Safety with shorting

[Ngwenyama]

Hi! I have an old Mark 5 whose switch was failing to turn the machine off. In the process of replacing the switch, I decided to also replace the power cable, which was in a poor state! The grounding pin on the old power cable had been removed or had broken off by the previous owner and I've had no trouble with it since I've owned the machine. Now, that I've replaced the power cord, my GFCI outlet immediately trips as soon as I turn the switch to on. If I disconnect the grounding wire, it turns on fine.

How dangerous of a situation is this? I've been using it like this for years, but this is the first time I've thought about the lack of ground and the fact that there seems to be a permanent short within the motor.

Thank you for your time!
Ngwenyama

[JPG]

Do you get a tickle shock when touching it?

I suggest trying to determine where the leakage is occurring internally.

[Ngwenyama]

Nope, I've (fortunately) never noticed anything like that.