Plug not working

[Autumn]

We have a over-the-stove microwave. We had wiring for a exhaust fan that we used to put a plug in for it. That wiring had not been used for almost 30 years, was just there. Put in a box and a plug and it worked well for almost a year. Then all of a sudden the microwave stopped working. It works with an extension chord, so it was not the microwave.

So I thought it must be the plug and went out to buy a new one. I did not know about different amps when buying the first one, but this time saw that there were different amp plugs. I figured I probably had not bought a 20 amp plug the first time and it simply failed because of that. The circuit breaker shows for the kitchen is 20 amps, so I bought a 20 amp plug.

We installed it today, twice, and still nothing. We don't know what to do now? Any suggestions? We have one of those simple testers that you plug in to be sure something is wired correctly, nothing happens when we plug that in either. Works on the nearest plug to the microwave fine. All the plug in the kitchen work fine, except this one.

Is there anything else we can do before having to call and electrician?

Thank You.

[---MIKE---]

Did you check the circuit breaker?

---MIKE---

[RBM]

Typically, a range hood is wired to a lighting branch circuit. Is anything else not working? At around 1300 watts a full sized microwave should have a dedicated circuit, in any case, you've probably tripped the breaker

[Steve Barker]

Hmmmmm... check for power at the circuit breaker?

[John Grabowski]

Like others suggested check the circuit breaker first. Remove the panel cover and make sure that you have juice coming off of the breaker and tighten the connection. Also tighten the neutral connection as well. If that doesn't correct the problem, you will need to trace back the wire that is feeding the outlet for the microwave oven. A connection may have loosened or come apart somewhere in the circuit. The first place I would look is behind the stove for a receptacle as the microwave may be getting it's feed from there. Next would be to open up the nearest countertop receptacles even if they are working.

Good luck.

John Grabowski

[Autumn]

Thank you we will try this.

[John Grabowski]

I assume that you are comfortable working with live wires and putting your hands into a live panel..

[Mike Hartigan]

In article , "RBM" says... When I installed our over-the-stove microwave a couple of years ago, I planned to simply use the line that was originally installed for the fan. It turned out that that line also fed the dishwasher, so I decided to run a dedicated line for the microwave. Does everything else in the area work? I would suggest tracing that line to find what else is connected to it (the label in the panel tends not to be an ideal source for this information) and verify whether or not those work.