Miele Novatronic Premier 500 trips ELCB

As soon as the machine starts to fill with water the circuit breaker trips. Disconnecting the earth wire from the socket allows the machine to complete the cycle without any further problems. I thought it might be current leakage from the interference suppressor and isolated it from earth, but the fault remained. Just wondering if anyone has had a similar problem and might be able to point me in the direction of a possible faulty component.

The machine is about 15 years old, in near perfect condition and the heating element is clearly getting hot.

Any help would be much appreciated.

The heating element would be the first thing anyone would check for that sort of fault as the mineral insulation inside breaks down & the filament shorts to the outer sheath & therefore to earth. If you can't do an insulation test then try the same as you did with the suppressor, ie. disconnect the supply to it & insulate the wires then see if it trips when power is applied.

Thanks jj4091. I did exactly that yesterday afternoon, but while I had it apart, I also changed the brushes in the drum motor - I bought them months ago because there was sometimes clicking on a fast spin. It did not trip when the supply to the element was removed, but then it did not trip when the supply was reconnected. Not too sure that the brushes could be the reason for the problem, but will have to wait until it is used on a full wash a couple of times to confirm one way or another. I will let you know.

Did two washes without tripping and then tripped on the third. Awaiting new element and will post back if the problem remains once it is fitted.