In one paragraph
A dishwasher that trips the breaker or smells hot is reporting a leak of current to earth, and the two usual sources are the heating element and water that has reached a connection it should never touch. On a Aviva dishwasher the order below is what makes this page worth reading — the causes are ranked for this kind of machine, not listed alphabetically.
The symptoms, and the near misses
- The breaker or earth-leakage device trips during the cycle — The timing within the cycle matters: a trip at the heat step is an element signature.
- A hot-plastic smell near the door or the base — Overheated wiring or a connection breaking down, often at the door hinge loom.
- Water visible under the machine along with the trip — Water plus a trip is the same fault seen twice — find the leak and you have found the electrical cause.
- A tingle from the door handle or the worktop — Take it out of service immediately. That is current where it should not be.
- NEAR MISS — the machine is dead with no other symptom — A simple no-power complaint is a supply question rather than a safety one.
Causes in order of likelihood
- Heating element or flow-through heater failing to earth — First. The heater is immersed in the wash water by design, so when its insulation degrades the fault path goes straight to earth — and it only shows up when the heater is energised, which is why the trip lands at the same point every cycle.
- A leak reaching a connection, pump or board — Second, and it is the reason a dishwasher leak is never purely a plumbing problem. Water travels along the base to the lowest point, which is where the wiring and the pump live.
- Door hinge wiring loom chafed — Third. The loom through the door flexes every time the door opens, and after years the insulation wears through against the metal edge.
- Supply cord or outlet damage — Fourth: an appliance pushed back into a tight cabinet crushes its cord against a pipe or a bracket, and the damage is on the side nobody sees.
Where to start, and why there
- Note the cycle point at which the trip happens — Fill, heat, wash or dry. A trip at heat is an element; a trip at any point suggests water or a loom.
- Check the base of the machine for water — Slide a sheet of paper under the front. Wet means the fault is a leak before it is anything else.
- Test whether other appliances trip the same circuit — This separates a house wiring problem from an appliance fault without opening anything.
What an owner can safely check
- Stop using the machine and isolate it — Switch the spur off. A wet appliance with an earth fault is not something to keep testing.
About 5 min
- Check for water under and behind the machine — Pull it forward carefully if the plumbing allows, and look for standing water in the base tray.
Tools: flashlight, towelsAbout 20 min
- Inspect the cord where it passes behind the cabinet — Look for crushing against the waste pipe or the cabinet frame, which is where it usually happens.
Tools: flashlightAbout 15 min
- Record when the trip occurs and what else is on the circuit — Evidence is the useful owner contribution here, and it shortens the visit.
About 10 min
- STOP — do not open the cabinet or the door skin — Every component in this fault class is mains-wired inside a wet machine.
Safety first
Safety
Turn the circuit off and confirm it, then close the supply valve. Anything you drain will come out faster than expected, so have a shallow tray ready. If water has reached the control board or the motor, stop there and call: a dried-out board can work for a week and fail closed afterwards.
When to book a visit
Call immediately and leave the machine isolated. Resetting the breaker to finish a load re-energises a fault in an appliance that is standing in water, and the protective device is the only thing standing between that fault and the person unloading the machine. If there is a tingle from the door or the worktop, treat it as urgent and have the outlet earth checked as well as the appliance.
Related pages for this machine
Where this page stops
This page is generalized across the Aviva dishwasher line: it covers the appliance class rather than one family or one model line. Where a family- or model-specific page exists for your unit it is the better answer and it is linked from this page — check the model label before you rely on anything here. What is deliberately not on this page: wiring colours, board part numbers, torque figures and teardown order, all of which differ by family and belong on the page for that family.
Lead Appliance Repair Technician · 12 years experience
Experienced technician with 12 years specializing in washing machine and dryer repairs across all major brands.
