Yes mm, I have to agree disconnecting the earth from any appliance is suicidal,
but it is quite clear from Freds discription he knows how to meter the power,so therefore he knows the dangers of disconnecting the earth for troubleshooting.
he has made it clear that the machine isn't tripping the rcd with earth disconected.
That doesn't suggest he is going to run the machine that way,
without the use of a megga what else can he do but to disconnect components simultaneously until the earth leakage becomes apparent.
Fred, if you are reading this I suggest disconnecting the heating element,if you have already tried this then I suggest you check the wiring harness especially where it is secured to the machine by zip tie or other,
check all components for moisture,
you also mentioned that you disconnected the mains cap,try disconnecting the cap in such a way that you are not allowing power from the cap to enter the machine.
If the cap is faulty it can throw the earthing fault because it is attached to the chassis.
As I mentioned the use of a megga would help you,or basically speed the fault finding process up.
Don't forget that moisture
present in the mains plug,or mains lead can cause your issue,
so don't overlook the obvious,
If you have exhausted all avenues, then I suggest calling in a engineer,this sort of fault can be tricky.
A experienced engineer can sort it.
good luck and most of all be safe.
paul
March 2012