I have a buit in hotpoint microwave when you plug in it goes to PF then F3l

The control buttons are likely defective. Is the MW working?

Hi Kerry,
"PF" is power falure if you didn't aready know this. It sounds to me like the coolig fan might be running slow or there is blocked or restricted air flow through the unit. This cooling fan is only for the HV transformer and magnetron. Sometimes you may get air flow around the door but this is incidental. The PF tells me that the power is being interrupted either at the power source (wall outlet or circuit breaker) or the magnetron TCO is cutting out. It also could be a bad magnetron running too hot. As far as the steam goes, I usually just leave the door open on my microwave for 10 or 15 minutes to let the condensation evaporate.

PF is Power Failure. Check and see if the Oven has a reset switch or power button. Try and hook up an extension cord, plug one end into a usable output (wall plate) and the other into the 110VA line plug attached to the Oven. Turn on....if it works then the problem is a circuit breaker or wall interface. If it fails with the extension, then it is an electrical problem with the microwave device itself. If there are no Reset features on the oven, an internal fuse may blow, or other shorts are occurring. The cost to fix is more than a new unit. Lowes has them as low as $150.00.

PF means power failure. Quite possibly you a
had a power surge and the control board was damaged.

Hello & Welcome to FixYa

PF error means power failure which is generally caused when the control board inside the unit goes bad. You can try unplugging the unit for 15-30 minutes, if the issue returns then the control board needs replacement. Please get back to me if you have any other questions.

Kevin

"PF" on the display is an indication that your oven experienced a power interruption. Normally, the error code can be cleared by pressing the CLEAR/OFF button. You may have to reset the time. This is accomplished by pressing the CLOCK button, entering the time on the keypad, then pressing CLOCK again. If this does not clear your problem, please let me know. I hope this helps you.

number shows on display and it will not work

Well, I think you should get a brand new one.
They do not cost as much to replace these days and it might be safer.

You need to hit clear or maybe clock. I believe on this model you need to set clock before you can do anything

it seems the thetmal cutoff(TCO) mounted on the magnetron to protect it from overheating is going off.it opens out when magnetron overheats and cuts the power to the control board and after the magnetron cools down tco resets and power to control board is restored with the sign PF(power failure).the fan that cools the magnetron may have gone bad.i think u will need a tech 2 chk it out.