At first I tried to use pliers to unscrew the base,very uncomfortable working position,upside down and backwards(the microwave is installed over the range top)very limited space for your body and arms to manuver and you really cant see the base,all of this took place after the breaker was turned off ofcourse,finally figured out that you can drop the entire bottom housing of the microwave by unscrewing 6 screws and the light sockets are easily accessable once you lower it,take out 1 retaining screw ,remove the entire socket and unscrewed the broken base and replaced the bulbs,I said bulbs,there is no sense in having to replace another bulb in who knows how long since only one had burned out but they were both the same age
I removed the microwave unit (built-in) from the housing above the built-in oven with just two screws and unplugging it. I then removed the screws from the top and sides of the microwave access panels to allow access to the magnetron. I then removed the electrical connections from the magnetron, which is very simple and then the screws which held the magnetron in place. Replacement of the new part was just the reverse of removing the other one. Cost to do this by a technician would have been somewhere in the neighborhood of $65.00 for coming to the house, and $75.00 per hour rounded to probably 2 hours to do it. So, doing this yourself is satisfying not only in knowing you did the job, but the $200.00 plus dollars you saved as well.
