My GE microwave JEM31GA 002 does not heat. Everything seems to work fine on it except for cooking. GE website does not offer any self-help on microwave repair. This microwave fits in the cabinet opening so finding a replacement won't be that easy.
I tried unplugging it for a few minutes but that didn't fix it. Any ideas?
Safety switches, and the high voltage diode, come to mind.
Bad diode is common cause. But you must know what you are doing because the hi voltage in a capacitor is deadly and can still be there after the diode has failed. WW
Considering it is over 10 years old and I have no drawings or parts list I assume it is not worth the effort.
When I wanted a wiring diagram from Amana, I had to beg the woman and promise up and down that I knew what I was doing and wouldn't kill myself. It's bad that everything else seems to work. It means the problem is serious and probably beyond your or my skill.
Probably not. When my Amana model 2 Radarrange broke, about 20 years ago the parts woman suggested it was the microwave tube, about 250 dollars. When I called again, she (another she) suggested it was the diodes, about 125 dollars. When I actually took the thing apart, the insulation to the diodes was crumbling, and if I couldn't see arcing, I knew there had been some. This was the second model ever made and pretty old. I used some GE silicone to insulate it. I figured if they make glass out of silicon, the GE silicone must have a high dielectric value.
That worked for another 5 years and then the transformer went out. Again they wanted 375 but said he would give me the wholesale price of
250, dollars, for a replacement transformer. I said to him, you know I'm the last guy in America who's going to try to fix one of these? You know you can buy a new one that's nicer for about 100? Sell it to me for 50 so you can make a little money from your leftover parts.He told me to write Iowa. I liked my prototype model, that looked just like the ones in history books, so I did. I told them to save
6 for their museum and the family of the inventor and owners, to keep theirs working, and sell the rest for what they could get. They wrote back and said to call a number in Pennsylvania. I called and it was like starting over again. He still wanted 250
See:
Maybe someone replaced the Magnetron with a Cryrotron.
Sorry couldnt resist a bad joke.
Dead oven can be caused by a lot of things. There are numerous saftey circuit and interlocks. One of the first things a tech would do is bypass all of this and see i fit will come up. Should only be done by a qualified tech. The circuit is very simple consisting of a very simple power supply connected to a Magnetron. Everything else just turns the power supply off/on. This doesnt mean it is easy to troubleshoot and it is very unforgiving of stupid mistakes the consequences of may be death.
Jimmie
Could just be a fuse. These fuses are not readily accessible, requiring removing the cabinet/shell. And, these fuses can be soldered in place. God forbid the end user is kept in mind.
Call GE to if if there is a secret recall on the unit . Mine stopped working and it was repaired at no charge. Not sure what model it is .
Uh... silicone is nowhere near the same thing as silicon, or was that a joke?
badgolferman wrote the following:
Take the measurements of height, width, and depth. I'm sure that you can find a new microwave with the same or slightly smaller dimensions. I had a to replace an old cabinet MW with one slightly smaller. I put an oak frame around it to hide the gaps.
"Everything seems to work fine on it except for cooking" - what the heck else is there? A light? The clock? My opinion is that if the oven doesn't cook, it really doesn't matter what else does. Microwave ovens are generally not thought to be a DYI kind of appliance. In today's world it probably could cost more to repair than replace. Measure its size and head to Wal-Mart. They are bound to have one almost exactly the same size.
You think a chinese fly by night microwave is a good idea?
Hmmm, They're so cheap these days. Even if it is repairable, I'd replace it if I need it. Only thing any ome can check is fuse inside and door interlock switches.
It's what I thought at the time. I still don't know what the relationship is.
But it worked. I've successfully used GE silicone** for the micowave, and for a color tv flyback transformer where the voltage is about
30,000 iirc. (The second time I had to put on several layers. Each layer would move the spark somewhere else, and the final one stopped it.) **(sealer or cement?)
Unfortunately finding the replacement size has NOT been easy. I have been to WalMart, BestBuy, Home Depot, Lowe's. I bought one at Lowe's today but the wife is unhappy with it. Opening is 24Wx11Hx13D. It is the depth that is the problem. Somehow the old microwave was big enough to accomodate a full-sized plate but the newer ones that fit aren't.
If it's not a door safety switch it could be an inline fuse. The only way to change the fuse is to take the cabinet apart. You take it to a repair shoe and they change the fuse for you and charge $300.
There is no relationship between the two except they are both found on planet earth and they are spelled very similar. Silicone is man made and silicon is natural (I think silicon is the second most common element on earth). Seriously, it's about the same as comparing toothpaste to granite.
Glad it worked for you. I used it once on an old video game monitor to fix a high voltage leak also, (although I gave the guy no warranty and told him it was patched up, not fixed.) Careful with that high voltage, it does go that high, actually higher. Get zapped enough times and you may end up like me and you know you wouldn't like that! And the picture tube holds a charge like a big capacitor. Some will stay charged up for many months.
I took it apart and checked the capacitor, transformer and diode. The wiring diagram inside and troubleshooting flowchart were helpful. The transformer has continuity on both sides. The capacitor has changing resistance readings with the multimeter at highest scale. The diode has no reading either way. I assume the diode is bad. I will try Radio Shack tomorrow. It will be really nice if I can get this thing to work. So far the wife has rejected two microwaves I bought.
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