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Haunted GE Microwave Oven turns itself on?

19K views 36 replies 8 participants last post by  agoodboy 
#1 · (Edited)
My son and I just installed an 1100-watt GE Profile Above-the-Range microwave oven I purchased from Sears. Model #JVM3670SK06. It was originally a floor model on clearance that's never been installed.

Anyway, the microwave was functioning fine for about a week. However, late last night I noticed that the display went blank and none of the buttons worked. I unplugged and plugged the unit back in to reset it. The clock on the display reappeared and asked to be set.

After setting the clock, I noticed some additional strange behavior. When the microwave door was closed it would make a buzzing noise and apparently the magnetron would turn itself on, without being activated by the control panel. When I opened the door the buzzing would stop and the bottom of the glass plate would be very warm, almost hot.

I am still able to use the microwave using the control panel, but basically it's now ALWAYS ON, so I had to unplug the unit. It's still under the manufacturer's warranty and GE is coming to take a look at it tomorrow, but I'm curious if anyone has experienced something similar with their microwave, and if so, can help me identify the problem.

Any ideas?
 
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#5 ·
Self-starting microwaves are far more common that you would expect. Consumer Reports magazine did an article about the issue a while back. I don't recall exactly what the cause is, or if it's the same cause for different brands. But a number of houses have caught fire after the microwave turned itself on when nobody was home. Oddly, there has been a similar issue with some dishwashers catching fire. I think there's even a class action lawsuit about that.
 
#7 ·
Nowadays electronics of any kind (or anything that contains electronics) may exhibit random malfunctions, and they do. Satellites die, nuclear power plants suddenly shut off, Toyotas go into uncontrolled acceleration and tear down the road until they hit something...it's all very real. The NASA scientists found those Toyotas were going out-of-control due to finer-than-a-hair metal filaments called Tin Whiskers. NASA has a whole website about it and there's hundreds of Government and Industry scientists and engineers that have been working on the issue for over ten years. One of the engineers has a fairly readable website about it---www.tinwhisker.us Fascinating.
 
#9 ·
If you buy anything with electronics in it, buy the Extended Warranty, whether a microwave or a car. Make sure it's a Manufacturer's Warranty, not a Store Warranty. They are selling for typically six to ten percent of purchase price, yet there's a thirty percent chance something in the electronics will fail in 5-6 years due to a Tin Whisker.

Manufacturers don't want to admit this is a problem and so they don't price this huge risk into the warranty. No one wants to admit their electronics have this problem, being all afraind of the Predatory Plaintiff's Lawyer and product-liability lawsuits, and so no one wants to be the first to publicly admit it, raise their prices a bit and use more reliable electronics that don't have this problem. All the technical stuff is on the NASA website if you want to learn more.
 
#10 ·
I used to stay away from factory warranties, but rest assured I'm getting one for my microwave. I did see the NASA stuff. Very compelling.

BTW, I'm not sure this contributed to the failure of my particular microwave since it was manufactured in 2012. It seems like it takes a while for the tin whiskers to grow to the point where they create an issue.
 
#16 ·
Tin whiskers vaporize instantly where ther is considerable power availabe, as with power outlets.. With the low-power control circuitry replaced and the oven then worked, that's not likely the problem. Unplugging and letting sit for an hour and it then working argues for something that cooled off and ceased to be a problem.

Many electrical connections are made with nuts and bolts and lugs on the end of wires, or crimped wires on "fast-on" connectors that slide onto a small metal tongue about a quarter-inch wide. All of those things can loosen with age and thermal cycling.

A detailed inspection inside the [unplugged!] microwave with a pair of long-nose pliers, wiggling all the connections and looking with a strong light for discolored things, may be instructive.
 
#18 ·
If its under the original warranty, push to have it totally replaced. (Not the part recently installed.)

I had bought some GE parts from an authorized vendor. They arrived damaged, they refused to warranty. I called GE and they replaced them free of charge, no exchange and no further questions..

I believe this is the number I called 1 8000 386 1215. If this is a real issue with their product, they may have a promotion in process to resolve this. Push the safety and liability issue. Tell them you no longer want this dangerous product in your house for fear of fire. Be nice though!

Give this a shot especially if the guy cannot figure it out.
 
#20 · (Edited)
Just got a call from the GE Tech. He asked what was going on. When I told him the microwave was doing the same thing as before he said he didn't need to come out because he was sure it was another defective control board. He also said he recently replaced four control boards in a traditional GE oven before he installed one that worked.

When I asked him what would happen if it blows yet another control board, he said he would keep putting them in until one of them works. When I inquired about getting a new product he said I'd have to take that up with Sears. He then used a car analogy to illustrate his reasoning saying that if I'm having problems with my car I wouldn't go back to the manufacturer to get a new car. What the heck? There's a big difference between a $900 microwave and a $30,000 automobile.

Anyway, I decided to contact GE Customer Support to officially document my experience. The rep I spoke with apologized for the inconvenience and said she would followup with me after the next repair attempt. At this point, a GE Extended Warranty is now a necessity, in my humble opinion and at around $5/month definitely worth the extra expense. I'll update this thread as soon as I know more.
 
#27 ·
Sounds like a good idea to use it on the counter for a while. You are a very patient person and maybe they are taking advantage of your good nature. I agree with one of the other posts and I think you are certainly justified in asking for a new product if you wanted to. After multiple failed attempts at repair maybe there is just a design flaw with that model and I think you would be well justified in asking for a different model, that is, if a different model would be compatible with your layout.

That GE tech is a barrel of laughs with his car analogy. lol

Hope the next attempt is successful!
 
#28 ·
They kind of have me between a rock and a hard place. Even if I asked them for a replacement, very few, if any, exist because this particular model (36" width) has been discontinued for sometime. In fact, I was very lucky to find a new one still hanging around.

At this point, I hope they can repair it. I'm also very interested to find out what the problem is.
 
#35 · (Edited)
Okay, here's the latest. This morning the GE Tech installed another control board. The display came to life, but there was no heat. He then checked the fuse, which had blown. Replaced the fuse, powered on the microwave and once again the control board blew.

Upon further examination, he discovered a wire on the right side that was exposed. Apparently, the wire had been sandwiched between two pieces of metal which caused the short. Look closely at the red wire in the lower left part of the image below. Thankfully, he had the foresight to order a second board. He repaired the cut wire with electrical tape, installed the second control panel and everything seems to be working fine now.

All this damage and expense over a simple manufacturing error. I wonder if it was built with illegal workers. :)
 

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