Washing Machine Shocks Reasons and what to do if the machine or RCD knocks out

СThe washing machine is electrocuted due to damaged insulation, defective socket / electrical wiring or harsh operating conditions (wear, moisture).

The most dangerous places include the drum, housing, wet floor and direct tap water.

Separately, we will deal with safety measures and rules for grounding the device.

Basic rules for connecting a washing machine

A new machine can be shocked in case of connection errors to the electrical network.

This point is very important, because the correct connection involves taking into account a number of points:

• socket with grounding;
• the presence of a separate supply line;
• individual circuit breaker;
• RCD for the apartment to quickly turn off the light in the event of a short circuit.

Compliance with these rules allows you to avoid a problematic situation.

There are no clear deadlines here. The older the machine, the greater the risk of wear of any parts, and the higher the likelihood of malfunctions and breakdowns.

In what cases can a washing machine be shocked?

In practice, there are several situations in which the washing machine can be shocked.

1. Contact with the housing of household appliances.
2. Touching a metal drum.
3. Walking around the bathroom with a wet floor with bare feet.
4. When turning on the water. In this case, the faucet itself or water beats with current.

Note that the problem can occur even when the washing machine is turned off. It is enough that the power cord is simply plugged into the outlet, and this situation is typical for almost all users of this household appliance.

Where does the current come from on the body and drum?

In view of the foregoing, a logical question arises – where can a life-threatening voltage appear in a washing machine.

It is necessary to be afraid of leakage current, which can occur in the following cases:

1. Natural appearance due to the features of the circuit.
2. Damage to household appliances caused by a violation of the integrity of the insulation.
3. Violation of the integrity of the wires that fit the outlet, or damage to the latter.

It is present in almost all electrical appliances, even those that are fully functional.

In case of touching the elements of household appliances, for example, the drum, faucet, housing or tap water, a leakage current appears. It follows the path of least resistance and through the human body.

The path is most often hand, foot and earth. At high current readings, you can feel real discomfort, tingling, pain.

In practice, leakage current may also appear on other items that are in the washing machine. The only condition is the ability of the element to conduct current.

In this case, a completely different chain may arise, for example, a washing machine, a filler pipe, pipes and a bathroom. If a person touches the bathroom in this case, he will be electrocuted.

All major elements of household appliances should be connected to it: a washing machine, dishwasher, boiler, electric stove, etc.

In this case, the natural current leaves through the ground wire, but at a high current (above the RCD setting), the disconnecting equipment is triggered. In this case, the “Safety Shutdown Device” reacts to the difference in currents at the input and output.

Therefore, if you connect the washing machine correctly, it will not shock in any way. If this happens, you need to look for problems with the wiring.

If the RCD is missing or faulty, and there is no grounding in the apartment, you can be under high voltage, and the current will be sufficient to cause serious harm, up to death.

The reason why the washing machine is shocking

The practice of operating household appliances allows us to identify several reasons why the washing machine is energized:

1. Electrical connection errors. This is due to a voltage supply without grounding / RCD or the use of a carrier without a ground wire.
2. Damage to the socket / conductor. For example, current leakage leads to heating of the wire, which contributes to damage to the contact in the socket or electrical panel.
3. Breakdown of the RCD, which does not work even with high leakage currents.
4. Violation of the insulation of the wires that are inside the washing machine. This, in turn, leads to leakage.
5. Increased humidity or wear of equipment, which causes a breakdown.
6. Punches the motor or heater inside the washing machine.

The reasons discussed above can manifest themselves one by one or in combination.

Knocks out the machine and RCD, what’s the difference

If the light goes out when you turn on the washing machine, there are two options – turning off the RCD or circuit breaker.

And here it is important to understand the difference between each type of shutdown:

1. RCD is a residual current device that works on the principle of comparing the incoming and outgoing current. If a difference appears, indicating the appearance of a leakage current in the network, the device turns off the voltage. This is a protective equipment that protects a person from electric shock. In this case, the current can go not only through a person, but also through grounding (if provided). When disconnected from the RCD in 90% of cases, the problem is in the heating element.
2. Difavtomat – protective equipment that reacts to the flow of short circuit current in the circuit. It works when any phase is shorted to ground or to zero in the washing machine itself, in a wire or even an outlet. In this case, the currents are much higher and significantly exceed the nominal parameter.

What to do and how to fix the problem

To understand the problem, it is necessary to study the causes and symptoms of a malfunction, by which you can decide how to fix them. For convenience, we will enter the data in a table.

Other measures if the washing machine began to shock

If a malfunction occurs, the first thing to do is to remove the voltage by pulling the plug out of the socket and turning off the power in the shield or the general machine (if a separate one is not provided).

In the event that there are no complaints about the outlet, it is necessary to call a washing machine repairman.

In the future, it is important to properly connect household appliances in order to avoid such problems.

Follow these guidelines:

1. Plug the washing machine into a socket that provides grounding, there is a separate AV and RCD. In 1- and 2-room apartments, you can install one residual current device at the entrance.
2. Do not use a carrier. This is due to the fact that such devices are not designed to power high power equipment and often do not have a ground wire. Consequently, the excess current does not go anywhere, but is collected on the body of the washing machine.
3. Install at least an RCD if there is no protective earth. In this case, dangerous leakage currents can be protected. At the same time, it is not necessary to put it on the whole apartment – it is enough to do this only for a washing machine and other equipment that can be shocked.

How to check the heating element for serviceability

In most cases, the main reason why the washing machine is energized is the breakdown of the heating element.

To find out, do the following:

1. Disconnect the power supply.
2. Remove the back cover of the washing machine.
3. Disconnect all terminals from the heating element.
4. Take your multimeter and set it to 200 megaohm resistance measurement mode (maximum possible).
5. We put one probe on any terminal, the second on the body of the heating element. If 1 (one) is displayed, then the resistance is infinite, the heating element is not broken and is working, if the device shows numbers less than one, for example, 0.18 (eighteen megaohm, then there is a penetration into the body and the heating element is faulty. Check the second terminal.
6. If the heating element is defective, replace it.

If, after replacing the heating element, the machine still beats with current?

After replacing the heating element, as a rule, the RCD stops knocking out and this is good, but in most cases, if the washing machine is not connected to ground, it will still be current.

This is due to the technical requirements for the device, which stipulate that it must be grounded during operation.

But in the old housing stock, as a rule, grounding is not provided and the question arises – “What to do in this case?”.

The fact is that the surge protector is designed to prevent interference in the general electrical network of the apartment during the operation of the washing machine.

But the surge protector only works when the washing machine is grounded.

That is, if the washing machine is connected to the mains without grounding, then the surge protector does not perform its functions, while it is in good condition, but, as it were, falls out of the chain of working devices.  

At the same time, the phase and zero continue to pass through the surge protector.

Now the surge protector does not pass current to the case, and the washing machine stops shocking.

But this method has its own drawback associated with the operation of the control board.

After all, the surge protector, in the presence of problems with electricity, protects internal components from damage by directing the leakage current to the case.

If the device is turned off, the washing machine most likely stops “pinching”, but there is a risk of burning the control board, although it is not great.

What not to do?

There are a number of steps that absolutely cannot be done when detecting damage to the washing machine (when it is shocked).

Let’s analyze the most popular:

1. Grounding the machine to the battery / riser. This method does not solve the problem, but only exacerbates it. The heating riser, although it has contact with the ground, may have high resistance in this place. As a result, the current will still go through the person. In addition, not only you can suffer, but also the neighbors through whose apartments this riser goes. There are many such accidents in practice.
2. Fork spread. It is believed that if you change the direction of the phase supply (turn the plug 180 degrees), the washing machine will stop beating. But this is a misconception. Such an action has no effect, because the machine receives an alternating, not a constant voltage.
3. Using a rubber mat near household appliances. It is believed that in this way the resistance increases, and the current will not go through the person. But after all, the path of passage can be not only an arm – a body – a leg, but also an arm – a body – an arm. The second option is possible if with one hand you touched the body of the machine, which breaks through, and the second – to the battery or wall.

Safety Precautions

To avoid getting under voltage when working with a washing machine, it is important to follow these recommendations:

1. Do not touch the body or internal parts of the washing machine with wet hands.
2. When putting laundry in and removing it from the machine, turn off the machine that powers this household appliance.
3. After washing, leave the door open to ventilate the moisture, but rather wipe the inside with a cloth. This step reduces the risk of rust, contact group oxidation or insulation damage in the future. At the same time, it is possible to extend the service life of the equipment.

How to properly ground a washing machine

The lack of grounding is one of the reasons why the washing machine is shocked.

Therefore, in order to fix the problem, it is necessary to correct the defect and use a ground wire when connecting.

There are two possible ways here:

1. Output of a separate socket with a ground wire. The latter is displayed in the shield and connected there with a bolt to the ground line. This option is suitable for apartment buildings, but requires such a circuit. To implement the plan, you must contact the housing office and leave an application. In this case, the master will extend the grounding separately or together with the phase and zero in one cable to the apartment, where you can connect to the outlet.
2. Create your own ground loop. This method is relevant only for your own home. The essence of the method is to drive three pins in the form of a triangle to a depth of three meters. The distance between each pins should also be three meters. Read how to make grounding in a private house.

In both cases, the resistance should not exceed 4 ohms. To measure this parameter, you can use a megohmmeter or other equipment, such as a multimeter with the ability to measure resistance.

Please note that it is forbidden to connect the ground to the batteries, as noted above. You can not perform this work in relation to the neutral wire.