# Microwave LED lightbulb won't turn off



## rjniles (Feb 5, 2007)

Put an incandescent back in the MW.

Sent from my RCT6203W46 using Tapatalk


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## DannyorDan (Jul 1, 2017)

Gee that's a big help


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## rjniles (Feb 5, 2007)

DannyorDan said:


> Gee that's a big help


You are welcome. Glad I could help.

Sent from my RCT6203W46 using Tapatalk


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## de-nagorg (Feb 23, 2014)

Many things are not designed to utilize the L E D type bulb, it can't sense that it is drawing current.

Question, Why are you running the microwave light for ten or more minutes straight?

Is watching your item cook , that important that you have to stand there with your nose pressed to the glass?


ED


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## rjniles (Feb 5, 2007)

de-nagorg said:


> Many things are not designed to utilize the L E D type bulb, it can't sense that it is drawing current.
> 
> Question, Why are you running the microwave light for ten or more minutes straight?
> 
> ...


Ed, I think he is talking about an OTR unit. The light is switch controlled with 2 levels to light up the range surface below the MW. You are right, some appliances are not made to use LEDs.


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## de-nagorg (Feb 23, 2014)

RJ: You maybe right, O T R, but we'll probably never know, I sense a definite disappointment from them on the help received.

We can only answer with what limited detail we have to begin with.


ED


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## jlnolan1 (Jun 30, 2020)

I am having the same issue as the original poster (OTR unit). The incandescent replacement bulbs burned very hot so I replaced with LED's, are there any LED's that will work?


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## surferdude2 (Nov 21, 2019)

I know of no LED bulb that is designed for that purpose. The problem occurs due to the electronic switching (Triac) used in the MW and the inherent forward leakage it has. Some Triacs leak more than others and may light low power LED bulbs. Perhaps try a higher wattage LED just for an experiment and report back so we can all learn something.

ps. One of my garage door opener lights has that problem and the other door opener tolerates LED's very well. Go figure... luck of the draw.


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## gbaranmickle (3 mo ago)

I want to share my research for others finding thing thread. I had the same issue, tired of replacing my OTR incandescent every few months. Presumably the ratting from closing the microwave door caused them to break eventually. Ordered a 2W 250lm E17 LED replacement, and it wouldn’t turn off. After seeing this thread and your comment Surferdude2, I ordered as many different 200-400lm bulbs off Amazon as I could find that were visually different, hoping for differences in design. Of the 7 different bulbs, only 2 worked perfectly with no flickering and a definite OFF. One of those was 2W, one 4W. The other 5 were a mix of not turning off and flickering on low, and both the higher and lower wattage. So the wattage doesn’t really seem to matter, but something unseen in how the bulb is designed seems to make the difference.


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## Matt1963 (5 mo ago)

gbaranmickle said:


> I want to share my research for others finding thing thread. I had the same issue, tired of replacing my OTR incandescent every few months. Presumably the ratting from closing the microwave door caused them to break eventually. Ordered a 2W 250lm E17 LED replacement, and it wouldn’t turn off. After seeing this thread and your comment Surferdude2, I ordered as many different 200-400lm bulbs off Amazon as I could find that were visually different, hoping for differences in design. Of the 7 different bulbs, only 2 worked perfectly with no flickering and a definite OFF. One of those was 2W, one 4W. The other 5 were a mix of not turning off and flickering on low, and both the higher and lower wattage. So the wattage doesn’t really seem to matter, but something unseen in how the bulb is designed seems to make the difference.


What brand of bulbs worked? I find Phillips bulbs work the best.


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## ajmarisca (2 mo ago)

Matt1963 said:


> What brand of bulbs worked? I find Phillips bulbs work the best.


 Same problem. What were the 5 winners??


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## tstex (Nov 14, 2014)

ajmarisca said:


> Same problem. What were the 5 winners??


"...only 2 worked perfectly with no flickering and a definite OFF"

I think it was 2 of 7 winners, thus 5 losers....guess it's always good to be optimistic


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## Willson_wanda (2 mo ago)

purchase a new good brand bulb like Phillips etc


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## sagordon (15 d ago)

DannyorDan said:


> I have a Whirlpool Microwave I just bought and the original bulb when turned on get really hot after about 10 Mins., so I bought a LED bulb for Microwaves but it won't turn off. The Microwave has two light settings and when you hit it light switch a third time its supposed to turn off. It works fine with the original bulb but not the LED bulb, any thoughts


 I have the same problem, but have concluded since the original bulb was 40 watts and the LED 4, at the dimmed illumination level of the off position it will still be cheaper to run than the 40 as in my kitchen I need to use that light anytime I cook. The other solution would be to remove the LED screw-in and either leave no bulb there or put the incandescent back BUT mount an LED strip (either motion sensitive or switched) mounted to the bottom of the microwave which would give much better light and would turn off. If you do that I would recommend VELCRO to mount it so that you could remove it easily for cleaning.


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## c11488 (15 d ago)

gbaranmickle said:


> I want to share my research for others finding thing thread. I had the same issue, tired of replacing my OTR incandescent every few months. Presumably the ratting from closing the microwave door caused them to break eventually. Ordered a 2W 250lm E17 LED replacement, and it wouldn’t turn off. After seeing this thread and your comment Surferdude2, I ordered as many different 200-400lm bulbs off Amazon as I could find that were visually different, hoping for differences in design. Of the 7 different bulbs, only 2 worked perfectly with no flickering and a definite OFF. One of those was 2W, one 4W. The other 5 were a mix of not turning off and flickering on low, and both the higher and lower wattage. So the wattage doesn’t really seem to matter, but something unseen in how the bulb is designed seems to make the difference.


 What was the 4W bulb brand and where purchased? Thanks!


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## lisabeatty32 (7 d ago)

gbaranmickle said:


> I want to share my research for others finding thing thread. I had the same issue, tired of replacing my OTR incandescent every few months. Presumably the ratting from closing the microwave door caused them to break eventually. Ordered a 2W 250lm E17 LED replacement, and it wouldn’t turn off. After seeing this thread and your comment Surferdude2, I ordered as many different 200-400lm bulbs off Amazon as I could find that were visually different, hoping for differences in design. Of the 7 different bulbs, only 2 worked perfectly with no flickering and a definite OFF. One of those was 2W, one 4W. The other 5 were a mix of not turning off and flickering on low, and both the higher and lower wattage. So the wattage doesn’t really seem to matter, but something unseen in how the bulb is designed seems to make the difference.


 So I just came across this yesterday. Does it hurt to just Keep it in? Will it catch fire? Nice having three settings and honestly the OTR bulb hardly ever gets shut off in my house. Just curious to know If I can in fact keep it in.


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