ACO1860AS Amana Microwave - Instructions

Piece of cake. One screw to release the dropdown light diffuser. Just remember, the you're screwing the new bulb in from a reverse perspective. Also this site sends the correct part the first time.

Lifted out old support put new one in. Fixed in less than 30 sec.

Initially we started looking to buy a replacement microwave to replace our 13+ year old built-in microwave. It was a real pain finding a replacement to fit the exact dimensions. So I thought I'd try to find an old KitchenAid microwave. However, I was pleasantly surprised when this site came up on my search. Their website allows me to input the problems and then it showed two possible parts that needed to be replaced. I emailed tech support and asked them which part I needed. They responded very quickly and said I needed to replace the magnetron. I watched a couple YouTube videos and then pulled my microwave apart. It was incredibly easy to pull the outer cover off. The magnetron had 5 screws that needed to be removed and one electrical plug. Took me maybe 10 min to complete the entire repair. It was one of the easiest repairs I've done and so thankful for this site They saved me a ton of money from not buying a new microwave and we now have our microwave working again. In hindsight, I wouldn't hesitate. I'd order the Part now and get it fixed.

Microwave vented up toward the ceiling discoloring it. I positioned the charcoal filter over the vent holding it in place with scotch tape. It keeps the ceiling clean and dose not affect air flow from the exhaust vent. I change the filter every year.

We needed a phillips head screw driver to remove the single screw holding the light bulb cover in place.
Removing the old bulbs was a little work, because they had come loose from the sockets. We unplugged the microwave, so we could grip the sockets with a tool. I think my husband used a needle nose plier for this.
The new bulbs screwed in easily, and then we refastened the light bulb cover with the phillips head screw driver.

screwed in new bulb

Turn off power supply at breaker . Replace old bulb with new bulb .

Unplug appliance. Remove total of 7 phillips screws from sides and front of bottom panel . Panel front drops down, remove one socket screw and socket. Now have access for lineman' s pliers to unscrew bulb base. Reinstall socket, replace bulb and 7 panel screws. Restore power.

removed old covers which were cracked and dirty.
the repair part looked exactly like the original but did not fit correctly. i had to do some changing of the size to make it fit. it does not clip in place as it should but we are living with it as it does cover the light bulb. the grease filter is perfect

I had to unmount the over-the-range microwave oven to be able to gain access to the interior of the oven. Complicating removal (and re-installation) was the fact that there is a "pot-filler" faucet installed directly underneath the oven. In retrospect, I should've removed the faucet before doing the repair, but "c'est la vie."

After I got the microwave down, removing the case was also "interesting." I get bonus points for the fact that the previous owner must've had to replace the same diode before - and then re-assembled the microwave case incorrectly - thereby adding to the confusion (BTW, the service manual that I found online said nothing about how to remove the oven's case).

To remove the case, undo all the screws holding it on, and then rotate the case upwards from the back while also pulling the case backwards. There are crimped folds on the inside of the case that mate with the back edges of the front of the oven's chassis, and these folds have to be unclipped from the chassis in order to remove the case.

Replacing the diode itself was the easiest part of the job. The two connectors on the diode are of different types, making it impossible to install the diode with the wrong polarity.

BTW, the diode that had failed was not an OEM diode; I suspect it was a generic component that had been installed by a repairman sometime between 2004-2008 (when our home's original owners still owned the home). On the other hand, the new diode from PartSelect is an OEM part (it came packaged in a sealed Whirlpool bag).

The fact that the oven had stopped heating indicated that it was either the high-voltage diode or the magnetron that had failed. Since a replacement diode costs ~ 1/10th as much as a replacement magnetron, I figured it made sense to replace the cheaper part first. Fortunately, this fixed the problem.

One last thing: I tried testing both the old and new diodes for conductivity and polarity using my volt-ohm meter (VOM), but I was unable to get either diode to "turn on," even though my VOM is powered by a 9-v battery, and I used the 2-Mohm range setting. I guess the test voltage of my el-cheapo VOM isn't high enough to exceed the diode's threshold voltage, (even though I have successfully used this same VOM to test low-voltage diodes).

removed a dozen screws-discarded large cap-replaced diode-replaced a dozen screws(took longer to replace them than remove for some unknown reason). Microwave now works(wife happy).

Took microwave out of builtin cabinet with 4 screws.
Put microwave on center island and removed cover.
Tested interlock switch with volt meter and it appeared ok so I put my kit back in box and sent back.
Took out magnetron unit and replace with new part.
Put cover back on and test.
All is working and installed back in cabinet. Two weeks later all still working great.

The instructions on the website were incredibly easy and I saved myself a lot of headache by using this site.

-it was built in unit - so I needed to pull the decorative grill from around the outside to remove it from the wall
- removing the back of the case involved removing phillips head screws from along the side and back of the unit. the only issue I encountered on removing screws was the fact that the "torx / star" screws could not be fit with the wrench that I had (they had a pin in the center that would not allow the wrench to fit into the star). However, a pair of pliers was handy and they were removed just easily.
- I had ordered both the high voltage diode and magnetron because I didn't know which item was the problem. I grounded the diode with two screwdrivers while wearing rubber gloves to be safe. the warnings on this did the trick as it was the only scary part of the operation.
- the diode was a little hard to spot looking at the schematics, but is is found on the lower right corner of the right side of the panel and easily pulled out and replaced. I tried the microwave again to see if it worked...and it did not. So I confirmed that the magnetron was the issue.
- removing the screws for the magnetron and putting in the replacement was a dead easy and I tried the microwave again before putting cover back on. Worked like a charm. Super easy!

Husband replaced the bulb

Access is via RT. SIDE Panel as you face microwave. There are three screws on the bottom right edge to loosen. After that the side panel slips down and off. the fuse is located in the rear near where the power cord comes in. It is the white ceramic tube 1/4" in dia. and 1-1/2" long. Pull it out like any fuse and replace with new one. Reassemble and you are done!