BAked Potato caught on fire in GE Microwave

I haven't heard of such a thing. You must have cooked it until there was no moisture left in the potato. That would also account for the failure of the oven. It would be the same as no load in the oven.
A thermal protect part is your current problem.

first suspect is the inverter board (power) and magnatron a distant second----in either case the part involved unless an expensive unit is pricey.

"SE " means your membrane keypad is shorting. And it is specifically the baked potato key that's shorting.

If and when an oven is coming on or doing anything by itself, this is very dangerous and can result in a fire.

So until it is repaired, please leave it unplugged or leave the door open when it's not in use, and of course one should never leave a microwave unattended while cooking. Better still, unplug it and do not use it.

We would need the model number in order to provide you with free assistance.

It is usually found on a tag located inside the cooking cavity or around the door frame or controller frame.

Since FixYa is still not notifying us when you respond to clarification requests, you will have to post a new help request with your model number and symptoms / questions or contact us here for free assistance.

Yes. As the potato cooks the liquid in it evaporates.

Hi,
Here is a tip that will help you to figure out what is wrong with yourMicrowave Oven....

Microwave Oven Basic Troubleshooting Tips

heatman101 ';
';

';

When cooking a potato in the microwave Without puncturing it with a fork... it definitively EXPLODS braking the CAROUSSEL PLATEAU and probably damaging some delicate electronics inside, (you have to pearce the potato with a fork to let steem out when cooking) if you are lucky it could be just a blown fuse inside, have it checked by a proffessional (there is normally no reset for a microwave oven exception maiby for the control panel)

Good luck!

Hi,
Here is a tip that will help you to figure out what is wrong with your Microwave Oven....

Microwave Oven Basic Troubleshooting Tips
http://www.fixya.com/support/r5508031-microwave_oven_basic_troubleshooting

heatman101

I am not surprised! Cloth of anysort is not recommended to be placed in a microwave oven!

That includes undies and socks which many try to speed the drying time of.

Regarding the popcorn.. The oven is overheating due to a possible containment in a hutch, where insufficient airflow is available to lower the temperature. Pull the unit away from the wall to allow more airflow, clean the vents and help it breathe.

Please rate my help++++Thanks for using FIXYA

While this is true of all microwave ovens, owner's manuals tell you to never leave the oven unattended while it's cooking. The manual also mentions low-moisture foods (potatoes specifically, and popcorn is another) as combustables which can catch fire. See attahced screenshots. If you have other questions, please feel free to ask me.http://www.microwavecontrol.com

Manufacturers will note that they warn in their owner manuals to never leave a microwave running unattended, so they won't help you any further, I'm sure.

Mmost modern microwaves have a flame sensor inside that will shut the microwave down completely in case flames get too high.

Then the cooling fan and power will shut off, and the fire will almost certainly be smothered pretty quickly due to a lack of air inside the oven.

Also, the inside is metal, thus the only fuel for the fire would have been the potato, which would not have lasted long.

So as scary and disturbing as this event was, I would say the real danger of a fire outside of the oven was miniscule.

The fire probably occured due to a dry or irregular spot in the skin of the potato. Once it's dry, it will of course burn much easier.

So now to the smell...

You should do a Google search on "odor microwave" or "microwave smell" where you can find tips on boiling water & baking soda, then vinegar and water in the microwave to neutralize the smell.

If your microwave does not work, then it may have blown the flame sensor (thermal fuse) and that would have to be replaced.

Please let us know if we can help further.