PVM1870SM3SS General Electric Microwave - Instructions

after a couple of misfires, got the correct size tray, and replaced it in the oven.

remove cover-unplug wires from secondary switch-remove switch-snap in new switch-plug in wires-replace cover-works great. very easy to do.

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.

Loosen the two long anchor bolts that screw into the top of the microwave cabinet. These are usually in a shelf or cabinet directly above the microwave. Tilt the microwave forward enough to remove the 2 Phillips head screws from the top of the microwave cabinet. They are near the front. When these two screws are out, remove the fan vent. Once the fan vent is off, remove one screw that holds the control pad in place. Let it hang down. Just to the left of the control pad, you will see wires leading to three switches that close when the door is closed. Use a torx driver to remove the two screws that hold the switch bracket in place. With the bracket out, unplug the wire harnesses. On the opposite side of the wiring connected, a tab holds each switch in place. Lift the tab and slide the switches out. Usually, the bad switch will be identified by a loose or broken spring. Test them by pressing down on the switch. If you notice the bad switch spring, this is usually the bad one. When you have the new one, simply push it back into the appropriate slot and be sure that the holding tab snaps back in place. Plug the wires back in and re-attach the bracket. Put the control pad back on, then the fan vent. When down with those, push on the bottom of the microwave to lift it back into place and tighten the two anchor bolts in the top.

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 .

I replaced the cover just fine but i think a sensor went bad

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.

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.

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

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.

every thing is working, but no hot

I had to replace the entire assembly control panel, although I believe the problem was just the membrane. Unfortunately, the membrane is not available to the public,

First, unplug microwave. Unscrew two screws at top of microwave, slide grill cover left and remove. This allows access to single screw holding control panel. Remove this screw and lift up control panel to remove. Secondary door switch is black switch at lowest position. The switch is held in place by a lever in back and very hard to get to. Remove the wires plugged into the switch, then remove two screws holding the plastic switch mount that holds all three switches. These screws use a "star" type screwdriver. Once the plastic mount is free, lift it up, right, and tip it slightly to find the lever that will release the black secondary door switch (the lowest switch)...release the broken switch, snap the new switch in its place. Replace the plastic mount by lifting and replacing back into position and replace the two "star" screws. Now, replace the wires onto the new switch, and test operation. Replace control panel, and top grill. It goes faster than it writes...getting the old switch out through that difficult to reach lever was the hardest part...still less than thirty minutes.

Once we figued out that you had to remove the panel underneath the microwave, pull down the turntable motor part and then insert to coupler it went really fast. Through trial and error we figured it out, but should have checked for installation instructions on the internet. Repair time would have been less than 15 minutes.

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.