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microwave circuit problem

Why would the below be happening?

  1. 12 year old over the range microwave stopped working - no power.
  2. Microwave on its own dedicated 20 amp circuit.
  3. No other outlets or devices on this circuit.
  4. The circuit breaker was NOT tripped.
  5. Reset the breaker several times (off-on-off). Power restored to the microwave (enough to display the clock), but as soon as you try to cook something the microwave looses power and the circuit panel breaker is NOT tripped.
  6. Assumed the microwave was bad and bought a new one.
  7. Exact same problem with the new microwave.
  8. Recycled the breaker several times to get power to the microwave again (so the clock displays), but did not try to cook anything. Unplugged microwave and plugged in a hair dryer. Tryed to run the hair dryer - no power and circuit breaker NOT tripped.
  9. Microwave works perfectly when plugged into another circuit.
  10. Assumed the circuit breaker itself was defective.
  11. Replaced the circuit breaker with a new one and still have the exact same problem.

So now logically, it seems that the only problem it could be is something with the wiring itself. This circuit has worked without problem for the last 12 years.

Could someone provide some guesses as to what the problem might be?

Thank you, Jess

(search key word = JessJoeMama)

Reply to
Jess
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Sounds like a problem similar to the one I posted about a week ago. I have several lights that get power from one breaker. When it was cold that past few days, the problem went away but it warmed up again a little bit yesterday and the problem is back. I'm going to replace the breaker and see if that is the whole problem.

David

Reply to
hibb

Hi, Did you check with multimeter to see if power gets to the unit? Logic tells me unit is not getting the power. Broken wire or loose connection somewhere.

Reply to
Tony Hwang

If it really is a dedicated circuit then the wire most likely goes straight from the circuit breaker to the outlet. I would check to make sure the neutral and ground wires are tight at the circuit breaker panel. Presumably black/hot is ok since you have replaced the breaker. Then pull the outlet and make sure the wire is securely connected to the outlet. If it is backstabbed then move the wires to the screw terminals. If all that fails then the circuit may not be dedicated and I'd turn off the breaker and start looking for other appliances or outlets that are now off.

Reply to
jamesgangnc

Possibly a fault with a splice somewhere. Shut off power to the outlet, test it with a meter (to make damn sure it's dead), remove the faceplate/outlet, then undo/inspect/redo the wirenut splices inside of the junction box.

The symptoms do sound a lot like when a breaker goes bad, though.

Jon

Reply to
Jon Danniken

Something else you might look into is if there is a main breaker upstream of the individual one serving the microwave branch.

Jon

Reply to
Jon Danniken

Or a GFCI (presently tripped) outlet that was added to what was supposed to be a circuit for just the microwave.

Reply to
salty

Sounds like you missed checking the outlet and it's connections. If wires are backstabbed remove them and attach them using the screws. Actually, just replace the outlet in case it has a faulty connection, but use the screw terminals to attach the wires.

Reply to
Tony

It takes two wires to make this circuit work. The hot leg is apparently fine, the neutral is apparently open. Either the neutral of a two wire cable is loose in the panel feeding the circuit, or the neutral conductor of a multiwire branch circuit is loose in another outlet box, which is feeding the microwave outlet, or the neutral connection to the microwave outlet is open

Reply to
RBM

Aluminum wiring, perchance? You've got a bad connection SOMEWHERE, and a voltmeter will show full voltage without a load.

Reply to
clare

Looks like my intuition was wrong. I replaced the breaker and the problem still exists. Now I need to follow the wires and check every connection until I find the problem. At least now that I got into the breaker box I am sure which wire to follow.

David

Reply to
hibb

He did not replace the breaker, reread the OP

Reply to
hrhofmann

Outlet, wire or breaker For about $5.00 and an hours time you can replace the two most likely culprits and dont even worry about which one was bad.

Jimmie

Reply to
JIMMIE

He did not replace the breaker, reread the OP

# 11 of the OP

Reply to
RBM

hr(bob) snipped-for-privacy@att.net wrote: snip

According to the OP, it sure looks like he replaced the breaker.

Reply to
Tony

Have I gone blind or are you reading between the lines?

Reply to
Tony

OP changed names, Jess became hibb, I missed it too.

Jimmie

Reply to
JIMMIE
1) Bad connection at the socket 2) Neutral wire is loose 3) Corrosion on the metal bar, where the breaker gets its power

Friend of mine had an air conditioner socket that did much the same thing. Turns out the white wire was loose, where it screws into the neutral bar.

Reply to
Stormin Mormon

..

I'm not the OP. I was just comparing the problem I have with his and posted what I did.

David

Reply to
hibb

sure sounds like a high resistance connection to me.

is the 'wave hardwired, or is it plugged into a receptacle? (I suspect either a bad backstab recep connection, or a poor connection between recep and plug)

have you tried plugging the 'wave into a different recep?

nate

Reply to
Nate Nagel

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