’t handle the extra amperage and it creates a short circuit instantly. As a result, the circuit breaker turns the electricity flow off. It happens most of the time for plugging too many appliances in the circuit. You need to be assured about the problem by a deep observation. It can be done easily by unplugging appliances one by one. However, the pressure washer fuse location also can be damaged for the overloaded circuit.
Ground fault issue
Sometimes an active wire can meet with the ground wire. Specifically, the black wire may meet the green wire and this creates the ground fault. In this circumstance, a big amount of electricity passes through the circuit breaker. And this incident can trip the circuit breaker by a pressure washer. The exact reason behind the ground fault happening is the faulty appliance. For this reason, the pressure washer can trip the breaker repeatedly.
Other reasons for tripping the breaker
A few more possible reasons can trip the breaker. If you don’t find anything helpful after observing, then you may have doubts about one of the following problems.
- Repetition of the partial short circuit can trip the breaker. Moisture plays the main role in this inconvenience. The winding insulation may get contaminated by moisture. And it’s the creator of the partial short circuit. Finally, the breaker keeps tripping for this partial short circuit.
- An excessive load on the motor can trip the breaker. Your pressure washer may use the hard water without knowing the presence of the mineral. It’s highly responsible for causing excessive load on the motor. Then, the circuit breaker keeps tripping.
- Some of the pressure washer models have a “start winding switch”. The breaker can trip repeatedly if it doesn’t work perfectly.
- The bad bearings are the curse for the washer motor. It disables the motor after a certain time. As a result, the appliance gets damaged, and the breaker trips.
- A sticky pump valve can be reasonable for tripping the breaker.
- Maybe, your circuit breaker is tired of tripping too many times. You may have fixed the issue before but this time your effort may not be fruitful.
- Voltage issues and bad connection issues are bonded with each other. The voltage may remain low due to a bad connection issue. If the voltage is lower than the optimum, then the current flow increases. The lower the voltage, the higher the current flow. So, a higher current flow will hit the circuit breaker. And this incident will surely trip the breaker.
What are the possible solutions?
Now, you need to get a proper solution so that your pressure washer can’t trip the breaker. Here are some ways you should follow to get rid of the situation instantly.
Step:1- Unplug other appliance
Unplugging other appliances at the first step helps you ensure that the pressure washer is the problem. If you find that the breaker isn’t tripping after unplugging an appliance, then the problem is with it. Otherwise, follow the steps mentioned below. You can start it if you don’t have any other appliance on the same circuit.
Step:2- Unplug the pressure washer
Now, you need to unplug the pressure washer. If the breaker stops tripping, then it’s sure that the issue is with the pressure washer.
Step:3- Find the circuit box
Now, you need to reset the circuit breaker. The sudden surge of power can damage your electronics devices. So, turn them in the OFF position. Then, notice the color of the circuit breaker. Red or orange color indicates that the circuit breaker is switched OFF.
Step:4- Flip the breaker if it’s OFF
In this step, you’ll flip the breaker ON. Carefully do it standing at a safe distance from the switch box.
Step:5- Wait a few minutes
You’re almost done. Wait a few minutes in front of the fuse box after flipping the breaker.
Step:6- Plug in the pressure washer
Finally, plug in all the appliances. Hence, you can plug in your pressure washer. Hope your circuit breaker isn’t tripping anymore.
FAQ
Here are some questions with quick answers related to this issue. People may find it helpful in a hurry.
Why does my electric pressure washer keep tripping the breaker?
Most of the time, the pressure washer keeps tripping for water somewhere inside the circuit. It causes a hot wire with the ground wire. Besides, a defective GFCI breaker, overloading the circuit, etc. are responsible.
Is it dangerous if the breaker keeps tripping?
This is a common issue with electronics appliances. But, it’s potentially dangerous. It can create inconvenience if the tripping happens often. Tripping the breaker indicates to you about replacing the new one.
More pressure washer related article at howtofixup
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Final words
Your question is- “why does my pressure washer keep tripping the breaker?”. You have a complete idea now about the reasons behind the pressure washer tripping the breaker. This is possible for short circuits, ground fault, additional amperage flow, etc. Finding the core reason will help you to take the right step.
The presence of moisture, sticky pump valves, bad bearings, etc. may also become responsible. Once you identify the problem, you can fix it on your own. It’s simple to do and you need to follow some safety precautions. If you can’t fix it, maybe you need to purchase a dedicated circuit.