What is a stirrer cover, the plastic part over the fan inside the top of my Sanyo microwave is burning.

Microwaves sometimes have a stirrer fan fitted inside the top of the chamber. This is usually hidden from view by a fairly flimsy plastic cover - and yes sometimes they do fall down when age and contamination has done it's work.

The cover has probably lost the small tabs that engage in the brackets to hold it up. The cover is there to prevent food splashes getting onto the fan and to hide it away. You could replace it or remove it altogether if you only place covered food in your microwave.

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proceed according. God bless youIf you see arcing or sparking inside a microwave, turn unit off immediately. Arcing can be caused by having something metal in the oven cavity touching a side, an oven shelf is touching the side of the cavity, an oven shelf support has broken, microwave waveguide, or bad magnetron.
If your microwave has a shelf in it, and you do not use it, keep it out. If one of the shelf supports breaks or comes out, the microwave will arc where the support was. You will have to sand the spot down, paint with appliance paint and re-install support. If the shelf shifts on the support and touches the side it will arc.
Your magnetron waveguide will either come out of the top, or side of the oven cavity. Some will have a stirrer in it(mostly top waveguides) with a panel over, or just a cardboard type cover over it. Over time, the stirrer cover can become warped from the heat which will expose the stirrer's metal shaft which will then cause sparking. These covers and stirrers come in a kit and can be replaced from inside the oven cavity.
Your cover over a side waveguide is coated with a substance on it, and overtime this coating can come off from the heat and moisture in the microwave. These waveguide covers are very easy to replace from inside the oven cavity. Touch up any paint that may have chipped or come off because of the arcing.
If your waveguide cover and/or stirrer are all OK, then the spark is coming from your magnetron. The antenna on your magnetrom has overheated and burned, sending the microwaves out at the wrong angle. If you catch this microwave oven repair early enough, you can usually get by with just replacing the magnetron. If the arcing has caused servere damage inside the waveguide, you will need a new microwave. Waveguides are not replaceable and most you can barely see into them, let alone sand and re-paint. In this case of microwave oven repair, when you remove the magnetron, you will see the burned antenna, or your magnetron will fail the test below.

see this steps and fix it. God bless you
If you see arcing or sparking inside a microwave, turn unit off immediately. Arcing can be caused by having something metal in the oven cavity touching a side, an oven shelf is touching the side of the cavity, an oven shelf support has broken, microwave waveguide, or bad magnetron.
If your microwave has a shelf in it, and you do not use it, keep it out. If one of the shelf supports breaks or comes out, the microwave will arc where the support was. You will have to sand the spot down, paint with appliance paint and re-install support. If the shelf shifts on the support and touches the side it will arc.
Your magnetron waveguide will either come out of the top, or side of the oven cavity. Some will have a stirrer in it(mostly top waveguides) with a panel over, or just a cardboard type cover over it. Over time, the stirrer cover can become warped from the heat which will expose the stirrer's metal shaft which will then cause sparking. These covers and stirrers come in a kit and can be replaced from inside the oven cavity.
Your cover over a side waveguide is coated with a substance on it, and overtime this coating can come off from the heat and moisture in the microwave. These waveguide covers are very easy to replace from inside the oven cavity. Touch up any paint that may have chipped or come off because of the arcing.
If your waveguide cover and/or stirrer are all OK, then the spark is coming from your magnetron. The antenna on your magnetrom has overheated and burned, sending the microwaves out at the wrong angle. If you catch this microwave oven repair early enough, you can usually get by with just replacing the magnetron. If the arcing has caused servere damage inside the waveguide, you will need a new microwave. Waveguides are not replaceable and most you can barely see into them, let alone sand and re-paint. In this case of microwave oven repair, when you remove the magnetron, you will see the burned antenna, or your magnetron will fail the test below.

see the guide for test the magenetron and another component.

see this next steps. God bless you
If you see arcing or sparking inside a microwave, turn unit off immediately. Arcing can be caused by having something metal in the oven cavity touching a side, an oven shelf is touching the side of the cavity, an oven shelf support has broken, microwave waveguide, or bad magnetron.
If your microwave has a shelf in it, and you do not use it, keep it out. If one of the shelf supports breaks or comes out, the microwave will arc where the support was. You will have to sand the spot down, paint with appliance paint and re-install support. If the shelf shifts on the support and touches the side it will arc.
Your magnetron waveguide will either come out of the top, or side of the oven cavity. Some will have a stirrer in it(mostly top waveguides) with a panel over, or just a cardboard type cover over it. Over time, the stirrer cover can become warped from the heat which will expose the stirrer's metal shaft which will then cause sparking. These covers and stirrers come in a kit and can be replaced from inside the oven cavity.
Your cover over a side waveguide is coated with a substance on it, and overtime this coating can come off from the heat and moisture in the microwave. These waveguide covers are very easy to replace from inside the oven cavity. Touch up any paint that may have chipped or come off because of the arcing.
If your waveguide cover and/or stirrer are all OK, then the spark is coming from your magnetron. The antenna on your magnetrom has overheated and burned, sending the microwaves out at the wrong angle. If you catch this microwave oven repair early enough, you can usually get by with just replacing the magnetron. If the arcing has caused servere damage inside the waveguide, you will need a new microwave. Waveguides are not replaceable and most you can barely see into them, let alone sand and re-paint. In this case of microwave oven repair, when you remove the magnetron, you will see the burned antenna, or your magnetron will fail the test below.

see the next steps and follow with common sense: God bless you
Microwave is arcing If you see arcing or sparking inside a microwave, turn unit off immediately. Arcing can be caused by having something metal in the oven cavity touching a side, an oven shelf is touching the side of the cavity, an oven shelf support has broken, microwave waveguide, or bad magnetron.
If your microwave has a shelf in it, and you do not use it, keep it out. If one of the shelf supports breaks or comes out, the microwave will arc where the support was. You will have to sand the spot down, paint with appliance paint and re-install support. If the shelf shifts on the support and touches the side it will arc.
Your magnetron waveguide will either come out of the top, or side of the oven cavity. Some will have a stirrer in it(mostly top waveguides) with a panel over, or just a cardboard type cover over it. Over time, the stirrer cover can become warped from the heat which will expose the stirrer's metal shaft which will then cause sparking. These covers and stirrers come in a kit and can be replaced from inside the oven cavity.
Your cover over a side waveguide is coated with a substance on it, and overtime this coating can come off from the heat and moisture in the microwave. These waveguide covers are very easy to replace from inside the oven cavity. Touch up any paint that may have chipped or come off because of the arcing.
If your waveguide cover and/or stirrer are all OK, then the spark is coming from your magnetron. The antenna on your magnetrom has overheated and burned, sending the microwaves out at the wrong angle. If you catch this microwave oven repair early enough, you can usually get by with just replacing the magnetron. If the arcing has caused servere damage inside the waveguide, you will need a new microwave. Waveguides are not replaceable and most you can barely see into them, let alone sand and re-paint. In this case of microwave oven repair, when you remove the magnetron, you will see the burned antenna, or your magnetron will fail the test bel

its the fan inside the oven cavity on top, its part # AP3671492 and is a G.E. part# called the Cover,Stirrer Fan still manufactured

Stirrers are designed to distribute the microwaves and were used before turntables were introduced. They are protected by a plastic cover in order to prevent food spatter from contacting stirrer. They are not powered and are insulated on nylon bushings. Where exactly is the arcing occurring?

This is the stirrer cover. It is important. It is to keep food particles and grease out of the stirrer and waveguide area.

If grease or food particles build up, they can arc, which will cause burn damage to the cover, stirrer, chassis, and/or magnetron.

If you have any arcing, you should remove it for cleaning. Be careful of sharp edges.

The stirrer's job is to stir the microwaves to ensure even heating, even when a turntable is not present or not used.

You can usually find helpful exploded view diagrams and order parts by entering your full model number here: http://tinyurl.com/gv383

We're happy to help and we appreciate your thoughtful rating of our answer.

It's probably a loose stirrer fan or possibly a failing stirrer motor. Both are located above the plastic stirrer cover in the top of the cooking cavity.

If you or someone you know decide to work on it, we have *critical* safety, disassembly, and troubleshooting info at our site, and our link is at our listing here on FixYa: http://tinyurl.com/yzjozk

You can usually find helpful exploded view diagrams and order parts by entering your full model number here: http://tinyurl.com/gv383

There should also be a "mini-manual" hidden inside the unit behind the control panel, which is very helpful when troubleshooting.

We're happy to help and we appreciate your thoughtful rating of our answer.