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OT: microwave oven blows fuse
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Thanks, Ben.? I will see what I can do to get the interlock assembly.? Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and yours!? ? ?Jim?Sent from my Verizon, Samsung Galaxy smartphone
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-------- Original message --------From: "benwetzel via groups.io" <benwetzel@...> Date: 12/18/21 7:45 AM (GMT-08:00) To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [TekScopes] OT: microwave oven blows fuse You will need to replace the plastic bracket that holds all of the switches.? Or easier approach is to get the whole interlock assembly. Good luck sir.Ben
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Hi all,
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As mentioned by Dave, fixing something is better then tossing and buying again. It's also good practice for us problem solvers! On the issue of broken interlocks the wife here used to slam the microwave door all the time, at the time, parts were getable locally,so I did. Since then slamming is banned here! lol! At the cottage the very nice microwave would start and die. Turns out the LSI IC on the PCB had tin flashed pins tarnished to black,after cleaning and cycling in the socket a few times, it's back to normal! Most fixes can be simple if we can recognize it! Merry and safe Christmas to all! Pete On Saturday, December 18, 2021, 04:34:18 p.m. GMT-5, Jim Ford <james.ford@...> wrote:
Thanks, Ben.? I will see what I can do to get the interlock assembly.? Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and yours!? ? ?Jim?Sent from my Verizon, Samsung Galaxy smartphone -------- Original message --------From: "benwetzel via groups.io" <benwetzel@...> Date: 12/18/21? 7:45 AM? (GMT-08:00) To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [TekScopes] OT: microwave oven blows fuse You will need to replace the plastic bracket that holds all of the switches.? Or easier approach is to get the whole interlock assembly. Good luck sir.Ben |
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One troubleshooting Aid that I made up when working on microwaves & then used for general troubleshooting was an electrical box with a circuit breaker in it.
It was made to "industrial" heavy duty standards from a solid mounting block with blank switch plate on top with a lead coming out one end using a plastic grommet - the type that tightens onto a lead so it can't be pulled out. The circuit breaker was fitted in circuit instead of the fuse when testing to save blowing fuses. I later made up some leads from blown fuses so the "fuse lead" could just be clipped in. I later retrofitted them with insulated banana sockets & insulated banana plugs on the fuse box. Another handy device I use now is the Wago 221 series Compact Lever Connector or Lever Nuts. You just lift the lever, slide the stripped wire in & put the lever down. They will firmly hold a wide range of wire sizes even down to a small single strand. Using the 221's normally gives me no excuse to use the old "fool killer" leads on anything with a wire lead or that I can tack a wire lead on. I did retrofit my old "fool killers" with insulated banana plugs & totally insulated alligator / crocodile clips that can just be swapped over. Regards, Brian. |
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Aw, crap! I just called Kitchen Aid/Whirlpool parts, and no, they don't stock any parts at all for my "countertop" microwave oven! It's considered a throwaway item...
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So I suppose I can either fiddle with the latch to try to keep the timing of the door switches proper or just leave it as-is and hope the fuse doesn't blow for a long time. Regardless, slamming the door is banned for life! (Good luck with 2 teenage boys in the house) Unless somebody has a better idea.... Thanks. Jim ------ Original Message ------
From: "benwetzel via groups.io" <benwetzel@...> To: [email protected] Sent: 12/18/2021 9:45:17 AM Subject: Re: [TekScopes] OT: microwave oven blows fuse You will need to replace the plastic bracket that holds all of the switches. Or easier approach is to |
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Do a search for microwave oven parts,
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There are other vendors for parts. Glenn On 12/20/2021 11:47 AM, Jim Ford wrote:
Aw, crap!? I just called Kitchen Aid/Whirlpool parts, and no, they don't stock any parts at all for my "countertop" microwave oven! It's considered a throwaway item... --
----------------------------------------------------------------------- Glenn Little ARRL Technical Specialist QCWA LM 28417 Amateur Callsign: WB4UIV wb4uiv@... AMSAT LM 2178 QTH: Goose Creek, SC USA (EM92xx) USSVI, FRA, NRA-LM ARRL TAPR "It is not the class of license that the Amateur holds but the class of the Amateur that holds the license" |
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This is why the ¡°Right to repair¡± movement is important. I can understand a
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manufacturer that no longer has parts for something 20+ years old (like the old Tek 500-series!) and is the reason why groups like this are so useful. I knew there was an interlock system in the microwave. I fixed one before myself - the pivot bolt for the moving part of the latch was too short and would loosen so the latch would not activate the switch. I wound up replacing it with a NAS (aircraft) standard bolt because it was the right size and I could hold it in place with a matching nut - and I had it in my hardware bin. The microwave gave out long before that bolt did. What bugs me is manufacturers who won¡¯t even sell you a manual for a current product. I had this experience with a Miele dishwasher. Very well engineered - they had a smart design. The main water valve was at the end of the hose that connected to the water supply. It was a normally-closed valve of course but unlike the usual design with that valve inside the dishwasher, if this one failed, the water would be shut off at the supply. You don¡¯t have water at pressure inside the supply hose. The problem was a failure in that valve. I contacted the local Miele customer support and asked about buying a service manual and parts list. They would not sell it to me - ¡°only for our authorized factory repair personnel¡±. I asked if I could get it serviced - sure, but I just had to tell them from which distributor I purchased it. I couldn¡¯t. It was bought by the contractor who re-did our kitchen and it had been fifteen years since then. I had no idea from whom he bought the dishwasher and they would NOT service it unless I could prove it was purchased from one of their ¡°authorized¡± dealers. I was not asking for warranty service - I said I¡¯d be happy to pay for it. Nope. They ¡°protected¡± their dealers as well as their service people. A lot of the reason I like to have service manuals for stuff I own is not only to do simple fixes or maintenance myself, but I can quickly determine if it is something I cannot do - either out of my capability range or requiring specialized (and expensive!) tools. Wound up scrapping that $1000 Miele dishwasher. I replaced it with a Kenmore after I determined that they would sell me a service manual. I¡¯m not trying to put service folks out of work - I think it¡¯s a minority of folks like those on this group who are willing to put hours of work into fixing something, so we¡¯re not a threat to repair and maintenance folks. I did figure out that I could not repair that Miele myself even with the manual - that valve was attached to the pipe nipple with a specialized crimp connector; that would need the proper crimp Here¡¯s a link to ¡°right to repair¡± legislation: Steve Horii On Mon, Dec 20, 2021 at 13:47 Jim Ford <james.ford@...> wrote:
Aw, crap! I just called Kitchen Aid/Whirlpool parts, and no, they don't |
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is what I have found to be useful more often than not.
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DaveD On Dec 20, 2021, at 15:16, Glenn Little <glennmaillist@...> wrote: |
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Greetings,
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Of course, I don¡¯t know the details and having only loosely followed this interesting conversation, but two things came to mind. My first reaction is that Kitchen aid/Whirlpool calling an appliance a ¡°throw-away¡± item is callous and obscene - let¡¯s just keep filling the planet with ¡°throw-away¡± trash. Then, on perhaps a more productive and helpful note - can you reverse engineer the needed parts and have them 3D printed? Wishing you a good solution, wonderful holiday, and that 2022 becomes you best year thus far and a better year for us all. Regards, Ken On 20Dec, 2021, at 9:47 AM, Jim Ford <james.ford@...> wrote: |
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As posted elsewhere, manufacturers in Europe have to hold spare parts for 7-10 years after product purchase, and not before time.
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Geoff. On 20/12/2021 16:47, Jim Ford wrote:
Aw, crap!? I just called Kitchen Aid/Whirlpool parts, and no, they don't stock any parts at all for my "countertop" microwave oven!? It's considered a throwaway item... |
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My dim memory is that U.S. manufacturers are required to support products for five years. We certainly live in a throw away world.
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On 12/20/2021 2:05 PM, Geoffrey Thomas via groups.io wrote:
As posted elsewhere, manufacturers in Europe have to hold spare parts for 7-10 years after product purchase, and not before time. --
Richard Knoppow dickburk@... WB6KBL |
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Go on the internet and look up Dayton appliance parts or Cincinnati appliance parts.com. They've been very good about having parts for anything I've needed over the years. Take anything you receive from a 1-800 number for Whirlpool with a boxcar full of salt. They usually don't know what they're talking about.
-- Thanks, Randy. randy.ab9go@... |
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Don't ignore ebay for appliance parts. Easy to search and with pictures. Made in Asia and zero cost to advertise has done wonders for consumer replacement parts availability.
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Eric WB6KCN -----Original Message-----
From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Randy.AB9GO Sent: Monday, December 20, 2021 2:37 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [TekScopes] OT: microwave oven blows fuse Go on the internet and look up Dayton appliance parts or Cincinnati appliance parts.com. They've been very good about having parts for anything I've needed over the years. Take anything you receive from a 1-800 number for Whirlpool with a boxcar full of salt. They usually don't know what they're talking about. -- Thanks, Randy. randy.ab9go@... |
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Thanks, Dave.? I'll give it a shot.? ? ? ?JimSent from my Verizon, Samsung Galaxy smartphone
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-------- Original message --------From: Dave Daniel <kc0wjn@...> Date: 12/20/21 1:16 PM (GMT-08:00) To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [TekScopes] OT: microwave oven blows fuse is what I have found to be useful more often than not.DaveD> On Dec 20, 2021, at 15:16, Glenn Little <glennmaillist@...> wrote:> > ?Do a search for microwave oven parts,> There are other vendors for parts.> > Glenn> >> On 12/20/2021 11:47 AM, Jim Ford wrote:>> Aw, crap!? I just called Kitchen Aid/Whirlpool parts, and no, they don't stock any parts at all for my "countertop" microwave oven! It's considered a throwaway item...>> >> So I suppose I can either fiddle with the latch to try to keep the timing of the door switches proper or just leave it as-is and hope the fuse doesn't blow for a long time.? Regardless, slamming the door is banned for life!? (Good luck with 2 teenage boys in the house)>> >> Unless somebody has a better idea....>> >> Thanks.>> >> Jim>> >> ------ Original Message ------>> From: "benwetzel via groups.io" <benwetzel@...>>> To: [email protected]>> Sent: 12/18/2021 9:45:17 AM>> Subject: Re: [TekScopes] OT: microwave oven blows fuse>> >>> You will need to replace the plastic bracket that holds all of the switches.? Or easier approach is to>>> get the whole interlock assembly.>>> >>> Good luck sir.>>> Ben>>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >> >> >> >> >> > > -- > -----------------------------------------------------------------------> Glenn Little??????????????? ARRL Technical Specialist?? QCWA? LM 28417> Amateur Callsign:? WB4UIV??????????? wb4uiv@...??? AMSAT LM 2178> QTH:? Goose Creek, SC USA (EM92xx)? USSVI, FRA, NRA-LM??? ARRL TAPR> "It is not the class of license that the Amateur holds but the class> of the Amateur that holds the license"> > > > > >
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I had a microwave that had the opposite problem - it would only work when the door was slammed shut. I found that a flimsy steel bracket holding part of the interlock assembly had deformed over the years, and bending it back into alignment fixed it right up. After that, a gentle push and click was all it took, or slamming was OK too - it just worked like it was supposed to when new. You may want to check out the mechanical alignments of the pieces and mounting structures.
Ed |
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On Monday 20 December 2021 03:15:49 pm Glenn Little wrote:
Do a search for microwave oven parts,This would have been my suggestion too, if you hadn't beat me to it. I've done a number of repairs on assorted appliances around here, and we mostly end up getting parts from third-party vendors. Your best bet is if you can find some sort of a repair manual for the unit (also often available from third-party vendors) and get the exact part numbers to search on. On 12/20/2021 11:47 AM, Jim Ford wrote:Aw, crap!? I just called Kitchen Aid/Whirlpool parts, and no, they -- Member of the toughest, meanest, deadliest, most unrelenting -- and ablest -- form of life in this section of space, ?a critter that can be killed but can't be tamed. ?--Robert A. Heinlein, "The Puppet Masters" - Information is more dangerous than cannon to a society ruled by lies. --James M Dakin |
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Well, %#$%#! I checked with Dayton Appliance Parts, Cincinnati Appliance Parts, and Ereplacementparts.com, but nobody has the switch assembly. Not only that, but Whirlpool/Kitchen Aid doesn't even sell the parts, so I'm not going to find them anywhere! Gee, thanks a lot, Whirlpool!
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So it looks like I have 3 options: 1) Send the microwave oven to the landfill - not going to happen. 2) Mess with the door latch in an attempt to fix it. 3) Leave it and hope it doesn't blow the fuse any time soon. And doesn't leave the magnetron powered on while the door is open and burn somebody. Unless somebody else has a better idea.... TIA. Jim ------ Original Message ------
From: "Roy J. Tellason, Sr." <roy@...> To: [email protected] Sent: 12/21/2021 10:56:30 AM Subject: Re: [TekScopes] OT: microwave oven blows fuse On Monday 20 December 2021 03:15:49 pm Glenn Little wrote:Do a search for microwave oven parts,This would have been my suggestion too, if you hadn't beat me to it. I've done a number of repairs on assorted appliances around here, and we mostly end up getting parts from third-party vendors. |
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Jim,
I don't know if this will work. One of the photos I saw of these assemblies on an eBay site seemed to show generic microswitches as the electrical part of the assembly. When my trackballs started to fail (due to lots of clicking), I opened one up and found a generic microswitch inside. I was able to repair successfully with a part from digikey. If you can determine that one of the switches is failing, this approach might be worth a try. Stephen |
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If you can get a good look at that switch or remove it, you might be able
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to find out who made it and get a model number. I doubt that Whirlpool made switches, though it's not impossible. Why make one when you can buy them from a company that makes switches? I had to replace a locking toggle switch in a Swiss reel-to-reel tape recorder (the toggle was broken off but I could see the locking mechanism). I even had the manual and it gave their part number, but not who made it. I pulled the switch out and figured out that it is was a standard SPST miniature locking toggle switch available from several sources. The one in there was Chinese-made (yep - in a Swiss tape recorder) and I just got a Cutler-Hammer equivalent. The switch assembly is another matter, if the switch is riveted in place in that assembly, you might have to drill out the rivets to replace it. If the metal parts are broken or worn, then you might need some metalworking experience to fix it. Last resort - check a Goodwill store for a used model of the same microwave. You could use it as a parts source. Good luck. I hope not having a microwave does not ruin your holiday meal plans. Steve H. On Thu, Dec 23, 2021 at 4:31 PM Jim Ford <james.ford@...> wrote:
Well, %#$%#! I checked with Dayton Appliance Parts, Cincinnati |
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OK. I'll give it a try.
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Thanks, Stephen. Jim ------ Original Message ------
From: "SCMenasian" <scm@...> To: [email protected] Sent: 12/23/2021 3:44:20 PM Subject: Re: [TekScopes] OT: microwave oven blows fuse Jim, |
Randy.AB9GO
Eric Schumacher
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