Can the main circuit overheat causing the buttons
to trip as our main circuit breaker was very old and tripping? Could the brand new washer curcuit contribute electrically to the tripping of the old main circuit breaker such as the new overriding the old? Thank you for educating me.
Can the main circuit overheat causing the buttons
to trip as our main circuit breaker was very old and tripping?
YES if the service entrance conductors are to small for the draw or damaged. The wiring could not be tight in the connections etc.
Could the brand new washer curcuit contribute electrically to the tripping of the old main circuit breaker such as the new overriding the old?
Not really since the main breaker is much larger amp wise than the washer circuit.
Time for you to call for some local on site professional help for this problem before it causes more serious problems.
NOTE: many times people install a new circuit breaker panel that is to large for the wiring from the utility into the home. They do this thinking that a new more powerful circuit breaker panel will give them more power to the home. This is false since you also need to change the wires going into the new panel from the utility outside. The wire size needs to match the capacity of the new panel. This can and will create problems just like you are having and it is a serious hazard.