Way back in the late eighties or very early ninetis, when the kids
were little, my wife decided she wanted one of those newfangled
microwave ovens so we went out and paid the big bucks for a 2 cu ft
Quazar with all the bells and whistles. Within the first year, under
warranty, they had to replace the rotating microwave antenna. (this
unit moved the microwaves instead of moving the dish, which made the
entire capacity of the oven useable - oblong pans were no problem)

About 5 years ago, she decided ahe wanted a new one - she was afraid
the old one was going to die, and someone had a modern inverter type
Panasonic on sale for a good price. I told her the old one would
likely still outlast 2 or more new ones - but "happy wife = happy
life" so we disposed of the Quazar and bought the new Panasonic.

For the first several years it was fine, but gradually over the last
year and a bit, it was getting flakey - sometimes the light would not
go out and the oven would not start untill you slammed the door hard
enough to almost put it into the garage.

I took it apart this afternoon to see what was wrong, and found the
latch assembly with the 3 interloc microswitches was mounted on a very
thin and flimsey metal "ear" stamped out of the roughly 28 guage
steel, and it had shifted position JUST enough that it occaisuionally
worked. I bent it back to shape and got myself a 3 inch angle bracket,
drilled it and cut it to size to rest against the metal front panel
where it was flanged in, and screw to the "ear" that holds the latch.

Works now - and when it fails next time it WON'T be because the
bracket/ear bent - I can pretty well guarantee THAT!!!

On 13-Oct-17 5:15 PM, wrote:
Way back in the late eighties or very early ninetis, when the kids
were little, my wife decided she wanted one of those newfangled
microwave ovens so we went out and paid the big bucks for a 2 cu ft
Quazar with all the bells and whistles. ...
....

I took it apart this afternoon to see what was wrong, and found the
latch assembly with the 3 interloc microswitches was mounted on a very
thin and flimsey metal "ear" stamped out of the roughly 28 guage
steel, and it had shifted position JUST enough that it occaisuionally
worked. I bent it back to shape and got myself a 3 inch angle bracket,
drilled it and cut it to size to rest against the metal front panel
where it was flanged in, and screw to the "ear" that holds the latch.

Works now - and when it fails next time it WON'T be because the
bracket/ear bent - I can pretty well guarantee THAT!!!

Back in same original time frame folks bought the GE "Timesaver"
electric range that includes a microwave in the main oven...it has also
become somewhat flaky with oven door-locking switches so took it apart a
week ago..

On it, the lever arm moves a long arm to close the two switches; it
pivots on some shoulder bolts and over the 30+ yr there's enough wear on
their shoulders and the corresponding holes to not close the switches
reliably.

I peened the edges of the holes to tighten them a little and worked in a
piece of shim stock to take out some of the play; couldn't find a
matching new replacement shoulder bolt; reminds me to continue that
search...one of the two switches itself seemed a little flaky but
they're no longer available from GE -- they are a Cherry part no,
however, and found a pair for $2.50/ea on eBay new from China w/ the
Cherry part no. At moment I'm holding them, bent the spring lever arm
on the two out just a little more and so far all is well...

I've still not found the wiring diagram; Mr GE sent their people to the
archives in Louisville to see if can dig one up out of the
past...haven't said "no" yet, but that probably at the point just means
I'll never hear back at all...

--

On Fri, 13 Oct 2017 18:15:28 -0400, wrote:

Way back in the late eighties or very early ninetis, when the kids
were little, my wife decided she wanted one of those newfangled
microwave ovens so we went out and paid the big bucks for a 2 cu ft
Quazar with all the bells and whistles. Within the first year, under
warranty, they had to replace the rotating microwave antenna. (this
unit moved the microwaves instead of moving the dish, which made the
entire capacity of the oven useable - oblong pans were no problem)

About 5 years ago, she decided ahe wanted a new one - she was afraid
the old one was going to die, and someone had a modern inverter type
Panasonic on sale for a good price. I told her the old one would
likely still outlast 2 or more new ones - but "happy wife = happy
life" so we disposed of the Quazar and bought the new Panasonic.

For the first several years it was fine, but gradually over the last
year and a bit, it was getting flakey - sometimes the light would not
go out and the oven would not start untill you slammed the door hard
enough to almost put it into the garage.

I took it apart this afternoon to see what was wrong, and found the
latch assembly with the 3 interloc microswitches was mounted on a very
thin and flimsey metal "ear" stamped out of the roughly 28 guage
steel, and it had shifted position JUST enough that it occaisuionally
worked. I bent it back to shape and got myself a 3 inch angle bracket,
drilled it and cut it to size to rest against the metal front panel
where it was flanged in, and screw to the "ear" that holds the latch.

Works now - and when it fails next time it WON'T be because the
bracket/ear bent - I can pretty well guarantee THAT!!!


Thanks, Clare - this might come-in-handy as we just replaced our
~ 25 year old microwave with a Panasonic inverter style
about 2 years ago.. If I remember - the old one was about $ 300.
on a good sale - new one about $ 120.
John T.

On Fri, 13 Oct 2017 19:18:22 -0400, wrote:

On Fri, 13 Oct 2017 18:15:28 -0400, wrote:

Way back in the late eighties or very early ninetis, when the kids
were little, my wife decided she wanted one of those newfangled
microwave ovens so we went out and paid the big bucks for a 2 cu ft
Quazar with all the bells and whistles. Within the first year, under
warranty, they had to replace the rotating microwave antenna. (this
unit moved the microwaves instead of moving the dish, which made the
entire capacity of the oven useable - oblong pans were no problem)

About 5 years ago, she decided ahe wanted a new one - she was afraid
the old one was going to die, and someone had a modern inverter type
Panasonic on sale for a good price. I told her the old one would
likely still outlast 2 or more new ones - but "happy wife = happy
life" so we disposed of the Quazar and bought the new Panasonic.

For the first several years it was fine, but gradually over the last
year and a bit, it was getting flakey - sometimes the light would not
go out and the oven would not start untill you slammed the door hard
enough to almost put it into the garage.

I took it apart this afternoon to see what was wrong, and found the
latch assembly with the 3 interloc microswitches was mounted on a very
thin and flimsey metal "ear" stamped out of the roughly 28 guage
steel, and it had shifted position JUST enough that it occaisuionally
worked. I bent it back to shape and got myself a 3 inch angle bracket,
drilled it and cut it to size to rest against the metal front panel
where it was flanged in, and screw to the "ear" that holds the latch.

Works now - and when it fails next time it WON'T be because the
bracket/ear bent - I can pretty well guarantee THAT!!!


Thanks, Clare - this might come-in-handy as we just replaced our
~ 25 year old microwave with a Panasonic inverter style
about 2 years ago.. If I remember - the old one was about $ 300.
on a good sale - new one about $ 120.
John T.
The Quazar was about $600 late eighties dollars - the Panasonic about
$150 on sale - - -

wrote in news
[...]
The Quazar was about $600 late eighties dollars - the Panasonic about
$150 on sale - - -

I bought an Amana, new, in 1983 for about $350, and used it daily until Dec 2005 -- it died when
a tree dropped a limb on our power lines and took out the neutral wire, leaving both hots
connected. Most 120V appliances won't survive 240V for long, and it was no exception.

I replaced it with a nearly-identical unit, bought at Goodwill for $25 in early 2006.

Still using it multiple times daily -- warmed up my coffee this morning, even.

On 10/13/2017 11:13 PM, Doug Miller wrote:


I replaced it with a nearly-identical unit, bought at Goodwill for $25 in early 2006.

Still using it multiple times daily -- warmed up my coffee this morning, even.


Did you buy the extended warranty to protect your investment? It is
only $20 a year.

Ed Pawlowski wrote:

Did you buy the extended warranty to protect your investment? It is
only $20 a year.

I didn't know Goodwill sold extended warranties.

(Neill Massello) wrote in news:1ndvn1h.9208imzsn6wvN%
:

Ed Pawlowski wrote:

Did you buy the extended warranty to protect your investment? It is
only $20 a year.

I didn't know Goodwill sold extended warranties.



-- whoosh --