Diagnostic workflow

VFD ground-fault and motor-cable workflow

Entry symptom: Ground fault, earth fault or leakage trip occurs when output voltage is applied.

Safety controls before proceeding
  • Do not insulation-test through connected drive electronics.
  • Follow motor and drive isolation procedure before megger testing.
  • Treat wet or contaminated enclosures as energized until proven safe.

Investigation sequence

1

Confirm output-related timing

If the trip occurs only after run command, the output insulation path becomes more likely than line input or keypad electronics.

2

Inspect cable and motor environment

Look for water ingress, crushed cable, damaged glands, conductive dust, overheated terminals and motor junction-box contamination.

3

Review output accessories

Identify output reactor, sine filter, contactor or surge absorber conditions and whether anything inappropriate is connected to the drive output.

4

Separate sensing fault

If external insulation evidence is clean, current/ground-sensing electronics may need board-level review.

Stop conditions

  • Motor insulation test fails
  • Cable damage is visible
  • Trip appears with no motor/cable connected under permitted test conditions
  • Unknown output-filter configuration

Linked records