# Microwave on but not heatimg



## TarheelTerp (Jan 6, 2009)

JPM said:


> Hav a 2009 GE microwave, model # PEB20605M155 that has power and I can turn on but it is not heating the food ... Any ideas on where to start troubleshooting this?


By "on" I assume you mean the inside light and maybe the clock?
It's either the power circuit or the control/safety circuit.


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## Yoyizit (Jul 11, 2008)

Inside the housing you'll find an envelope with a schematic and specs. Post a photo of the schematic.

Be careful of the charge on the large capacitor.


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## Protocol. (May 31, 2012)

Unplug and short the cap. Check door switches and limits. There will probably be a cavity and a magnetron hi limit. I you can also check the caps microfarads and the diode as well, but most likely if not those it'll be a relay on-board or the transformer


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## hardwareman (Oct 9, 2010)

first things first, do you have a multimeter and do you know how to use it? Are you fairly confident in your abilities to check a live circuit inside the microwave?


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## JPM (Nov 21, 2008)

Thanks for all of this info.

I do have a multimeter and am confident of checking things out. My biggest issue in reading all of this is the stored voltage on the capacitor.

Pulled the micro out of its shelf (GE PROFILE) and have is sitting ready to take the cover off (my old GE had a simple access panel to get into look at fuses and switches). This one (maybe because it is quasi-built in) does not seem to have that and I'll need to take the whole housing off to expose everything.

I have never tried to short a capacitor before and am concerned about potential damage. Trying to decide to go for it or just call the service guy and get on to all my other honey-dew crap.


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## hardwareman (Oct 9, 2010)

discharging the cap is as easy as taking a screwdriver and shorting it out by touching it to the 2 leads at the same time. The cap is the least of your concerns. If you want to proceed I can walk you through it.


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## JPM (Nov 21, 2008)

Thanks for the offer ... if that is the case, then I will pull the cover off sometime tomorrow and it can be my weekend job. I will send some notes tomorrow once I am successful with getting the cover off and the cap shorted.


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