Are microwaves fixable?

Don't know but in this world of inbuilt obsolescence might it be more expensive to repair than purchase a replacement? A sad state of affairs to be sure but it had to be asked.

Did you try unplugging it and plugging it in again?

...and it is also possible that the outlet that you are using no longer works or has blown a fuse---did you try plugging it in elsewhere?

Or you may have a gfi receptor that switched the plug off...

Yes, and yes, to both of you.

Thought I would take off the outer case to look inside but don't have the proper tool for a couple of the 'screws'. Six sided affair with a raised up point in the middle.

If I had $36 to replace it I would not have even bothered asking the question. I think it is moot. Just curious, since nothing seemed to have happened to it.

Except maybe that I broke a wire in the nob by not waiting for a timed cycle to finish by itself, and taking food out and turning the nob back to '0' minutes to force the issue.

More, osso? I did try it in a different side of the kitchen, and no difference. Would that answer your question?

I suppose, then, you've also checked for a reset button. I just can't believe you can have a general failure like this with no warning. Again, looking at the power supply, does the timer/clock light up. That might be a clue either way.

The screws you can't unfasten have a Torx security head. You can buy the drivers, but I doubt it will be worth the cost and effort.

I agree, Roger. When I took off the screws that I could, and then came across these strange guys, I said "screw it" to myself. No pun intended.

I will look for the reset button but the model was so cheap I doubt that it has one.

I think the questions are moot. No, nothing lights up. No clues, anyplace.

And I am puzzled also by the inexplicable general failure. One person, not that much use, less than two years old. Unless, as I said, I torqued something loose, or in the wrong direction, by manually turning the knob back to the left to zero minutes (or off), rather than letting it run its course, even when it was empty of the food.

The security screws are there to keep unqualified people out. You can find the tool at a decent electronic supply store. Several different types out there. Unclear if your type is a security allen or a security torx. Probably an allen. It is possible to break the security point off with some work. If it isn't hardened you can carefully drill it out but you might end up wrecking the screw head.

Are you familiar with electronic repair?
It is probably a fuse but hard to say why the fuse blew. The fuse will probably be soldered to a circuit board. Replacing it won't necessarily solve the problem that caused it. It might if it blew because of poor quality fuse or a power surge caused it. Because it is a cheap I am assuming there isn't a fuse cover on the back somewhere that you can replace.

I am not that familiar with the inner workings of a microwave. Not sure what the microwave generator requires for power. (Stepped up in voltage?) I doubt it really has much of a power supply for the electronics. It would probably be built into the single circuit board.

Based on the warnings I recall that most microwaves have you don't want to run it without the cover on. Probably why they put security screws on them. They don't need a bunch of sterile customers. :wink:

Well, I once bought a new coffee grinder, after mine stopped working, only to find when I plugged the new one in it didn't work. I kept it because I liked it better than the last one, which I took to work, to clutter up the work kitchen counter.

That was a gfi situation, I'd not remembered to check the reset button. And yes, gfi receptors can work for several plugs, as I understand it, if they are wired that way.

Hmmm......

i also turned my microwave knob back and forth.but it still works,like i've done nothing to it.two years old is not a long time at all.mine has been for 3 years,and still it works.maybe you can call the service center or just replace it with something new.think the lightwave oven is better

After having it sit on the living room rug since posting this inquiry, I finally got tired of looking at it, and put the screws back in. Except for one. Can't figure out where that bugger goes. No matter. It still doesn't work.

won't it be a super chance for you to have a new one

Don't bother repairing a microwave. How much is your life worth? You need lots of specialised equipment and specialised knowledge to avoid electrocuting yourself or blowing yourself up. I'm seriously not kidding!

Qualified service people have been electrocuted using proper test equipment on microwave ovens!

I feel I should mention, especially since the thread has started discussing ways of getting inside a microwave oven, that HIGH VOLTAGE electricity is used in a microwave oven. In use, the cathode of the magnetron is at a negative potential of 4000 - 6000 volts. If you don't know what that means, and what it implies, you shouldn't be opening the oven casing. A transformer takes the 110 volt or 220 volt house current and steps it up to typically 2 or 2.5 kV. A voltage-doubler rectifier circuit doubles this. A one kilowatt oven will involve a current of a sizeable fraction of an ampere at say 5 kV. That will fry you if you make contact!!! So will the transformer secondary. So will the transformer primary for that matter. Even in a 'dead' seeming oven if it is plugged into AC. (It's faulty, right?)

The powerful voltages combined with the high-current potential make these circuits deadly in nature.. If you are going to monkey around with an opened microwave oven, you should first make sure that all your affairs are in order and that your life insurance policy covers death by electrocution.

The voltage doubler circuit means there is a HEFTY capacitor charged to approx 2500 volts in the high voltage circuit, which may still be FULLY charged when the oven is completely disconnected from the electricity supply. This charge can kill if contact is made (If you touch that part of the circuit). Or, if that capacitor were accidentally discharged by shorting to ground with a screwdriver or tool or wire, the effect would be like an explosion. (In fact that's exactly what it is.) A loud bang like a gun being fired, and lots of hot gas and white hot & molten metal flying around.

Quote:

The U. S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) warns against do-it-yourself repairs of microwave ovens. Each year, on average, four people die from electrocution trying to repair their microwave ovens. Microwave ovens use high voltage which makes it particularly hazardous for consumers to remove the cover and touch electrical parts. The possibility for electrical shock from a microwave oven still exists even after the oven is disconnected from the power source. Should certain internal devices fail, even unplugged ovens can cause serious injury.

WOW. Thanks you so much. I will cease and desist.

Well I'm never fixing my microwave.

Two pages of posts and nobody has answered sumac's original question. Are microwaves repairable (by a qualified electrician, of course)?