I have a Kitchenaid KCMS185JSS microwave since 2002.
A couple of weeks ago it wouldn't heat anything. I found that the door and frame had shorted in two small spots, apparently due to conductive food spots.
I cleaned these and covered the spots with appliance paint.
It worked fine until this weekend. Now it only seems to heat water but nothing else.
Is it time for replacement or repair?
Thank you.
Assuming your power line voltage is right, bearing the whole thread in mind, I'm sure you have a bad magnetron.
If you or someone you
know
decide to look into it, we have critical safety information and
disassembly information at our site, and our link is at our listing here on FixYa.
You can find
helpful exploded view diagrams and order
parts by
entering your full model number here.
There
should also be a "mini-manual" (tech sheet) hidden inside the unit
behind the
control panel or hidden on the left side behind the grille, which is
very helpful when troubleshooting, testing, and locating components.
If you follow the safety & disassembly info, this is not a difficult job for a do-it-yourselfer.
We're
happy to help you with free advice and we'd appreciate your
thoughtful rating of our answer.
Its time repair will cost more than a new one
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Sounds like you took care of the arcing at the door and frame just fine.
Now you have a separate issue of poor heating.
Assuming your inside light, stirrer, and turntable are working, you may have a failing relay on the control board or a failing magnetron.
First I would suggest removing the stirrer cover in the ceiling of the oven and running the oven for a a minute or so while watching to see if it turns steadily.
If not, it may be binding or the motor may be bad.
Please replace the cover when you are done testing.
Next, the
following test will provide a suitably accurate measurement of the
output power of any microwave oven. Variations or errors in performing
this test will produce uncertain results. If the line voltage (from the
electrical outlet) is low, the magnetron output will be correspondingly
low.
Equipment needed:
- Microwave safe container with 1000 mL (1 Liter) gradation.
- Fahrenheit or centigrade thermometer
Procedure:
Pour
exactly 1000 mL (1 Liter) of cool tap water into the container. Using
the thermometer, stir the water, then measure and record the
temperature. For accurate results the water should be about 60 degrees
F (20 degrees C).
Place the container on the center of the
oven cooking shelf (do not leave the thermometer in the container and
remove any metal racks), and heat the water (at full power) for 63
seconds. Use the second hand of a watch, not the oven timer.
After
the heating time is completed, immediately remove the container, stir
the water, re-measure and record the temperature of the heated water.
Subtract the starting water temperature (step 2) from the ending water temperature (step 3) to obtain the temperature rise.
To
determine the output power in watts, multiply the total temperature
rise by a factor of 38.75 if you're using a Fahrenheit thermometer or
by 70 if you're using a centigrade thermometer.
Let us know how it goes, then we can offer further guidance depending on thew results.
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