PVM1870SM1SS General Electric Microwave - Instructions

Removed the microwave with the buit in housing from the cabinet. Removed microwave from built in housing. Removed outer cabinet giving access to remove control panel and smart board where switches are located. Removed control panel to get to smartboard. Removed smart board after disconnecting a few wires to allow easy removal. Individually removed and then tested each switch using multimeter. Found seondary Door Switch (bottom of smart board) operation to be intermittent (switch trip button extremely loose and rattle inside this particular switch) Ordered replacement part which came very quickly on standard shipping order. Put new switch on smart board and remounted, reinstalled control panel and reconnected various wire connectors previously disconnected. Then plugged in oven and tested for opertation - didn't work at all! But, after bleeding off capacior charge by removing connectors and discharging capacitor to ground, then reassembling control board and smart board into oven, then trying agian, it has worked perfectly ever since. Do not understand why capacitor disconnect/discharge was required but suspect this reset the control electronics. Easy fix and hope to get another 12 years out of this appliance which is used multiple times every day. Also have two other identical micorwave ovens, one is 20 years old, but these get used relatively infrequently.

Easy. A little awkward getting to the part since microwave is over stove and not much room between range and microwave. Other than that, it was a piece of cake.

Pull cover off , located the bad magnetron . Then replaced it with the new one. About 15 min. Of work.

Remove the microwave cover. Requires a phillips screwdriver and a torx security bit/nut driver (there are two security type screws on the back...guess they don't want you to do this at home!). I had to buy the a security bit set (about $7). The diode is easily accessible on the right side under the fan. Requires removing on small phillips screw and unplugging on electrical connection. GE provides some instructions in an envelope on top (after cover removed). There is a warning/instruction to discharge the capacitor before service. This was not a problem for me. Actual diode replacement took 30 seconds. Whole job = 15 minutes.

Opened the microwave oven door, unscrewed two screws which held the control panel on, then I removed two of the door switches (each had two screws), and then used the continuity tester to see which one was not operating. It turned out to be the secondary door switch, replaced it and to my amazement, the microwave worked. I have never repaired an appliance before but I didn't want to replace our over-the-stove built in microwave. It was the best day ever when it was working again! The hardest part was getting myself to try the repair.

Turn off main power bracker. Removed fan vent, removed control panel, disconnect leads to the three monitor switches. Replaced the secondary switch (top). Reversed procedures.

There are five Philips screws on the bottom outside cover .one at each corner and one at the front center. Remove all four at the corners .leaving the front center for last. When the last screw is removed ,the cover will hinge down, it is attached to clips at the back that allow it fold down. The wire attached to the light socket is connected by a pull apart plug. Grasp at each end of the hard plastic connector and pull outward ,DO NOT PULL ON THE Wires ! Lift the cover from the back of the microwave place it on a flat surface on a towel keep it from sliding around. Remove the screws holding the porcelain sockets. Reverse procedure to reinstall .Installing new Halogen lamps is suggested. Use a clean tissue or cloth to handle the lamps, finger prints on the lamp will shorten the life .

Watched How to repair a Microwave that turns on when the door is opened Video on the web. From this took a shot at the switch was the problem. When I removed the switch it was defective. The small button was in and when you turned the switch upside down the button would drop back into position. Ordered a switch for $25.oo , installed it and the microwave is working fine.

At first I thought it was just the bulb, but I wasn't able to find a video of the exact model. The dificult part was figuring out how the vent housing came off (turns out it slid to the left then lifted out) but after I figured that out, replacing the cable assembly and the bulb was really easy.

Only two screws required but plastic tabs have to be lined up and whole assembly moved slightly to the right to line up screw holes. New S.S. on front looks great!

Uninstalled microwave from above range, removed cover then vent assembly (slide slightly to the left to free it). Opened the control panel (slide up then tilt forward) to access the troubleshooting/repair/test sheet. Followed the diagnostic flowchart and determined the TCO above the cooking cavity had failed. No other faults found. Ordered part Sat. afternoon and rcvd it Monday. Part is held in place with spring clips and quick connect terminals so installation was easy. Microwave was back in operation in no time.

First unplugged the microwave, took top grill off, took control panel off, took wires off and used color coded tape to make sure they went back in right places, took fuse out and replaced it and put every thing back and it all worked fine and to top it off my wife did it all. So it was pretty easy.

simply remove broken coupler and install new coupler. no tools required.

damper plate was a snap-in part. rotated fan discharge to top of microwave. installed ducting to discharge food odors outside.

It was a snap using the instructions given. The key is getting into the unit. I did have to use a multimeter to find the failed switch since there are two of that type.