Our Kitchen Aid convection/microware/vent-a-hood has some issues. Everything works great except I can’t heat anything via the microwave. The convection cooking, turn-table, fans, lights, control panel works great. I suspect this is the magnetron tube assembly, but I’m not sure how to verify before I purchase a new part. Also where is the magnetron tube assembly? One post mentioned a transformer. Does anyone know where I can get a schematic for this unit? Any other suggestions would be great. I service data processing equipment, so I really don’t think this is unit is "rocket science".
It is not "rocket science". The magnetron was bad. I found a document showing how to test a magnetron and I found schemetics (none of which came from replies to this post). I observed all the safety rules and replace the magnetron myself with no problems. Everything works like it should. The part was about $55 (including shipping) which is better than a new $500 microwave.
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It is not "rocket science". The magnetron was bad. I found a document showing how to test a magnetron and I found schemetics (none of which came from replies to this post). I observed all the safety rules and replace the magnetron myself with no problems. Everything works like it should. The part was about $55 (including shipping) which is better than a new $500 microwave.
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My Whirlpool building microwave oven has the same problem as yours. I have replaced two torsion springs for the microwave door; I even don’t have time to feel good, because I found the oven can’t heat anything. The microwave works well before the spring replacement. Like your case every other things seem work OK except not heating. Since you did great job on your microwave, could you post your successful work here, including key procedures and some tricky issues, to help people to solve their similar problems. Jay Zhu
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I found a site that gave troubleshooting steps for the magnetron. I set the microwave on a workbench and removed the cover. I located the magnetron. It has two main wires going to it. For safety, I had a wire connected to chassis ground and a screwdriver. With the grounded screwdriver, I touched everything I planed to physically touch to discharge any voltage. I then removed the 2 connectors from the magnetron. I got my ohmmeter and set it to the lowest resistance scale. I measured from one magnetron terminal to the other magnetron terminal in both directions. The resistance reading was less than one ohm, which is OK. I then set the resistance scale to the highest setting and measured between either terminal to the magnetron frame. Mine read 570 ohms, but the reading should have been infinity (or open circuit). There it is. My magnetron had shorted to its frame. I replaced the magnetron, reinstalled the cover, and reinstalled the microwave over our stove. It works like a champ. If you have internet, search "How to test a microwave magnetron".
The big thing about doing any work on the microwave is the safety issue. Always ground or discharge anything (maybe several times) before you touch it. There is potential to be shocked very badly.