Power, controls and light
Refrigerator Trips the Breaker or GFCI
The circuit keeps going out, and resetting it again is the wrong answer.
Viking Repair Service Los Angeleson site 8am to 8pm, every day of the weekcalls picked up 24/7
| What you see | Likely cause | Safe check | When to call |
|---|---|---|---|
| It goes the moment the cabinet tries to start | Something inside is drawing current it has no business drawing | Note whether the trip lands with the start-up noise or later | Today, and leave the breaker off |
| It goes after a humid stretch or a floor wash | Damp has found a connection that was meant to stay dry | Nothing to open or dry yourself; report the weather and the timing | Today, with the circuit left off |
| It goes when something else on that circuit runs | A circuit carrying more than the cabinet and its neighbours together want | Write down what else was switched on at the moment it went | This week. An electrician may be the right first call |
| A protected outlet cuts out while the breaker holds | A leakage path to earth, which is exactly what that device exists to catch | Reset it once and, if it goes again, leave it alone | Today. Do not keep resetting it |
The table above sorts a cabinet that keeps taking its circuit out by when the trip happens, because the timing carries most of the diagnosis. Row one is the serious reading. Whichever row matches, reset once and no more, then call Viking Repair Service Los Angeles at (213) 799-7879 and leave the circuit off.
Why the timing matters more than the fault
Rows one and two are read from the clock rather than from the cabinet. A trip that arrives with the start-up noise points somewhere quite different from one that turns up on a damp morning with the machine idle, and an owner who has noted which has done most of the narrowing before anyone arrives.
The circuit, and the thing sharing it
Rows three and four widen the question past the appliance. A run of worktop sockets asked to carry more than it was wired for will let go without any part having failed, and a protected outlet that lets go while the breaker holds is reporting leakage rather than overload. Both are worth establishing before a refrigeration part is bought, which is why this page sends you to the visit fee and the wider quote rather than to one band.
Normal, not normal, and the line between them
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Normal
One trip during a storm that took the whole street out with it.
Not normal
A trip every day or two with nothing unusual going on.
Time to call
Today, and leave the circuit off between times.
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Normal
A protected outlet that has never gone in years of service.
Not normal
One that lets go each time the cabinet starts up.
Time to call
Today. Reset it once and no more.
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Normal
A cabinet side that is warm while the machine is working.
Not normal
Any smell of hot plastic, or a mark around a plug or an outlet.
Time to call
Switch it off at the breaker and call straight away.
A breaker that has gone once is information; a breaker you keep resetting is a hazard. Call Viking Repair Service Los Angeles at (213) 799-7879 and describe the row you are on — that sentence is worth more than a guess at the part.
Safe checks before the visit
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Reset the breaker once. If it holds, note the date and what was running at the time. If it goes again, switch it off and leave it off until the visit.
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Take nothing apart and test nothing. A circuit that is tripping is doing its job, and finding out why is meter work behind a panel rather than an owner's check.
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If there is any smell of burning or scorching near a plug or an outlet, leave the circuit off and say so when you call, because it changes what is brought to the visit.
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Stop there. Nothing further is an owner job on a built-in: the sealed circuit, the wiring behind the grille and anything that needs a panel off belong to the visit. Call Viking Repair Service Los Angeles at (213) 799-7879 and say which of the checks above changed anything.
Asked about this one
- Can the circuit just be switched back on each time it goes?
- No. The breaker is interrupting a fault, and every reset asks the faulty part to draw that current again through wiring already under strain. Move what you cannot replace, leave the circuit off, and call Viking Repair Service Los Angeles at (213) 799-7879 rather than keeping the cabinet running.
- Written by
- Ambrose Fitzwilliam
- Role
- Service technician — refrigeration and sealed systems
- In the trade
- 25 years in the trade