My GE Spacesaver microwave oven just stopped working. One minute it was fine and then 5 minutes later it was completely off, nothing works! I'm thinking maybe it blew a fuse or something, where is the fuse for the microwave located? I checked the house circuit breaker, that's not the problem.

SOURCE: GE JVM1440 Spacesaver Microwave

You can fix it without the aid of a repairman. Simply unplug the microwave and remove the outer casing. There should be a few screws around the bottom edge and back panel. Once you have the unit open, look for where the power cord comes in. There should be a circuit board with a fuse mounted to it. This is your input line filter. The fuse should be a 20 amp appliance fuse that you can pick up at any hardware store (Lowe's and Home Depot both carry them). DO NOT op test with the outer casing removed. Potentials of about 14,000 volts are present in the high voltage network of a microwave oven. Close the unit up BEFORE you power it back up. Let me know if this helps.

William Miller

• 9179 Answers
• Posted on Jan 13, 2008

SOURCE: GE Spacesaver microwave trips the circuit breaker

Since power = voltage X current, 1.58kW / 120VAC = 13.166A

So this unit should be fine on a 15A breaker unless the breaker is bad, the wiring or a connection is loose somewhere between the breaker and the microwave, or the microwave's magnetron or high voltage transformer are failing and drawing extra current.

Microwaves should really be on the own separate breaker if at all possible. Plus, the more a breaker trips, the more work out it gets.

Have you measured the voltage at the outlet? If that's off, current and power will be affected. It should be about 110-125VAC.

A good power test for outlet and wiring integrity is a toaster, toaster oven, or hair dryer rated at about 1500 watts.

If it doesn't run and heat steadily, then there may be a problem with the house wiring or breaker.

If it passes this test, the problem is likely in the microwave.

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

SOURCE: GE Spacesaver over the range microwave oven

GE Microwave ovens, and Microwave Ovens produced by GE but released under different brand names, have had several power problems for the past 20 years. Because it is so easy to sell parts and charge outrageous rates for repair GE never corrected the problems. They just continued it in the next model. They found that you would most likely purchase a new unit rather than paying $75. for a service charge, and $150. for labor plus parts (if out of warranty period).
Most failures were cold solder connections on the power relay board. These would come completely dis-connected after arcing and burning away the solder. Could be 1 month, could be years, but they knew it would happen. This power relay board feeds 120volts to the LV (low voltage) side of the HV (high voltage) Transformer. No High Voltage,,No cook. Everything seems to run normal, but if you listen carefully you will not hear the low tone from the HV Transformer. Over my thirty years in the business I have re-soldered rather than replace so many I couldn't count.
Next to that, a defective Magnetron.

SOURCE: my GE spacesaver oven JVM230 quit, like a fuse

This is almost certainly a blown thermistor. This device is located at the air outlet on the microwave. This is a thermally sensitive resistor that cuts power if the unit overheats for safety. It can fail because of age also. Replace with the save value unit. You can get this part from electronics stores like Radio Shack.
Go to;
http://www.appliancepartspros.com/partsearch/modelsearch.aspx?model=JVM1640SJ

click on your model number. Then on the next page you can select diagrams to look at.

Treefrog15

• 130 Answers
• Posted on Feb 25, 2010

SOURCE: How do you reset the microwave power? Is there an

There is an internal cartridge fuse, as well as thermal fuses. It is not recommended that you attempt any internal repairs on a microwave due to the presence of very high voltages and the danger of microwave radiation if not reassembled correctly. Residential microwaves, if not under warrranty, are generally considered disposable. Parts and service are very expensive.

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