Microwave Trips Fuse Box - Is It Fixable.

kah22

Any of you guys who know about microwaves could you give me an idea if this seems fixable?

I don't use microwaves that often but do find them useful for something’s. However, about three months back in an attempt to clean the inside of the oven I place some water in a heatproof dish and attempted to steam the inside of the machine - I had done this on previous occasions quite successfully.

Anyway the micro must have been left on for to long and it blew the meter trip switch. My switch is very sensitive. I let the machine rest and tried it again with the same result. So I guessed dampness had gotten in around some of the workings so I disconnected the machine, left it in the spare room with the door open in the hope it would dry out. Tried it again after about two weeks again with the same result it tripped the fuse box.

Tried it yesterday, it's been sitting for about three months now and it ran for about three minutes and then tripped the switch. Tried it again about five minutes later and again it tripped the fuse box. Tried it just before posting this message with the same outcome.

It is/was a good combi microwave and I'd hate to have to shell out for a new one if this is fixable.

As always many thanks for your advice.

sickparrot

Hard to say, we had one which suddenly started tripping the RCD, I got hold of a wiring diagram and started to disconnect the various circuits (of which there are many, heaters, fans, switches, PCB's and lights, and of course the magnatron itself), until the fault went away, it was inconclusive and when I put it all back together again it worked fine and had no more problems with it.

There may be some obvious discolouration around whatever has been contaminated enough to cause trips but it may be buried inside a switch or something and take ages to pin down.

I'm a professional engineer BTW and do fault finding for a living (industrial process controllers, not microwaves), don't go tinkering unless your're confident you know what you're doing.

paddyrg

What you need is an electrician! Or at least a small electricals repairer!

Don't go tinkering though, there are some ferocious components inside a microwave oven, you could easily cause yourself trouble.

Avoriaz

Is it tripping on Microwave, Conventional Oven or Combined settings or all three?

Have you tried running it on Conventional Oven only? Perhaps an hour or two at a high heat setting will dry out whatever is causing the problem.

Please note that I am not qualified to give such advice. Electricity can be dangerous so perhaps you should get qualified professional advice before doing what I suggest.

LeeSouthEast

To be fair by the time you've paid the electrician for hours of fault finding and (possible) repair, you'd be quids in just buying a new one. Sad, but true.

Thinking sideways, how long have you had it? (Sale of Goods Act springing to mind, specifically). Steam in the oven shouldn't cause issues... microwave ovens work by virtue of exciting water molecules for goodness sake!)

johnmc

I wouldn't mess with it unless you are a competent electrician.

Whilst it may well be repairable the cost of doing so will probably be more than the cost of a replacement or even just the parts.

Jivesinger

paddyrg wrote: »

Don't go tinkering though, there are some ferocious components inside a microwave oven, you could easily cause yourself trouble.

... and this applies even if it's switched off and unplugged.

Microwaves store a lot of electric charge, which doesn't necessarily go away when it's unplugged, and it could zap you!

kah22

Warranty wise it's long gone and time wise it owes me nothing.
Hadn't tried the convection to see if that would trip the fuse box. I'll give it a go.
And I have no intention of fiddling with the machine. And of course I do appreciate the cost of repairs. In all probability it will be a new one.

S0litaire

Just wondering if any other high energy devices like a kettle will trip the fuse when plugged into the same socket?

Have you tried the oven on a totally different socket

we're all assuming it's the oven's fault when the problem might be in the wall socket!

Probably a total long shot but it's good to check just in case!!!

macman

Trying to 'steam clean' an electrical appliance such as a microwave is not really a very good idea-you might as well have pressure washed it!
Microwave are generally not economic to repair.

esuhl

macman wrote: »

Trying to 'steam clean' an electrical appliance such as a microwave is not really a very good idea-you might as well have pressure washed it!

That's funny. The instruction manual for my microwave suggests this as a suitable method for loosening grease before cleaning.