How to replace a light bulb under the hood of a kenmore model 401.85049010

The sockets don't go 'bad'. They get damaged replacing the bulb or the bulb could be faulty.

You may have to get your spares through Kenmore.com

http://www.managemylife.com/mmh/owner_manuals/11148/
KENMORE-Microwave-Hood-Combo-L0310032?brand_name_search=62649200

The cause could be anything from defective bulbs(least likely, to a bad bulb socket or vibration during operation. A voltage measurment at the bulb will tell you if it is getting too much.
Eric

This is at www.sears.com under the parts direct tab.

see link

http://www.searspartsdirect.com/partsdirect/getSubComp.pd?modelNumber=363.62709300&productCategoryId=0123370&brandId=0582&modelName=MICROWAVE&diagramPageId=00001&documentId=G0206184&pop=flush

I had the same problem! I was soooo frustrated! But, when my brother came to town, he took off the grill on the top of the micro hood, took out a few more screws, a plastic screen, another screw in the metal cover for the light and then reached in with his fingers to pull out the light bulb, we replaced it, then re-assembled it. It did take us about 30 minutes to do the job and you will need a phillips screwdriver, and a phillips screwdriver drill bit thing, but we were able to do it. I love having the light in the microhood again.

We see (and repair) this a lot. The problem is on the control panel, which we regularly repair nationwide by mail for $39.95 postpaid in about a week.

At our site, we have a video available showing how to remove a typical over the range control panel assembly in under 5 minutes.

This light failure often occurs when a bulb goes out and the filament shorts, or when the bulbs are removed or installed without first unplugging the oven from the power line. Either can cause such a failure on the controller.

This can often also affect the exhaust fan operation, too. The lights and fan can be inoperable or stuck on too.

Details of our service and critical safety information and disassembly information is at our site, and our link is at our listing here on FixYa.

Feel free to contact me directly (and please remind me of your full model number) for more information & help.

A full Sears/Kenmore model number has 3 digits, a dot, then 8 more digits, such as ###.########

We're happy to help you with free advice and we'd appreciate your thoughtful rating of our answer.

William E. Miller
[email protected]
http://www.microwavedisplay.com

WAIT!!! Before you just take the lamp cover off and try to replace the bulb that way, which would MAKE SENSE!!!, stop! All you'll do is snap the bulb off, leaving the metal screwy end of the bulb in the socket. Believe me - it happened to me. Twice.

The only way to ensure that you'll be able to get the entire bulb out, because the only way you can actually SEE what you're doing, is to remove the bottom cover of the microwave. It's about 6 screws along the underneath surface of the unit. After removing the screws, the front of the cover will hang down and the rear will stay nested in a groove at the back. At this point, you'll be able to see the backs of the light sockets. Remove the two screws on either side of the sockets, and you can gently pull the bulbs out of the housing so you can actually see and work with them.

Chances are, the bulbs have been GLUED into the sockets with silicone, which GE says it does to prevent moisture from getting into the sockets. Right. Then why is it that the replacement lamps work just fine without being glued in?! Anyway - GE actually instructs in the manual to "run a knife around the edge of the socket" to break the silicone seal. Hmmm..Sounds safe to me.

So, after you've eliminated the silicone one way or another, just gently unscrew the lamp like you would any other.

Trust me - you do not want to try to remove the lamps without removing the bottom cover. Oh, yeah - most importantly, unplug the microwave first! Good luck.

The problem is likely on the control panel, which we repair nationwide for $39.95 postpaid.

This light failure often occurs when a bulb goes out and the filament shorts, or when the bulbs are removed or installed without first unplugging the oven from the power line. Either can cause such a failure on the controller.

This often can affect the exhaust fan operation, too. The lights and fan can be inopoerable or stuck on.

If you or a friend decide to look into it, we have critical safety information, info on door switch diagnosis and replacement, and

disassembly information at our site, linked here on Fixya: http://tinyurl.com/yzjozk

Be sure to disconnect the oven from the power line before removing or installing bulbs or working on it. You can find helpful exploded view diagrams and order parts by entering your full model number (without the suffix) here: http://tinyurl.com/gv383 We have critical safety & disassembly info at our site, which is linked at our listing here on FixYa: http://tinyurl.com/yzjozk