Why is my refrigerator tripping breaker?
The path of least resistance.

When the ground is removed, the current is forced to go through the compressor, and fridge works.

When you replace the ground, there is a path from hot to ground, that avoids the compressor.


So your problem is somewhere between the 'hot' wire on the plug and the compressor.


Possibly a problem in the receptacle where the hot wire will short when the ground pin is inserted, but unlikely. If you want to test for this, plug in something else with a ground pin, wiggle the cord, and if it works, the fridge is the problem.


My vote would be for someplace where a wire was pinched while working on it.


The wire should be loose - long and had too much room to move around and got pinched, or it should be really tight, because it did not have enough room to move.

There does not have to be much damage to the insulation for this to happen, but running your fingers along the wires should be enough to find it.

Best of luck to you