Kenmore Microwave Ovens - Page 9 - Recent Questions, Troubleshooting & Support

Timing a known quantity of water to boiling is probably the best way to make routine comparative checks on the efficiency of a microwave. You have done more than most folk would do and have done almost all an ordinary handyman can do. Microwaves are now so inexpensive it is hardly worth repairing them now. Probably the new magnetron is short of drive. There could be a problem with the supply to the transformer, the transformer, the rectifier or the capacitor. There is a limit to how many multimeter tests can be done with a dead circuit before the voltages must be checked while it is operating. The transformer has two outputs, one low voltage for the magnetron heater and one high voltage to drive the magnetron. The high voltage output CANNOT be checked with a normal multimeter! The maximum range of a normal multimeter is likely to be 600 volts or maybe even 1 kv but the transformer output should be at least 2800 volts and could be as high as 3500 volts. A special voltmeter for measuring high voltages would be prohibitively expensive and even an eht probe to convert an ordinary meter is painfully expensive.

You should not have any metals in the oven when the microwave is on. If you are just doing convection cooking, the metal rack should be in so that what you are cooking is raised up so the hot air can surround what you are cooking.

Time for a new cover plate or a new microwave. Depending on the age of the unit, the part may not be available anymore.

Possibly a shorted relay on the main timer board?? hum coming from transformer being powered with no fan running. With No fan you can hear it hum. shorted power relay on main board.

Sounds like a bad touch panel. They run silver oxide traces through that panel and they couple a lot of them together. So if a trace common to those pads breaks you lose all the pads connected to that line So Probably need to get price and availability on a new touch panel.

Most Microwaves have anywhere between 3 and 5 switches to monitor if the door is open or closed. They have to act in proper sequence too. It is a safery feature so you can not run it with the door open.

Check to see if fan is getting power. If it is and the fan does not turn then you need to replace that motor. Also check motor bearings - not uncommon for them to get all gunked up with yuck from the air they push through the hood.

I do not know what an E-11 code is on that unit. But the fact you say no buttons are working gives me a clue that you may have a bad touch panel. Could be a Goofed up Microprocessor on the board. A Lot of units will give a code for a bad pad. If an air pocket in a pad colapses, the microwave thinks you are pushing and holding down a pad, so it will give a error code. An E-11 code may mean a bad touch panel on your unit. Try to unplug the unit, give it a minute and plug it back in, try to set the clock first and see what it does. When setting the clock try all of the number pads and see if they all respond. If one doesnt that mey be your bad pad. Or if a number comes up on its ownwithout pushing it, that pad could be shorted.

an inverter failure. This can sometimes by caused by a power surge or glitch through the electrical lines. You can sometimes clear this fault by completely unplugging the microwave for 1 minute. Plug it back in and see if the fault code returns. If it does, then you have an internal component failure that will need to be serviced by a technician. Microwaves must be serviced by technicians due to the inherent dangers involved in repairing these appliances. Internal capacitors can retain a lethal electrical charge even though the unit is completely unplugged. A microwave radiation leakage test must be performed on the unit following any internal component repair