The Greenworks electric pressure washer has helped me clean so many dirty areas around my house and all of the vehicles that I have owned.
I rely heavily on my Greenworks pressure washer but yesterday it suddenly gave up on me.
The pressure washer refused to work and turned on even after being plugged in the outlet, there was no sound of the motor running or the water coming out.
I was left stranded and confused until I decided to pop it open and see if I could fix it myself because there was no way I was going to throw it out without trying to fix it myself.
I also have a short YouTube video about this topic and you can watch it below before you continue reading this article.
On the video, I showed how I fixed this issue by checking if there’s anything wrong with the GFCI plug and its wiring, the GFCI board, and switch.
Read: How I Fixed My Greenworks Pressure Washer Not Building Pressure: 9 Tips
How to Troubleshoot Greenworks Electric Pressure Washer Not Turning On Not Working
So, here are some fixes to help fix your Greenwork pressure washer.
1. Check the GFCI Plug
If your vacuum, washer, or power tool keeps shutting off or not turning on at all, that little plug could be the entire problem. GFCI stands for Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter which has a built-in safety feature to protect the washer.
Think of it like a system that shuts off the power to the washer when an abnormal or excessive current is detected. I quickly tested the plug by placing it on a power outlet.
Once plugged, I pressed the test button and heard a click sound and the green light went off.
This meant that the plug was working and to make sure of things when I pressed the reset button the green light came back and restored the power. If the light never came on, try testing the plug on a different outlet.
2. Inspect the Plug for proper Wiring
I decided to take things further and opened the plug to check for wiring problems. I removed the screws that held the plug together to take a look inside the plug.
I looked closely to see if the wires are connected to the board correctly or if anything looked burned. If you find a loose connection, fix it and test your washer again to see if it’s working, if not replacing the plug can fix the problem.
3. Inspect the GFCI Board For Damage
I was once again disappointed to see no sign of wiring problem on the plug but I decided not to give up. I further removed the remaining screws and decided to take a deep look at the board instead.
It was possible that water might have entered the plug while I was using it to wash my car and damaged its board. Make sure to carefully check for any signs of burns or water damage on the circuit.
4. Replace the Washer with New GFCI Plug
I couldn’t find any damage to the board neither was the wire of the plug connected incorrectly so I ultimately decided to change the GFCI plug to fix this issue.
I went to my nearest hardware store and told them to give me a replacement for the old plug. After returning I removed its bottom cover to reveal the pins and connected the wires.
It is very important to make sure to connect the wire properly, the GFCI plug has its own points to connect live and ground wires so make sure to connect them on the right points.
5. Broken Switch
Even after replacing the washer with a new plug fixed for nothing for me, my washer was still mute when powered off.
But after hours and hours of inspection and playing around I finally found the problem and it was a broken switch.
Check if the On/Off switch is stuck or loose, try pressing it firmly multiples time and try turning the washer back on. I swapped it out with a new new switch and boom my washer finally turned back on.
