Dishwasher tripping the RCD - is it fixable?

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We've had a problem with the dishwasher tripping the circuit breaker on the kitchen sockets (we know it's the dishwasher, because we ran an extension lead into the living room, and it tripped the circuit there).

Is it worth calling the manufacturer and getting a man in? Or is it toast?

It's only three years old. And it's a (supposedly reliable) Bosch!

most often this is due to the heating element breaking down with age, although three years is abnormally soon. In which case it will not trip with a cold rinse-and-hold cycle, but as soon as the machine starts trying to heat water. This is a common and straightforward fix. Any local appliance mender can do it, or a competent DIYer able to do electrical repairs. It is not as easy as changing an oven element, because you have the water seals as well.

Or it might be due to a water leak onto an electrical part. Tip it slowly over backwards (not forward) and see if water runs out onto the floor by the time it reaches 45 degrees. With a torch you might see watermarks. It might be difficult or easy, for example a hose or the pump. There may be water damage.

However the easiest thing to check is if the flex has been damaged, e.g. by having a heavy appliance stood on it, or being gnawed by rodents or puppies. This is a common and straightforward fix. Any local appliance mender or competent DIYer can do it.

Bosch will probably offer you a fixed-price repair, or a 1-year service contract which is good value if you expect it to go wrong again.

Sorry, PJ, not ignoring you, just been battling passwords and security resets for the last 24 hours.

Well, we pulled the machine out. No damage to the cable (although we did have mice earlier in the year) and dry as a bone, even when tipped.

BUT I think your suggestion of a broken heater element may be correct - it works fine during the prewash (which is cold). Good to hear it's fixable.

So we have called Bosch (£99 call out charge ) and booked an engineer for when we get back from holiday. Will have to reaquaint myself with a washing up bowl in the meantime.... booo.

MINE DID THIS TOO!

Also a Bosch! And, what's more, it started to give me electric shocks whenever I touched the inner metal door and any other metal appliance in the kitchen (it is next to the cooker). So be very, very careful.

I know it was the dishwasher because I had a sparky out giving me a quite for some work and he detected current through the door.

Bosch were absolutely CRAP. They sent out an engineer who couldn't find anything wrong. The problem unsurprisingly persisted. Then they charged me for a second visit where they did actually find that the heating element had failed and replaced it. (PigletJohn, as usual, you are a font of wisdom).

It was absolutely clear at all points that they just didn't give a flying f about their customers - electric shocks or not!

Fortunately, John Lewis helped me out even though the machine was out of warranty (just) and paid half the cost. But it will be Miele for me in future. And I won't be getting a Bosch cooker, vacuum or anything else either!

Blimey, shovetheholly, I haven't noticed any shocks but it's worth watching out for. I'm pretty sure ours is out of warranty but annoyingly I can't find the receipt anywhere, so we'll have to suck up the cost.

And I bought a Bosch because I thought it would be extra-reliable.

Update - Bosch man came today - it was indeed the element short-circuiting, but of course it comes as a single unit with the pump as well - why do they do that??

He fixed it, and presented me with a bill for £210. I threw an almighty tantrum; he got on the phone, and it was reduced to £140. Still painful, but at least we have a working dishwasher. The new part has a one year guarantee (so it bloody should).

It went wrong again - exactly the same fault!!

Man booked for Friday (again).

PJ - any ideas? Either the new part is faulty, or he has failed to spot the real problem. I do hate washing up.

Our Siemens washing machine pump went within 2 years of buying it. They are the same people - Bosch, Siemens and Neff.

I hope you get somewhere. I was impressed with their helpfulness, but a pump should not go in less than two years.

If you have to ditch the thing then get a Miele. You can't get through to them very easily and they come across as uninterested on the phone, but I've never had to involve them in a repair situation as their stuff seems not to go wrong.

if it's tripping the RCD again, it is most unlikely to be the heating element, so I would suspect a water leak getting onto some electrical part. It's not impossible that this was due to improper fitting of your new pump and element.

No doubt the old element has been scrapped by now so no chance of testing it.

Hmm.

The dishwasher did work for one full cycle, then it almost got through the second one before it went pop - well past the stage where the heating element would have kicked in anyway.

I wonder if there is a leak inside? It looks clean as a whistle inside and out - no watermarks anywhere. I just have my fingers crossed we won't incur yet another bill.

Just be cautious. I think I would stop using it and unplug it/disconnect it.

The fact is, it is tripping your RCD and that means it has a short circuit somewhere. This is a fire risk and a shock risk.

Unlss you fancy having a fire or someone getting an electric shock I would not advise using it again until it has been properly sorted out.

RCD tripping indicates earth leakage, not short circuit. It is of course possible there might be both.

The behaviour (worked once, then tripped) encourages me in my suspicion that there is a leak, which took time to cause enough moisture for a trip.

Very reasonable to unplug it awaiting repair, and as you have a professional mender on hand, no reason to tinker with it or try to diagnose further.

Don't worry, I stopped using it as soon as it went wrong. It won't currently get through a cycle anyway.

Well, Bosch chap came back, and the machine was indeed full of water.

He replaced the (brand new, but now dripping with water) heat / pump unit again and replaced some seals. A "known fault" apparently (some sort of overflow) , so if it recurs he said there won't be much else he can do and we will need a new machine.

Funny how this leak only occurred after his recent visit....

He did say that the heat/pump unit he replaced the first time was "dead as a doornail" (nice to know we didn't shell out all that money for nothing, then, eh?).

He didn't charge us any more; time will tell if that's the last of it.

UPDATE: Well, one year on, and the machine has failed again - same thing, tripping the RCD while halfway through a cycle. This time, it almost took the freezer with it, as it refused to come back on again after the power tripped.

That's it, IT'S GOING. Bye bye Bosch, I'm buying something better.

Oh flip. Not good. And I thought Bosch were reliable!

I have the same problem, only my dishwasher is only 11 months old and is a Neff. Had a guy out twice now, first to see what was wrong, second to fit a part (but wrong part) and now waiting for the correct part to be supplied. Now been without a dishwasher for three weeks eeek! Not impressed.

Very annoying. Try a letter of complaint to Bosch saying you don't believe it can be considered to have given satisfactory service.

It might be that your model has a design fault causing these leaks. The story you were told does suggest that. Bosch will know from their service stats if that's true. BSH are usually very reliable.

I did once get a free out-of-warranty repair on a Siemens dishwasher by saying I didn't think it could be considered to have given satisfactory service. In my case it had spent about two years, unused in its packaging, while moving house, so I said I had only had a couple of months use out of it. The MD's PA called me.

A letter is much better than a phone call or email.

I have had the EXACT same thing happen to me.

Bosch was tripping the RCD. Ended up having it fixed at a whopping cost of £150.

Now, about 13 months after the repair, it has happened again. I am NOT paying for another Bosch callout, so I have bought a Miele. Bosch have been comprehensively useless - as John Lewis commented they 'do not do good will gestures'. I will never be buying another of their appliances again!

I am pretty sure that what is happening is water is getting into the door and causing some kind of an issue with the heating element. I suspect this because on BOTH occasions, touching the interior of the dishwasher door + anything else metal in the kitchen has led to an electric shock.

Thanks PJ, I will write a letter - may not do the trick, but certainly worth a try!

"touching the interior of the dishwasher door + anything else metal in the kitchen has led to an electric shock"

Regardless of the dishwasher, this indicates a wiring fault in your home.

Thanks PJ - I suspected as much. Am getting the electrician out today, but the whole kitchen is going to be rewired in the next 12 months. I suspect there is some very dodgy stuff in the walls. The fitters didn't exactly do a first class job.

Hi all,
Our Rex dishwasher has just died after 12 years of reliability. The technician car and said the control board thinhie has gone so put in a new one and charged me €220 ouch! He turned it on and left. I was also getting a shock from the door and the kitchen sink of which he said was because there was no earth tning in the plug . I know absolutely nothing about these things. After 5/10 minutes of use I started hearing strange noises coming from the door where he had installed the new "board" (don't know what it's actually called) The while circuit tripped and I've no idea what could be causing this if its more of a house wiring issue. Anyone have any ideas?

Our 3.5 year old Bosch dishwasher started tripping out our electrics over the weekend. Today our local engineer called and had a look, this is the second Bosch dishwasher he's seen with the same DESIGN fault. Water is leaking at the join between the plastic base inside and the stainless steel back and dripping directly on to the motor. His advice was to check inside when buying a replacement that all the internal walls and base are stainless steel. I have emailed Bosch but I'm not holding out much hope.

Loving Piglet John's replies, very helpful. I have a similar issue. Overnight, the dishwasher tripped the power. Reset RCD. Reset the dishwasher using the buttons (Bosch Integrated); Now it releases the tablet, but seems to keep washing with cold water and settles at one minute remaining, still rinsing with cols sudsy water. Like the above correspondent, we don't like washing dishes..... causing marital disharmony.... 23 year old not happy too..... and we are out of cat food, just saying!

Our Bosch SMV46GX00G integrated dishwasher has been working fine for a while, but has now started tripping the RCD after about 15 minutes into the ECO cycle. I took off covers and looked inside the works underneath, but it all looks clean and dry (except for a small spider). Any ideas what might be wrong with it?