"Ricky Eck" writes:

I will have to agree with the two previous post. Trouble shooting a
Microwave is quite a task sometimes. I used to work with them about 10
years ago, and they were complex even then. Now with the technology we have
today, I wouldn't even open one up. Plus I don't have the equipment to do
it anymore. Unless someone has a special trick, you will need more then
just an OHMS meter to trace a problem.

Not necessarily. While I agree with you on the warnings of the previous
posts, it is possible to troubleshoot most microwave oven faults with
little more than an ohmmeter and common sense. In fact, one of the things
to be avoided is testing it live.

In this case, the problem could be as simple as a bad connection to the
magnetron filament wiring.

However, it is essential to read and understand the SAFETY implications
of working on a microwave oven.

--- sam | Sci.Electronics.Repair FAQ Home Page: http://www.repairfaq.org/
Repair | Main Table of Contents: http://www.repairfaq.org/REPAIR/
+Lasers | Sam's Laser FAQ: http://www.repairfaq.org/sam/lasersam.htm
| Mirror Site Info: http://www.repairfaq.org/REPAIR/F_mirror.html

Important: The email address in this message header may no longer work. To
contact me, please use the feedback form on the S.E.R FAQ Web sites.

"Sam Goldwasser" wrote in message
...
"Ricky Eck" writes:

I will have to agree with the two previous post. Trouble shooting a
Microwave is quite a task sometimes. I used to work with them about 10
years ago, and they were complex even then. Now with the technology we
have
today, I wouldn't even open one up. Plus I don't have the equipment to
do
it anymore. Unless someone has a special trick, you will need more then
just an OHMS meter to trace a problem.


Huh? Dangerous if you don't know what you're doing yes, but complex? Hardly,
they're about the simplest appliance there is, really not much to them, a
magnetron, transformer, capacitor, diode, some interlock switches and a
control board, that's about all that's in there. Only thing I've ever seen
fail on the control board has been solder joints and occasionally the triac.
Most common problem is a blown fuse, microwaves are the only thing I've seen
regularly blow a fuse with no apparent problems otherwise. Next most common
problem is a bad interlock switch. Transformer almost never fails,
magnetron, diode and cap are all pretty easy to test, however I NEVER do
live testing on these, always unplug it and discharge the capacitor. I leave
a jumper clip across the cap until I'm done working in there, just don't
forget to remove it.