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A home electrical panel with its gray door open on a dry laundry room wall, one breaker sitting in the tripped middle position among a row of switched-on breakers.

Ice Maker Tripping the Breaker

The ice maker keeps cutting the power at the panel or the GFCI outlet, often in the middle of a harvest, after a leak, or each time an undercounter unit starts its pump; an ice maker tripping breaker after breaker is a warning, not a nuisance.

(844) 773-0701

Mon–Sat, 8am–8pm

  • Water on the floor or near power
  • 5 questions that narrow it
  • 5 causes, cheapest first

Book a visit

Three short steps, about a minute.

or call (844) 773-0701

Stay clear of any outlet in the water, then close the water valve

A breaker that trips because of an ice maker is protecting the house from water meeting power. Close the supply valve if there is any water, keep clear of a wet outlet and do not keep resetting the breaker. Leave it off, reaching the panel only when it is dry, until the circuit and the ice maker have been checked.

What it
usually means.

An ice maker is one of very few appliances that puts water and electricity side by side on purpose. A small heater frees each batch of cubes from the mold, a motor turns the ejector or twists the tray, a valve opens on mains power, and an undercounter unit adds a water pump, a drain pump and a compressor. When water reaches a wire, a heater shorts or a motor seizes, the breaker or the GFCI outlet cuts the power, and it does that to protect the house. A breaker that trips once after a storm can be a one-off; one that trips again every time the ice maker starts is pointing at a real problem, and resetting it over and over only repeats the risk.

A technician's hands hold the probes of a meter against a small control board behind the removed lower panel of an undercounter ice maker in a US home kitchen, a flashlight on the floor lighting the wiring. The 5 causes, cheapest first

Answer these first

01

Is there water on the floor, in the cabinet or around the outlet the appliance uses?
02

Does the breaker trip at a particular moment, such as when cubes drop or when the pump starts?
03

Is the outlet a GFCI with its own test and reset buttons, and does that trip rather than the panel?
04

Did you notice a burning smell, a buzz or a scorch mark near the ice maker or the plug?
05

Does anything else share that circuit, such as a microwave or a disposer?

Check these
before you book.

Ice maker tripping breaker: 5 checks, and none of them costs anything.

01

If there is water near the appliance, close the valve that feeds the ice maker before anything else.

02

Do not touch the outlet, the plug or the cord while the floor or the cabinet around them is wet.

03

Leave the breaker off, and only go to the panel if it is dry and away from the water; do not reset it again while the cause is unknown.

Also worth checking

  • If there is no water anywhere, switch the ice maker off at its own switch or panel setting before trying the breaker once.
  • Note when the trip happens and whether there was a smell or a buzz, and tell us when you book.

The causes,
cheapest first.

5 things ice maker tripping the breaker turns out to be, from mold heater shorted to water reaching the outlet or plug.

The cost guide
  1. 01 moderate

    Mold heater shorted

    The heater under the mold warms it for a few seconds to release the cubes. When its insulation fails, the breaker trips at harvest. On most door and freezer models the heater comes with a new assembly.

    Fixed by ice maker assembly replacement
  2. 02 moderate

    Water inside the ice maker wiring

    An overflowing fill or a leaking valve can drip into the harness where the ice maker plugs into the cabinet wall, and the moisture shorts the circuit.

    Fixed by ice maker control and sensor repair On a freezer ice maker
  3. 03 moderate

    Undercounter pump or motor seizing

    The circulation pump and the drain pump in an undercounter unit sit in water. A seized or leaking pump draws enough current to open the breaker as it starts.

    Fixed by drain pump and drain line repair On an undercounter ice maker
  4. 04 moderate to highest

    Worn control board or wiring

    A board that has been exposed to moisture or a surge, or a wire chafed through where it passes the cabinet, can short to ground and trip the circuit.

    Fixed by ice maker control and sensor repair
  5. 05 varies

    Water reaching the outlet or plug

    A leak from the supply line or the drain that runs to the outlet is enough to trip a GFCI. The leak has to be stopped and the outlet dried and checked before power goes back on.

    Fixed by water filter and supply line service See ice maker leaking on the floor
  6. What it costs

    Every repair on the site's cost scale, side by side

    Open the cost guide

The makes
it happens on.

27 makes on this site; ice maker tripping the breaker can show up on any of them. Each mark opens that make's own page.

All 27 brands

Ice Maker Tripping the Breaker,
where we come out.

9 metros, each with its own page.

All service areas

Tampa BayFL · 31 areas

OrlandoFL · 30 areas

Miami / South FloridaFL · 47 areas

New York MetroNY · 75 areas

HoustonTX · 36 areas

ChicagoIL · 50 areas

Los AngelesCA · 95 areas

San DiegoCA · 31 areas

San Francisco Bay AreaCA · 74 areas

A parent and a child filling two glasses with ice from the door dispenser in a bright family kitchen
For the heart of your home.

Questions about
ice maker tripping the breaker.

The GFCI outlet tripped but the panel breaker did not. Which matters?
Either one means current went where it should not, and a GFCI is simply more sensitive to it. Treat it the same way: look for water first and do not keep pressing reset.
Can I plug the appliance into an extension cord from another outlet?
Please do not. It moves the same problem onto a circuit that was not planned for it, often without the GFCI protection an ice maker needs. Keep the ice maker off until it has been checked.
Will the food keep if the breaker stays off?
Keep the doors closed and most contents stay cold for several hours. If the ice maker is the part that trips the circuit, switching it off at its own switch may let the rest of the appliance run safely; ask us when you call.
It only trips during a thunderstorm. Is the ice maker to blame?
Probably not. Storms trip breakers on their own. If it only happens once and never with the weather clear, mention it at the next visit rather than booking one for it.

Back to your everyday

Still seeing ice maker tripping the breaker?

Book with what you checked above — 5 answers save the technician the first part of the visit.

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