Resident electricians of the OT, I beg of thee...

Disposal is probably going out/shorting out. It might be grounding out to the case/shell, which is a bad reason to cheat and take away the ground wire. You can try swapping the GFCI out, but if that doesn't resolve the issue.... I'd say it's time for a new disposal or find a place that can repair that one.

When it runs, is it running freely?

How old is the GFCI and how many times it has tripped? They do get weak over time if they been tripped a bunch.

Oh, NEVER go without GFCI protection.

quote:

---

It just started this yesterday. What is the most likely fix? Replace the GFCI, the standard wall socket under the sink or the disposal?

---

Well, removing the safety measures from the plug and going against wiring code is definitely not the correct thing.

Replace the disposal.

defeating the gfci is an easy way to get electrocuted, buy a new disposal

quote:

---

Those things are a pain in the arse to replace. Put that in about a year and half ago to replace one that was in for eleven years before it went.

---

While it isn't my choice of things to do with my free time, I can think of a lot of other repairs I'd much less enjoy that replacing a disposal. These days, they're almost plug-n-play.

quote:

---

These days, they're almost plug-n-play.

---

Pretty much. They almost all use the same slip-ring style of attaching the motor housing to the sink collar these days. If you have a plug instead of having to wire in then it's pretty much a 10 minute job.

If you have a dishwasher hookup and forget to punch out the plastic plug in the grind chamber it'll be a much longer job later though.

quote:

---

However, if I use a cheater adapter to take out the third round plug (ground) then it works just fine.

---

no offense but c'mon man, best way to die or bury a family member numb nuts

what part of water + electricity = do not bypass safety features do you not understand?

its a frickin $30-$50 cost to buy a new disposal

quote:

---

its a frickin $30-$50 cost to buy a new disposal

---

A $30-$50 disposal is gonna wake the neighbors 3 trailers down every time you use it.

quote:

---

Well, removing the safety measures from the plug and going against wiring code is definitely not the correct thing.

Replace the disposal.

---

I would replace the GFCI first. It is cheaper than a new disposal and the likely culprit.

I would also make sure disposal spins freely. Use flashlight to look into it when it is on and see of all the weights spin. You could have something stuck in one of them and that is causing the problem.

The garbage disposal it’s not supposed to be on a GFI anyway.