Eventually it will break.
This is the rule for household appliances. I would just prefer that it not be a two year old microwave that I had installed into the kitchen cabinetry. Yes, I can probably fix it… after I dismount it and lower it out of place. A task much easier typed than done. No matter, I am on-call this weekend. I will be around the house all day anyway, may as well get something productive done.
An over-the-stove microwave costs a few hundred dollars, too much to just run out and buy a new one. Not enough to justify a repair call. I do not even want to think of what it would cost to get a repairman out to the house. Driving from Kona? Hawaiian rates? I can think of few easier ways to get robbed.
It takes a while, poking about inside the guts of the microwave to find the trouble. I check the magnetron first, worried that the failure involves the most expensive part in the appliance. Nope, correct resistance across the leads, open circuit to the housing… All good, a bit of a relief.
The switches just snap into the plastic doorframe. Removing the upper switch I notice a melted housing where one of the wires connects. This is more like it! The switch is toasted, the internals melted, it no longer connects with a nice snap when you press the plunger. Most likely a bad contact that got hot with current flowing. This switch carries the full current of the magnetron, around ten or twelve amps, easily enough to melt it.
As I show my wife the damaged switch she asks how long it will take to order a spare part, obviously wondering how long the kitchen would be torn apart. I look at her… “Order? I probably have this on-hand.” She seemed somewhat doubtful. It takes me less than a minute to retrieve a bin labeled switches from the shelf. A few moments later I hold up an identical switch. Score one more for the parts bins!!
An hour later it is leftover chili burritos with melted cheddar cheese for dinner.
So I’m a DIY appliance repair guy too, had the same microwave issue caused by the same problem, a melted door switch. So besides just replacing it, do you have any idea why the switch melted in the first place? I read elsewhere that it might have to do with opening the door while the microwave is running, instead of pressing the stop button, which I am guilty of. Do you think this is what caused it to melt, or is there some other reason?