What to Do If Your GE Dryer Is Tripping the Breaker

Have you encountered a situation when you dryer turns off soon after you start it? This may be rather puzzling, but soon you realize that your home circuit breaker had been tripped – which may often result in the power outage for several of your home appliances as well. Now, nearly all of us have encountered this kind of problem. Sometimes this may happen if you simply turn on several appliances at the same time. Simply putting the breaker in the ON position will fix the problem, but sometimes the issue may persist. No dryer brands are safe against this kind of issue, however, we have noticed that it seems to be particularly persistent with some GE electric dryers models.

You may find these recommendations useful in case you encounter this problem continuously – and it renders your dryer unusable or nearly unusable.

What Are Circuit Breakers and What Do They Do?

The circuit breaker is one of the most essential parts of the wiring of any house. Their role is to safeguard the house wiring against the power surges, which may often happen due to a simple equipment failure.

The electric grid in your house is designed to maintain a stable voltage of 120 volts. Sometimes, however, the electric circuit can short – this may happen whenever two wires touch, providing the lesser path of resistance for electric current. This significantly reduces the resistance in the circuit, and according to the Ohm’s Law, lower resistance significantly increases the current – this, in turns, leads to the overheating of the circuit components, burning the most sensitive ones and sometimes leading to the fire outbreak. If you feel that this is happening to your dryer, call us and ask about our dryer repair services.

Unfortunately, given the complexity of modern electronics occasional shorts are inevitable. This is why we employ a complicated system of fuses and circuit breakers. Most of appliances have independent fuses, which are meant to protect expensive parts; however, every home has an independent circuit breaker panel.

Weak Circuit Breaker

Circuit breakers protect electrical circuits from the power surges that most commonly happen due to shorts or overloading. The unfortunate drawback of circuit breakers is that they can effectively withstand only a very limited number of power surges. Over the time, the breakers get “weaker”. A weak breaker will trip even if the electrical current is normal or slightly above the norm.

If the breaker is frequently tripped by various heating appliances it may be a sign of a weak circuit breaker. If it is only your dryer that trips the breaker, despite you have already carefully checked the dryer and found no defect – maybe it is time to replace the breaker itself?

Heating Element Assembly Shorts the Circuit

The short is a type of malfunctioning often caused by loose wires or damaged appliance components. The short will result in an unexpected power surge that would trip the breaker, burn electrical components within your appliance or even damage other home appliances. A short-to-ground can be often detected by checking for continuity between electrical components and their casings.

Loose Connections in the Dryer

Power cord prongs can be another possible source of shorts. The prongs are attached to the terminal by screws, and sometimes there may be continuity between two prongs, especially if your appliance was accidentally dented. It is in general a good idea to check the wiring without the dryer itself and make sure the dryer has no loose wires.

Conduct a Proper Diagnostics

Sometimes an increased or unusual power consumption by your dryer can also trip the circuit breaker. This may happen if your vent has too much lint in it, preventing the appliance from drawing the air – and making it draw more power in order to heat up properly. Another possibility is that the dryer may be overheating due to a mechanical or electronic failure, which should be prevented by a thermal fuse. A faulty fuse may escalate the problem to the point of tripping a circuit breaker in your house. The problem may as well lie in a faulty thermostat or control board. We would recommend you to conduct a proper diagnostics of your dryer in case you have failed to find the issue on your own and other home appliances work just fine.

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