3 Common Microwave Faults
Has your microwave stopped working? Our appliance experts have put together the 3 most common faults they see are here to offer advice on why your microwave may have stopped working.
Microwaves are, by and large, pretty reliable and robust appliances. They offer a longer lifespan than toasters, kettles and other smaller electrical goods you find in the kitchen, while there is less to go wrong with them than a refrigerator or a washing machine.
That’s not to say things can’t go wrong, however, inevitably, microwaves do develop faults from time to time. So if you find your appliance just won’t switch on one day, or it doesn’t seem to be cooking your food through as well as you would expect, what could the issue be?
Common Microwave Faults
Here are some of the most common issues that occur with microwaves, and the most likely causes.
1. Won't switch on
A complete lack of power is the most obvious sign that things aren’t all the way they should be with your microwave. Your first port of call is to check the power supply and see if the fuse in the plug needs replacing. The oven unit also contains fuses, a thermal fuse and a ceramic fuse - if either of these go, your microwave won’t work. You will need to call a certified engineer to identify if this is the cause and fix it.
Finally, microwave doors have a special interlock system that prevents the oven from switching on if it is not shut properly. A faulty lock could therefore also stop the appliance from functioning at all. Again, you would need to call out a repair engineer to diagnose and fix this.
2. Isn't heating up
Sometimes your microwave might seem to be working properly from the outside - the light switches on, the plate turns, you can hear the mechanical noises that indicate it is getting power - but when you take your food out, it is obvious it isn’t cooking. There is most likely to be a problem with the magnetron, the component that generates the microwaves that cook your food, or with the high voltage diode that supplies power to the magnetron.
People sometimes assume that the light is connected to the heat source. It isn’t - if the light in your microwave isn’t working, it is still perfectly possible that it is getting up to temperature and cooking as normal. If the light does go out, try to cook something and see what the results are. You may just need a new bulb.
3. Control buttons aren't working
Finally, a common fault with many types of a microwave ovens, and those with touchpad interfaces especially, is that the controls stop working. Depending on the nature of the problem, this may render your appliance next to useless - perhaps it is stuck on a lower power setting you can’t change, or you can’t set the timer.
Unresponsive or faulty buttons are caused either by physical damage to the buttons themselves or by a fried control board. Touchpads, for example, use a pressure-sensitive membrane behind the screen to detect what and where you press, which over time can become worn out. The control board is the computer chip that manages the programmes on your microwave, so if that stops working, the instructions you give via the keypad aren’t passed on to the main unit.
Fast reliable repairs
Most of the faults discussed are tricky to identify and fix, and extra care must be taken with microwaves because of the high-energy radiation they use to generate heat. If something is not quite right, don’t take any chances - get an instant fixed-fee quote from a qualified engineer in your area through Go Assist.
