Indesit XWD71452W washing machine intermittent tripping rcd during cycle

[pricklepus]

Hi, I have a 6 year old Indesit XWD71452W washing machine that has an intermittent fault.
It first did it about a year ago. At approx 15minutes into a 1hour cycle it tripped the rcd on the house fuse box. I reset the rcd and the machine then carried on and finished its cycle as normal. It did it approx 3 times over a few weeks but not on every wash (same wash cycle everytime). It then worked perfectly until approx 8weeks ago when it did it once again, then worked fine until last week.
It now seems to do it most washes, and will now trip the rcd several times between the 10-30mins period of the same 1hour cycle. If you reset the rcd the machine will carry on and finish the cycle.

As someone who likes to fix things, my best guess is a fault regarding the heating element, as it occurs at a set point/time period in the cycle, and things like the pump/motor operate at other times during the cycle when the fault doesnt occur.
I removed the inspection panel from the back and there was oxidisation(white crusty build up) around where the temp sensor plugs in through the heating element. My question is, is this a good bet as the likely cause? Am I right to think it suggests a small water leak that could cause an intermittent earth fault thus tripping the rcd, and would I likely need to replace the element, or the sensor or both?

Thanks

[electrofix]

element would be my first port of call too

have you tried a different socket ?

Dave

[pricklepus]

Hi Dave, thanks for the reply.
Yes, one of the times it tripped off, the rcd reset but the machine didnt come straight back on. I tested the socket and it was working, I also used an extention from the non kitchen ring main to try plugging the machine into and it wouldnt turn on either. After approx 10mins it just came back to life and finished its cycle as normal! So I’m fairly happy its the machine at fault and not the socket.

[electrofix]

if you can get it to trip and not reset you could disconnect the wires to the heater to see if it resets then. taking care to make sure the wires cant touch anything

Dave

[pricklepus]

Sadly its one of those annoying intermittant faults that dont let you just test for a broken bit! The rcd will always reset straight away, and other than that one time the machine will turn back on too!
I’m thinking it has to be related to the white oxidisation/corrosion which suggests an occasional small leak round where the temp sensor plugs through the element. I reckon I’ll try fitting a new element as this will renew the rubber seals and hopefully cure the problem!

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