We have a Hamilton Beach microwave that runs,turns , but won't heat.If tried several times quickly the display will go dark...then return several minutes later.Power level is set to 100%.If unit is plugged into an outlet it's behind it not in the cabinet beside it as one would expect.The breaker has been turned off and left off before resetting in an effort to reset the unit.Any suggestions from the brain trust as to anything doable short of replacement ?TIA,Mike

Simple fix.Replace the magnetron. DANGER LETHAL VOLTAGEBTW - The part may cost more than a new µwave oven.

The Microwave that we have was doing the same, food in, punch time press start and it would quit and the numbers would go dark, I thought that it had died untill I reallised that the micro switch behide the door latch had mooved ever so slight out of adjustment.Took the unit out and removed the cover and adjusted the switch just a tad, "DO NOT RUN THE UNIT WITH THE COVER OFF OR THE DOOR OPEN" When testing place the cover back on just don't scew it back so that you can take it off to readjust, if you look carfully where the switck is you might see where the orignal position was, look with a magnifyng glass you might see the little bit of dirt and the outline of where the switch sat.I nearlly tosed mine out, even bought a new oven when one was not needed.navegator

Replace it! Ours croaked last month while camp hosting. One trip to best buy got us a brand new one. Few hours later we had a new microwave running

camperpaul wrote:Simple fix.Replace the magnetron. DANGER LETHAL VOLTAGEBTW - The part may cost more than a new µwave oven.Have you ever replaced a magnetron ?Is there a fuse/fusible link feeding it?TIA,Mike

navegator wrote:The Microwave that we have was doing the same, food in, punch time press start and it would quit and the numbers would go dark, I thought that it had died untill I reallised that the micro switch behide the door latch had mooved ever so slight out of adjustment.Took the unit out and removed the cover and adjusted the switch just a tad, "DO NOT RUN THE UNIT WITH THE COVER OFF OR THE DOOR OPEN" When testing place the cover back on just don't scew it back so that you can take it off to readjust, if you look carfully where the switck is you might see where the orignal position was, look with a magnifyng glass you might see the little bit of dirt and the outline of where the switch sat.I nearlly tosed mine out, even bought a new oven when one was not needed.navegatorWill certainly check the. Switch when we get home.Camping this week so can't get too involved in a disassembly .Thanks,Mike

Microwave Repair | Good Sam Community

24 Replies

rkentzel
Explorer
Jul 08, 2014
I replaced the magnetron in a home microwave. It was not dangerous or complicated. I was fortunate to have a good appliance repair store in my town and I don't remember the guy behind the counter thinking I was going to kill or maim myself. We looked up the part and it was substantially cheaper than a new oven. That might be different today but before I tossed the broken one, I'd investigate fixing it. It's not rocket science.

Your just lucky there can be a considerable amount of voltage stored in the high voltage capacitor. If it bleeds off not much of a issue but if it don't you can get zapped with thousands of volts. Your appliance store is a bunch of idiots for not explaining that to you.
Don't take this kind of information lightly people no its not rocket science but there is some danger lurking in there when you don't know what the heck your doing.
Gjac
Explorer III
Jul 08, 2014
The MW's that I have fixed were both fixed by replacing the fusible links. They look like a std fuse but are not glass but made from a gray ceramic looking material. I think they were less than $5 at Radio Shack. It is worth trying the $5 replacement first before buying a new one.
fla-gypsy
Explorer
Jul 08, 2014
SpringerPop wrote:
fla-gypsy wrote:
I would suggest to all who nothing know about repairing MW's to toss it out and get another one. It is not worth risking injury to save a few lousy dollars

How da' heck is someone going to learn anything if absolutely no attempt AT ALL is made?

At least take the cover off and look for something that may be obvious.

Ya, we've become a throw-away society. Sad.......

Pop

My time alone is worth way more than the lousy $75+ for a new MW. Anyone not familiar with capacitors could easily shock themselves playing around with a MW and not knowing what they are doing.
popeyemth
Explorer
Jul 06, 2014
Ok folks, original poster here.
Checked all the simple stuff, all three door switches (2 NO, 1 NC) the 20 amp power fuse at line entrance and the thermal overloads.(NC )
Next is this high voltage fuse.

Getting a consistent 1.5 ohm reading across it but looks good.
(Meter reads 0.9 shorted across leads and 2.5 across this fuse)
Anybody know if that's acceptable ? Can't see in the cell phone pic but it has a coiled internal link that will collapse when broken and looks ok .
Thanks,Mike
eric1514
Explorer
Jul 06, 2014
I replaced the magnetron in a home microwave. It was not dangerous or complicated. I was fortunate to have a good appliance repair store in my town and I don't remember the guy behind the counter thinking I was going to kill or maim myself. We looked up the part and it was substantially cheaper than a new oven. That might be different today but before I tossed the broken one, I'd investigate fixing it. It's not rocket science.

Eric
SpringerPop
Explorer
Jul 06, 2014
fla-gypsy wrote:
I would suggest to all who nothing know about repairing MW's to toss it out and get another one. It is not worth risking injury to save a few lousy dollars

How da' heck is someone going to learn anything if absolutely no attempt AT ALL is made?

At least take the cover off and look for something that may be obvious.

Ya, we've become a throw-away society. Sad.......

Pop
fla-gypsy
Explorer
Jul 05, 2014
I would suggest to all who nothing know about repairing MW's to toss it out and get another one. It is not worth risking injury to save a few lousy dollars
Jagtech
Explorer
Jul 04, 2014
Most likely a defective door switch. Or a overheated wire/connector on said switch, which is quite evident when you look closely at it. There is also a possibility the capacitor or HV diode is bad. The magnetron does have a over-temp cutout device as well; not likely that tho.....
Before you pitch it, check those door switches!
popeyemth
Explorer
Jul 04, 2014
KJINTF wrote:
Not sure why most folks think the best thing to do is toss it in the local dump and buy a new one. They are really very simple to repair and typically costs less than $5.00 in parts to repair them.

Could be something VERY simple and low cost to repair

Care to give us some pointers?
Thanks,Mike
KJINTF
Explorer
Jul 03, 2014
Today's toss it in the trash and buy a new one attitude
Not sure if it's possible to cure that kind of thinking

Repaired a dozen or more Microwave ovens in the past few years
NOT a single one had a defective magnetron. Many times it is indeed as simple as a worn out fuse