36362 Kenmore - Instructions

There are 4 thermostats (aka TCO = Thermal Cut Out) in the GE JVM1440BH04
The schematic is under the cover in a black envelope to the top left of the unit if you face the door.

Check the fuse first. You can remove the front grate, then the numpad on the right. The fuse is right behind it. It's a 250V 20A Class F fuse.

There are four (4) TCOs or Thermal Cut Out thermostats in this puppy:

1) There is a thermostat behind the button panel to the left, facing down. If blown, it breaks the power coming into the unit and will cause a no power situation.

2) There is another TCO or thermostat near the top lamp, to the left, in a small cavity. That one also breaks power to the unit and will cause a no power situation. It's a 100 C / 0 C thermostat. This was the one that blew on me after I left the stove running (for heating in a black-out) under the microwave.


"Cavity TCO" or "Thermostat" part number 61 on the schematics, part number PS239319


3) There is yet another power-breaking TCO or thermostat in the cavity behind the fan that cools the microwave coils. You have to remove the sheet metal on the right of the microwave to access it. This one also breaks power and will cause a no power situation.

1), 2) and 3) should test out to be 0 Ohms with a resistance meter (Digital Multimeter) if working correctly.

4) There is a thermostat which normally does not let current through it. It is mounted in a vertical position to the back wall behind the front panel on the right. This one is used for the sensor reheat function apparently and will close when the temperature in the microwave reaches approx. 60 C.

4) should have infinite resistance with a resistance meter under normal circumstances.

1. remove microwave from wall
2. remove cover (many screws)
3. remove nuts holding magnetron in place (4)
4. remove magnetron (this is a pain due to the plastic molding used to direct cooling air through the magnetron
5. get new magnetron in place (this was even more fun to find the right angles to tilt to get the magnetron to fit
6. re-tighten the 4 nuts on the magentron
7. put the cover back on
8. put the unit back on the wall.

bonus repair: the display flickered while the magnetron was on (cooking ) prior to the magnetron dying. found a ribbon cable on the control board to the display with an aluminum foil shield that had peeled off (adhesive failure). re-installing the aluminum shield with packaging tape, and the display no longer flickers

Over the range microwave. Replaced magnetron. Completely disassemble the case top and bottom.
Remove screws from bottom of HV transformer. Magnetron will not clear without this removal.

Remove nuts with socket from top of Magnetron. Remove thermo unit from old magnetron and attach it to new. Replace and bolt down Mag. Replace and screw in HV transformer. Make sure all wires are reconnected.

Put it back up on the wall. Took about three hours from taking it down from wall and putting it back up.

Remove the 2 Torx-15 screws at left of control panel. Work the control panel out by pulling slightly to the left first - it is engaged to the slotted holes to the right.

Remove the door's upper switch by lifting the tab and pulling out the switch carefully. To install the new switch, you may have to remove 2 philips screws holding the plastic assembly where the switches are mounted to the metal frame.

Diagrams on the website are misleading b/c the switch shown up on top of the other 2 switches is the switch w/ the NC (upper) terminal while you'll need the NO (lower) terminal for this repair (symptoms are: turntable won't move, no heat -but light and fan ok). I should have called before ordering the part (had to pay shipping twice)...

Once I got the right part, it works just like before.

After reading some of the comments that others wrote, I decided to order the light sockets along with the replacement bulbs. As predicted, the old light bulbs broke when I tried to remove them - the bulb separated from the base which was still screwed in the socket. After removing the screws that held the bottom panel, I was able to remove the socket assemblies with ease. After inspection of the old sockets, I was glad I ordered new sockets - the old sockets were burned in some spots and very brittle. The parts arrived within a day and a half after I ordered them, but when the parts arrived, one of the bulbs was broken (happened during shipping). I called the office phone number and talked to a really pleasant technician who refunded me the price of the broken bulb and placed an order for a replacement. That was the Wednesday evening before Thanksgiving Day. I got the replacement bulb yesterday (Tuesday) morning - still really quick considering the Thanksgiving holiday. All of the parts are installed and are working excellent. I am definately going to keep their WEBsite for future use, and I'll be letting my friends know about them. Thanks PartSelect, you've earned my business.

The old fuse is perfectly good. The new ones arrived within a day.

We purchased our Microhood oven about 4 years ago along with the extended warranty package offered thru home depot. Within one year, the problems began. Each year the secondary switch would go bad rendering the microwave useless. If you have 3 small children like we do, you tend to use it a lot. We sure take the microwave for granted.

Each time G.E. would fix the problem at no charge. Ths time - the warranty had expired and GE wanted to charge us $80.00 for service call plus parts and labor. We estimated the cost to run at least $150.00 or more.

To top it all off, GE was going to have a service tech avail for over 2 weeks. This is poor customer service and completely unaccceptable.

Because this was a recurring problem, I figured it was the same part that had being going bad since we purchased the appliance. I decided to order the part "secondary switch" myself and attempt to fix the microwave on my own.

I ordered the part last Tuesday, the part arrived last Friday. Within 10 minutes I had the microwave apart, replaced the part and had the microwave back in working order.

PartSelect saved me over $100.00.

We are very satified with PartsSelect, I would recommend them to anyone

First open the microwave door. On the back you will see a plastic part about 3/4 inch wide surrounding the glass in the door. I used a butter knife as suggested by other users to pry it off by slipping the knife along the outer edge and prying the part out. Being careful not to crack tabs. This exposes 2 screws on the handle. Remove screws. Next, pry out the metal surround shield in the same manner with butter knife. This exposes another set of 2 screws. Remove screws. Note which ones these are. Handle then comes off and you can replace new handle, insert 2 inner screws just removed, snap metal surround shield back in place, insert last 2 screws then snap plastic surrounding part back in place.

Philips head screwdriver to remove 2 screws holding plastic grill above microwave door in place. Old Filter lifts out slide new filter in. It rests on an angle. Re insert Grill (careful that plastic tabs slide into proper slots). Tighten SCrews

1. turned off electricity -- unplugged the unit 2. removed 3 screws on top of top vent, removed vent screen then I located the little white cylindrical fuse and popped it out with a table knife. Then I popped in the new fuse. Replaced the vent screen and screws -- plugged in the appliance and it is working again.

First, I waste $65 by calling some "REPAIR" service. They showed at home and charge me that just to tell me
Second, I researched on the web and ordered a part, which was not the issue. I waste abnother $72
Third, I found Part-Select and got the right answer: the Diode was the problem. Ordered the part form Part-Select and it FIxed it !!!

Note: I did not buy a new microwave because this one is mounted on the wall and it will cost me +$800 just the lowest price.

The microwave had been working fine until one day when the timer counted down but the heating motor (or whatever you call it) would not come on. So the timer would count down but nothing inside would get hot. I did not know what it was for sure but decided to take it apart and look. Once I had the control panal off, I found three small wired switches inside. One of these switches appeared to have shorted out. So I searched online and found Partselect.com. I found a matching switch , ordered it (arrived in couple days), put it in, and VOILA it works! Thanks Partselect.com.

I've been fixing and taking things apart since I was a kid. I hoped that it was a bad switch in the door. Got out my test meter and check the 3 different switches. All 3 tested good, but one was a bit hit and miss. It would work if the microwave was on its side and wouldn't when it was set flat. I found the switch online and installed it. Took care of the problem.It was a whole lot cheaper than buying a new microwave. Thanks! Bill Brown, Fridley, MN

I used the kitchen knife to remove the inside cover on the door. There are tabs which hold it in place along the vertical sides. Then removed the two screws holding the handle in place and replaced it with the new handle. Replaced the inside door cover. Thanks for the tip on using the knife to remove the inside cover!! It was easy!

TURN OFF ALL POWER TO KITCHEN. Took off all burner coils and plates below them. Lift hood. Locate part. Remove old part and replace with new part in same way as was previously installed. The wire that comes with the kit is actually too much wire, but just arrange it the best you can and leave it....no big deal. I didn't have a magnet, but needed one. The wire from burner coil to switch runs through a harness which is screwed on to the body of the oven (below the range). Be careful NOT to drop it behind oven when taking it out. I dropped it and took forever to get it. That turned a 20 minuate job into an hour and a half. Otherwise this is an easy job that anyone can do. Refrigerator compressor is next. Have fun.