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#1
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6yrold GE Profile Spacemaker mounted microwave, no microwaves
Hi...
We have a 6 year-old GE Spacemaker microwave that has stopped microwaving. The fan, lights, turntable, etc all still work - just no microwaves. a) Is this worth repairing or is replacing the only good option? b) What would the cost of the tube be, and is this a repair that can be done DIY? I know there's a big capacitor in there I have to watch out for, but other than that? Thanks Mark |
#2
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6yrold GE Profile Spacemaker mounted microwave, no microwaves
Right off the big cap, is often a high voltage
diode. Those diodes and caps are both known to go bad. I've replaced several, for people. .. Christopher A. Young Learn about Jesus www.lds.org .. On 9/24/2013 9:39 AM, wrote: Hi... We have a 6 year-old GE Spacemaker microwave that has stopped microwaving. The fan, lights, turntable, etc all still work - just no microwaves. a) Is this worth repairing or is replacing the only good option? b) What would the cost of the tube be, and is this a repair that can be done DIY? I know there's a big capacitor in there I have to watch out for, but other than that? Thanks Mark |
#3
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6yrold GE Profile Spacemaker mounted microwave, no microwaves
On Tuesday, September 24, 2013 9:39:34 AM UTC-4, wrote:
Hi... We have a 6 year-old GE Spacemaker microwave that has stopped microwaving. The fan, lights, turntable, etc all still work - just no microwaves. a) Is this worth repairing or is replacing the only good option? b) What would the cost of the tube be, and is this a repair that can be done DIY? I know there's a big capacitor in there I have to watch out for, but other than that? Thanks Mark You can buy a new one for as little as $200 to $300, maybe less on Ebay or more depending on the particular one you have or want. For the cost of parts, just put the model # in to any of the online parts stores. You can find the part and it's cost there. Also check Ebay and Amazon for the part price once you know the part #. If you can correctly diagnose it, then buying the part is an option. But, if you buy the part and it turns out to be something else, many times electrical parts are not returnable. And I would say getting it fixed by a pro is probably not worth it, they typically charge a service fee just to look at it. Then they charge you list price for the part, more labor, etc. I've never had the need to try to fix a microwave, so can't help on the diagnosis. But I'm sure some googling will turn up lots of stuff, probably videos too, on how to proceed. |
#4
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6yrold GE Profile Spacemaker mounted microwave, no microwaves
On Tuesday, September 24, 2013 11:37:44 AM UTC-4, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
We have a 6 year-old GE Spacemaker microwave that has stopped microwaving. The fan, lights, turntable, etc all still work - just no microwaves. Can you take it to a service place or do you need a home visit? Just to have someone stop and look at it is going to be $75 to $100. Cost of repair and parts could be that much again. What is the cost of a new one? I'd think about replacing it because if it is the magnetron, it is expensive. If you can open it and check internal fuses, do that first. That's been one of the interesting things poking around this morning. I find listings for Samsung a magnetron that *says* it's compatible with the original part for $45 online. Going through GE's part finder refers me to a company charging $140. The "list" price being $170. Pretty big range... Thanks Mark |
#5
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6yrold GE Profile Spacemaker mounted microwave, no microwaves
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#6
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6yrold GE Profile Spacemaker mounted microwave, no microwaves
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#7
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6yrold GE Profile Spacemaker mounted microwave, no microwaves
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#8
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6yrold GE Profile Spacemaker mounted microwave, no microwaves
On Tue, 24 Sep 2013 13:18:02 -0400, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
If you can open it and check internal fuses, do that first. That's been one of the interesting things poking around this morning. I find listings for Samsung a magnetron that *says* it's compatible with the original part for $45 online. Going through GE's part finder refers me to a company charging $140. The "list" price being $170. Pretty big range... Thanks Mark I've seen price ranges like that on replacement parts. Often, they are all made by the same factory. But the low priced ones are made on Monday, when the employees are stil hung over. Or Friday when they're in a hurry to leave. Just kidding. |
#9
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6yrold GE Profile Spacemaker mounted microwave, no microwaves
Did you read my earlier advice, to check the cheaper
and more likely to go bad parts? .. Christopher A. Young Learn about Jesus www.lds.org .. On 9/24/2013 11:36 AM, wrote: That's been one of the interesting things poking around this morning. I find listings for Samsung a magnetron that *says* it's compatible with the original part for $45 online. Going through GE's part finder refers me to a company charging $140. The "list" price being $170. Pretty big range... Thanks Mark |
#10
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6yrold GE Profile Spacemaker mounted microwave, no microwaves
check the fuse diode and cap first.
see this for help http://www.repairfaq.org/REPAIR/ whatever you neeed, good prices here http://matelectronics.com/ Mark |
#11
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6yrold GE Profile Spacemaker mounted microwave, no microwaves
On Tuesday, September 24, 2013 11:36:37 AM UTC-4, wrote:
On Tuesday, September 24, 2013 11:37:44 AM UTC-4, Ed Pawlowski wrote: We have a 6 year-old GE Spacemaker microwave that has stopped microwaving. The fan, lights, turntable, etc all still work - just no microwaves. Can you take it to a service place or do you need a home visit? Just to have someone stop and look at it is going to be $75 to $100. Cost of repair and parts could be that much again. What is the cost of a new one? I'd think about replacing it because if it is the magnetron, it is expensive. If you can open it and check internal fuses, do that first. That's been one of the interesting things poking around this morning. I find listings for Samsung a magnetron that *says* it's compatible with the original part for $45 online. Going through GE's part finder refers me to a company charging $140. The "list" price being $170. Pretty big range... Thanks Mark When everything else works typically the problem is in the high voltage section. That's got a transformer, a diode, a capacitor, and a magnetron. Keep in mind these things run into like a couple thousand volts and have a current capacity around half an amp. So they will kill you quicker than anything you've ever messed with. The pain about fixing microwaves is that most people do not have a vom that handles the high voltage. So it's hard to test anything. You may or may not have paid attention to it when it ran but if you did you probably noticed that when it was on less than 100% duty cycle, (you selected a lower power) if you listened to it, you could tell by the sound when it was actually heating and when it was not. To get to the point, one of the more common problems is that the magnetron shorts out. The transformer will usually act like a load limiter when this short happens but you can still tell that the microwave is "trying" to heat something. In other words you hear the transformer under a load. Try it with less than 100% power and see if it still does that. If it does then you almost certainly have a shorted magnetron. If it doesn't then you may still have a bad magnetron but you may have other problems like a bad diode. Again the high voltage nature makes it hard to test. The breakdown voltage of a microwave diode is higher than a regular vom can test. So to a regular vom the diode will look open in both directions, it will read high resistance both ways. But if you try to run some 115v through it it will work if it's good. If you have a scope you can check to see that you have a half wave. If not and you put it in a 115v circuit with a small light bulb you'll see the bulb is dim if the diode is only passing a half cycle. Because the diode has basically cut the power in half. The transformer does have a filament winding as well which is typical tube filament voltages. But be careful the filament is not isolated from the high voltage at the magnetron. If your vom has a capacitor tester on it you can check the capacitor with it. |
#12
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6yrold GE Profile Spacemaker mounted microwave, no microwaves
if anyone tries to repair one place a fluroscent bulb all around the unit with it running say heating a cup of water. the bulb will light f theres a big leak
at one time radio shack sold a leak detector with a meter for leak testing |
#13
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6yrold GE Profile Spacemaker mounted microwave, no microwaves
On Wed, 25 Sep 2013 05:08:51 -0700 (PDT), bob haller
wrote: if anyone tries to repair one place a fluroscent bulb all around the unit with it running say heating a cup of water. the bulb will light f theres a big leak at one time radio shack sold a leak detector with a meter for leak testing I found one on ebay that was originally sold by RS. I think someone else sold one not much more expensive. I posted about this a couple weeks ago, but it's easier to look on ebay and amazon. |
#14
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6yrold GE Profile Spacemaker mounted microwave, no microwaves
On Wed, 25 Sep 2013 15:20:53 -0400, micky
wrote: On Wed, 25 Sep 2013 05:08:51 -0700 (PDT), bob haller wrote: if anyone tries to repair one place a fluroscent bulb all around the unit with it running say heating a cup of water. the bulb will light f theres a big leak at one time radio shack sold a leak detector with a meter for leak testing I found one on ebay that was originally sold by RS. I think someone else sold one not much more expensive. I posted about this a couple weeks ago, but it's easier to look on ebay and amazon. And btw, the RS one worked well. I had a microwave oven that didn't have door latches**, so I could open the door very slowly, with the meter by the open crack, and watch the meter's needle more from zero to higher. Only did that once for 2 or 3 seconds, but it was convincing. . **Amana RadarRange model 2. |
#15
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6yrold GE Profile Spacemaker mounted microwave, no microwaves
Is the Uwave a separate unit or built-in? Do you have a voltmeter and any experience using it? There is probably a schematic somewhere on the inside covering metal. Whenever you do anything, unplag from the wall supply and use a clip lead to short out the two capacitor terminals. After you short out the capacitor, wait for 4 or 5 seconds and short it out again, just to kill any residual voltage that can build up on that type of capacitor.
There are lots of places to get info on Uwave ovens on the internet, just do what I said above and you should be safe. Also, it never hurts to have a second person in the room when you are working for safety's sake, just don't let them talk and distract you! Also go to the |
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