Microwave Oven Repaired. Model: Gold Vision 20PXHS
A guy next door brought me this dead microwave oven for repair. He explained that it was working fine but he wanted to heat up something; as soon as he pressed the start button, the earth leakage button tripped and lost power at his house.
It is kind of an old microwave but he wanted it repaired as soon as possible.
I could not start working on it right away so I took his phone number and promised to fix it as soon as possible and I will give him a call when it is ready.
First thing that I checked was the fuse and it was open as expected but the question was what caused this fuse to blow, was it because its time span was over or something caused it to go open?
I started checking the main capacitor, the magnetron, the diode, the transformer and of course the main board of the front panel and found everything to be ok but when I tested the safety locks of the front door I found one of the switches was bad and it had to be replaced.
That is a three pins safety switch and if that goes bad, the fuse will get shorted. These switches make sure that the main door is locked and secured before the cooking operation starts.
The only way to take them apart without breaking anything is by taking the two silver screws on left and right of the plastic holder and that exactly what I did.
I usually recommend replacing all the lock switches there but the customer did not like that suggestion because it is more money to pay so I replaced only the faulty one.
So I installed the new lock switch, replaced the main fuse and put the cover back and powered on the microwave oven and as seen it powered on just fine.
The customer came and he tested the device himself and was happy with the outcome. I helped him to carry the microwave back to his house for he was an old man and did not have a car. It was a walking distance from my shop.
Mission Accomplished.
This article was prepared for you by Waleed Rishmawi, one of our ‘Master Authors’ and currently working in the Bethlehem area of Palestine repairing electrical and electronic equipment.
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Note: You can check his previous article on A Laptop With Broken Charging Port And Cable Replaced And Maintained. Lenovo G5070
Albert van Bemmelen
April 6, 2024 at 4:54 pm
Those safety door-lock switches that immediately blow the device fuse when they no longer are protecting the door lock function was new to me! I never encountered this problem before, so thanks for sharing this nice and very important repair information!
Waleed Rishmawi
April 6, 2024 at 10:35 pm
Albert: it is one of the common faults in microwave ovens. You are most welcome my friend. Have a blessed day
Narayanan E.P.
April 12, 2024 at 11:55 pm
Sir, so many thanks for publishing the remedy in details. Actually I am not a mechanic but I am enthusiastic to electronic & electrical. As a hobby I used to make/repair small items.
Thanks for your kindness.
Arun Kumar
April 6, 2024 at 5:23 pm
Good job
Waleed Rishmawi
April 6, 2024 at 10:33 pm
Arun: thanks man. Have a blessed day
Justthetip
April 6, 2024 at 6:01 pm
Hi Waleed how are things where you are in Palestine? Keep up the good work.
Waleed Rishmawi
April 6, 2024 at 10:31 pm
justthetip: thanks man. I live in Bethlehem area. Have a blessed day
Yogesh Panchal
April 6, 2024 at 6:18 pm
Good JOB ! waleed
Waleed Rishmawi
April 6, 2024 at 10:32 pm
Yogesh: thanks man. Have a blessed day
Parasuraman S
April 6, 2024 at 10:22 pm
This is a strange complaint! I have never faced it before!
Waleed Rishmawi
April 8, 2024 at 9:25 pm
Parasuraman: yes strange yet very common in this kind of devices. have a blessed day
Henrique J. G. Ulbrich
April 7, 2024 at 12:04 am
Very good maintenance, Waleed. In fact, these front door safety devices are problematic. I´ve already experienced cases of microwave oven maintenance related to these microswitches. It is not necessary to replace at the same time all the three microswitches, only the primary and the secondary devices (mostly the two upper ones). The third microswitch (commonly the lowest) operates independently of the primary and secondary microswitches, serving only to inform the position of the door to the logics on the circuit board, thus operating with extremely low current, so it seldom presents a problem. Furthermore, this third microswitch does not have any interaction with the primary and secondary ones. In turn, the primary and secondary switches operate together, conducting the same high current applied to the HV transformer. So, they are susceptible to a shortest life.
What tripped must have been the circuit breaker, not the earth leakage device (GFCI in USA and Canada, RCD in United Kingdom). You can see the difference between both here: https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-difference-between-a-GFCI-and-a-circuit-breaker
A circuit breaker trips when there is an internal overload or a short-circuit (the case related in this maintenance report). An earth leakage device (GFCI or RCD), in turn, trips when there is an unbalance due to an external unexpected way of current between a live wire and earth (for example, when a child access the live contact of a wall outlet and his body allows a path of current to the floor, that is at ground potential).
Waleed Rishmawi
April 8, 2024 at 9:27 pm
Henrique: thanks man. you are right. I apprecate you comment and explanation on on this issue. have a blessed day
DAVID PENTIN
April 7, 2024 at 12:20 am
Hi there, I am retired now but when I was working as a electronics engineer I only ever had a door switch on a microwave going fault once BUT ! it allowed the magnetron to be powered on and as my hearing is not good I did not realise this fact at first , luckily for me I felt the metal cabinet vibrating and so did some checks and it was then that I realised how close I came to being electrocuted! but lived to tell the tale.
Waleed Rishmawi
April 8, 2024 at 9:31 pm
David: wow. very interesting story and I am glad you are safe and sound. have a blessed day
Lawrence Mc Coig
April 7, 2024 at 12:21 am
Home delivered personally. That is great customer service.
Waleed Rishmawi
April 8, 2024 at 9:32 pm
Lawrence: thanks man. have a blessed day
Anwar Yunas Shiekh
April 7, 2024 at 1:06 am
I've seen this problem before; never quite understood why it takes the fuse down with it.
Waleed Rishmawi
April 8, 2024 at 9:33 pm
Anwar: because a bad swtich will loop with the other two switches causing the earth leakage to trip. have a blessed day
Sagar sen
April 7, 2024 at 3:03 am
Thanks Waleed
Waleed Rishmawi
April 8, 2024 at 9:33 pm
Sagar: you are most welcome. have a blessed day
Daniel Shaba
April 7, 2024 at 4:04 am
Thanks a lot for your good work.Many say when the cause of the fuse to blow is a capacitor
Waleed Rishmawi
April 8, 2024 at 9:35 pm
Daniel: you are most welcome. capacitors also will cuase the fuse to blow because it will connect the positive to ground. have a blessed day
Imoudu.O
April 7, 2024 at 4:21 am
Good for your kind gesture to old man.This 3 pins switch i know,but before i don't know what happens when it goes bad, now i know, thanks for sharing this.
Waleed Rishmawi
April 8, 2024 at 9:37 pm
Imoudu: I am glad you learned something my friend. keep up the good work and have a blessed day
Tayo
April 7, 2024 at 5:02 am
Good Job Waleed.
Would have loved to see the inner workings of that switch.
Surprised one could not fix it. Either it leads weren't making contact when closed or it was making constant contact when the door is open. Either way it should be able to be checked then cleaned or adjusted as needed.
Or perhaps its of another design.
Waleed Rishmawi
April 8, 2024 at 9:39 pm
Tayo: thanks man. it is very easy to open and clean but if i have a new to replace that is more like it for me. this one was really bad on the inside. have a blessed day