# Kenmore Elite D/W trips GFCI breaker



## Opihi59 (Apr 13, 2018)

Kenmore Elite Dishwasher model 665.12793K311, 3 years old. Pretty sure this is made by Whirlpool and badged for Kenmore. I installed this on my kitchen remodel just about 3 years ago. First repair I did on it about 16 months ago was to replace the Diverter motor and seal after this component failed resulting in the dishes not getting adequately clean. It has run fine since then.

The Dishwasher is plugged into a GFCI protected circuit since all the outlets in my kitchen are on GFCI. The issue is that the GFCI will trip after about maybe 15 minutes into the wash cycle. Occasionally I can reset the GFCI, and it will continue to wash, other times, it will run a complete cycle and will not trip at all. If I run a heavy duty extension into my living room to a non GFCI outlet it will run a full cycle and does not trip the main circuit breaker. I have plugged the DW into 2 other different GFCI circuits, and these trip as well. The GFCI circuit the dishwasher is plugged into is a 20A circuit that has several other outlets on it, but nothing is plugged into these. This dishwasher sees only household loads about 5-6X a week.

I have placed my DW up on short sawhorses so I can see up under it while it functions. I have found no obvious signs of a ground fault or short in any wiring, but I have not dug into the wiring inside the door. There is no evidence of leakage. I have checked the pigtail connection to the machine, and there is no evidence of short, exposed wiring, etc. My heater element shows no sign of corrosion, and I have unplugged it on occasion but the GFCI will still trip. The various pumps seem to run without signs of straining, and I have laid up under the DW during multiple full cycles without hearing any strange sounds, etc. Currently I am at somewhat of a loss as to where the short is occurring, or how to further troubleshoot this. 

Sorry that my first post is a cry for help, but I do prefer to fix my own things and am a relentless DIYer. I am very good at mechanical things, do my own automotive repair and have replaced numerous failed components in various circuit boards in both automotive and household items. I am hoping someone may be able to tell me how to work thru this problem systematically. 

Thanks for any help you can provide, in the meantime I'm going to keep running this on sawhorses on an extension to a non GFCI outlet, to see if something will declare itself.


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## jmon (Nov 5, 2012)

Welcome to the forums opi.

Verify breaker at the panel goes all the way off and all the way on with no problems. Check to see if any discoloration or corrosion present. If so, breaker may need replacing.

Imo, could just be nuisance tripping. I've seen this before. You could try hard-wiring dw directly to circuit or replace the gfci with a regular outlet. That usually solves the nuisance tripping issue. 

However, before doing this, please check with a local electrician/building inspector first, for local codes covering this. Depending on your location/local codes you may not be able to do this. Idk. Just a suggestion.


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## Opihi59 (Apr 13, 2018)

Thanks, GFCI is required. 

I finally fixed it yesterday; issue was current leak from cracked housing on the OWI which I have replaced. All working once again.


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## joecaption (Nov 30, 2011)

#1, A location on your profile would have been a great help with people knowing local codes, They can change from state to state and even county's.


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## joecaption (Nov 30, 2011)

Glad you got it fixed and took the time to come back and report.


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## Opihi59 (Apr 13, 2018)

Thank you for your suggestion and input. Just haven't been here long enough to figure out the forum nuances and wiring diagram.


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