36362709200 Kenmore Microwave - Instructions

Turned out the issue was easily solved by replacing a single, inexpensive fuse.

First off, UNPLUG THE MICROWAVE.

The fuse is located under the plastic grill at the top of the microwave. It's held on by two screws. Once you've removed the screws and taken off the plastic grill, you go to the right side of the microwave and remove another screw that holds a small metal grill in place. Removing the small metal grill is probably the toughest part of this repair. You kind of have to rock it back and forth a bit to get it to release. Once that's off, you can get to the fuse. I removed the burnt out one with a pair of needle nose pliers. I also put a small piece of cardboard under the fuse when I did this so I didn't accidentally drop it into the innards of the microwave. I did the same thing when I replaced the new fuse. I then plugged the appliance back in and made sure it worked. Once that was confirmed, I replaced both grills.

I had no idea what to expect. I was tired to see this turn table not moving. I removed the 7 screws at the bottom of the microwave that I thought was hiding the turn table mechanism. Bingo! I removed the 2 screws holding the motor and check if the power was coming to the motor and it was. The motor was cooked.
I decided to change the filter since I was working on this. When I received it, and proceeded to change it, I found out that there was no filter. Finding the right position was a bit tricky. The most difficult part was to remove the front vent grille.

Don’t be shy, try it! Make sure, to disconnect the power when changing the filter.

Noted on partselect.com that someone else with this problem, found it to be secondary door switch. There are three door switches in this model, but online info noted that one of the three might feel "soft" (in my case, one switch clicked in a rather "jiggly" way, the other two were strong decisive clicks.) To access the door switches on this model was the only difficult part. First use a torx bit to remove the two torx screws below the latches inside the microwave. This frees the latching part inside, that holds the door switches, which you will remove after you take off the control panel. The top grill has to come off before you can remove the door panel. Remove the screws above the grill, on the microwave top cover, The grill on this model is covered with a panel that moves out when it vents. After removing the two top screws, the covered grill vent slides left to remove. Be careful, as the sliding tabs are plastic. Wiggle and jiggle it, to slip it off. Below the removed grill, is a small metal grill with one screw in lower center. Remove that screw, and wiggle that out. You'll then see the one screw that holds on the control panel. Remove this screw, and lift the control panel up to remove. Again, go slowly and gently, as the bottom tabs holding the control panel in, are also plastic and easily broken. Lay the control panel on something, (I used the coffee maker) and pull out the wire bundles tucked on the left, that are attached to the latching panel. Wiggle the latching panel gently to lift it up off of it's plastic tabs and pull it out towards you, so you can see the three door switches. Each switch (part number WB24X829) has a little black switch on it. Feel each switch with either your finger, or a screwdriver to see which one doesn't "click" strongly. The weak one is the one you will replace. The door switches are fitted into a tab, and plugged into their wires. Remove the defective switch, pull out the wires, and replace it with the new switch, plugging back the wires, and slipping it back into it's plastic tabs. Then put everything back together in reverse order. The entire job took me fifteen minutes EXCEPT for figuring out how to slide off the upper grill, which I have told you. A repairman would have cost $150, the part was $18. AND, there's a good chance, the other two switches will get "used up" in the next year or so as well, so I'll be ready next time. Thank you, Partselect, why work all day, to make money, only to give it to somebody else, for fifteen minutes of work. All I needed was the knowledge.

First I unplugged the microwave. :) Then, I removed the 6 screws found underneath the microwave, which allowed the bottom piece to hang down so I could see the turntable motor. I took the two screws out holding the motor in place and pulled the electric connectors off the motor terminals. Then I got the new part from PartSelect.com, replaced the electrical commectors, fit the motor back into the slot it came from (cause the pin has to be seated up in the hole) and replaced the 2 screws holding in the motor. Then I put the bottom metal piece back up and put the 6 screws back in. It was really easy - and I'm a chick! ;)

Unscrewed bottom plate of microwave and two screws that secured motor. Disconnect wires. Reversed process when installing new motor. Couldn't have been easier.

Had to take unit off wall and disassemble the main casing.then disconnected the wires from the magnetron.took the mounting nuts off but wasn't able to remove the magnetron until I loosened the transformer out of the way .Then it came out easy.Installed the magnetron ,tightened the nuts,installed the transformer back in, connected the the wires back on and installed the casing on ,screwed the screws and got help to install the unit to the wall again.....Tested the unit before putting back on the wall to make sure it heated....The parts were exac same type and wasn't too hard to do...

The tray drive motor arrived quickly. I opened the package and made sure the correct motor arrived. I shut off the power to the microwave/exhaust hood. Then I grabbed a screwdriver and dropped 5 screws from the bottom of the microwave. I then removed 2 more screws that hold the motor in place. Unplugged the 21 volt power clips. Placed the new motor in position and replaced the screws and attatched the power clips. I then placed the bottom pan in position and replaced the 5 screws that hold it to the bottom of the microwave. Turned the microwave on and it worked properly! The total cost was $40 and I probably saved more than a hundred dollars on a service call. What a happy ending and it took about 5 minutes to perform the repair! Thanks PartSelect. You are the best!

I was able to simply lift the broken turntable coupler from the bottom of the microwave. The smaller broken piece fell inside the body of the microwave. I tried unsuccessfully to retrieve it. When the new part arrived, I simply snapped it in place. Everything works good as new!

I removed a plastic cover that goes around the glass on the back of the microwave, There are two screws that hold the handle, I took the two screws out, put the new handle in place and put the screws back on and thight them. Make sure handle was secured and then put back the plastic cover around the glass door, took me about 15 minutes.

To get to the switches you need to remove the metal cover/housing of the microwave, by first removing several screws that hold it in place, and then sliding the cover towards the back of the unit. You'll find the switches in some plastic holders above the door-open button, and it's its easy to see how the mechanism engages/disengages the switches when the door is opened and closed.

If it is not obvious which switch is bad, in our case the bad switch felt "soft" when we pressed the switch button with our fingers. A good switch has a firm "click" when pressed.

The switches are easy to replace - pop out the old switch (no tools required) and pull off the electrical connectors. Then pop in the new switch and reattach the connectors.

A great place to start is to reveiw the posting from "Marla From Arlington TX" posted on 8-3-09. It provides an excellent description of the process that you will need to follow. The only additional thing that I would add is to check the contacts on the switches. In my case I found that all three of the switches had a small build-up of corrosion. I used sandpaper to clean the contacts. Because none of the switches had a "soft" click to them, it was hard to identify the bad one. I basically picked the worse looking one and then cleaned the contacts of the other two. I'm not sure if I actually even had a bad switch or if they all just needed cleaning. Whatever the case, it worked. I would suggest checking the contacts first. You may get away with not having to replace any of the switches. And in my case what makes me think that it may have just simply been dirty contacts is that the heating mechanism would engage every now and then. It wasn't dead 100 percent of the time. It's worth a try anyway.

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.

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.

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.

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