Your Craftsman Electric Pressure Washer may not start or work due to a number of reasons. This article explains each of those reasons and what you can do to fix them.
But before you continue read this post, you may first watch the short video I made about this topic. You can watch the video down below.
There are 3 possible reasons why your Craftsman Electric Pressure Washer may not start or work: tripped GFCI plug, water supply problems, or a faulty power switch.
3 Reasons Why Your Craftsman Electric Pressure Washer not Starting or Working
1. Tripped GFCI Plug
This tiny little plug can cause your Craftsman electric pressure to not work at all if it’s at fault. This mighty little device is called a GFCI plug or Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter.
While you do not have to go in detail to know how it works you only need to know that this plug simulates a ground fault and can protect the device from accidental short circuit.
On a closer look it has two buttons and I played with them to see what was wrong. On pressing the test button I heard a click, it simulates a short and stops the power from going to the washer, the reset button will return the power.
If your pressure washer is not turning on even after pressing the reset button, there might be a ground fault in your home circuit or electrical problem in the washer or the circuit.
Even after checking everything I couldn’t find any short circuit so I decided to change the fault as it can also go bad. You can remove the screws of the adapter cover plate and gently remove the wires by removing the screws that held them.
After that I got a new GFCI plug and reinstalled the wires back in place, and with the cover screwed back I tested the plug to see if the power returned or not. You can use the test and reset buttons to check if the plug works perfectly or not.
2. Water Supply Problems
Even me can forget to turn on the tap all the way up while using the Craftsman pressure washer to clean my car. I sometimes or most of the time forget to turn the water source and the pump doesn’t start.
Many new washers even when powered on won’t send the water pressure out of the spray gun if it doesn’t receive water, the washer protects itself from running dry or sucking in air.
Related: How to Fix Craftsman Pressure Washer Soap Dispenser Not Working: 5 Tips
If your Craftsman pressure is not starting or working the water source might be the problem. Make sure the washer receives an adequate amount of water from the source and that the hose is free of debris and dirt.
Then pull the trigger on the water gun to see if it works, if the motor still doesn’t turn on automatically and the washer stays silent it might be an electrical problem.
3. Faulty Power Switch
How can the pressure washer turn on if it’s not receiving power? To test this I checked and inspected if the power switch worked or not.
I begin by unplugging the motor from the power source and removing its plastic cover to access its internal electricals.
The cover can be removed easily using the screw driver laying around your house, and the washer can be opened up like magic. Once I located the power switch from the inside I checked for any burn marks or loosen wires.
You want to see if there was a short or if the switch wires are loose which are causing the Craftsman pressure washer to not turn, corrosion or worn out wires can also cause this problem.
Luckily for me the problem was right in front of me as one of the wires was disconnected from the switch and just by connecting it again and plugging the washer back into the power source fixed the problem for me.
If you find burn marks or signs of a short circuit, replace the switch with a new one and make sure to correctly connect the wires to the switch to fix the problem.
