Help with Microwave
Not sure what has happened to our microwave so I'm bringing it to the pro's. On our last trip out we were cooking some potatoes in the micro when it just stopped. Clock - everything went out as if th...
Forum Discussion
DrewE wrote:
Microwave ovens are relatively dangerous to work on. The power supply for the magnetron is capable of supplying a few thousand volts at significant currents—certainly enough to be lethal. The high voltage capacitors are typically wired with some sort of a bleeder to discharge them when the oven is off, but especially with an oven that's known to be having some difficulties it's quite unwise to rely on that. That's not to say that one cannot repair one's oven safely—just that it's vitally important to have a little bit of information and exercise due caution.
There are a few things that commonly cause the main fuse in the oven to blow: door safety switch problems (either from the door getting misaligned, junk building up on the switch, or the switch itself going bad), a shorted magnetron, and just plain old age of the fuse. If a replacement of it makes the oven work, it's probably the last one on the list.
There's a quite comprehensive and understandable guide to microwave oven repair including good safety information here.
Another thing that can cause the fuse to blow is unreliable camp site power which is what I suspect caused mine to blow. We were hosting at a camp ground where the only powered site was for the host. There was only one pedestal and we had to share with the other host. I suspect that in the sharing process there was an errant surge when the microwave was turned on and the fuse protected the unit as it was intended.
YES due caution is imperative when working on electrical units but with due care a fuse can be easily and safely replaced.
The video I linked in previous post was a little sketchy on the safety aspect. The guy was poking around with a screw driver and used a metal screwdriver to pry the fuse out.
It would have been much better if the guy had kept the screwdriver away from "Stuff" and used a pair of rubber-handled (or even plastic) pliers to remove and replace the fuse. Aside from that the procedure is quite simple and can be easily done by someone that knows how to use tools and respects electricity.
