Ge profile microwave doesn't seem to be heating food real hot. during the last bag of popcorn we tried to pop it never even started popping it, and the microwave stopped and said on the screen "sensor error"

Sounds like the magnetron is over heating. Try putting a 4 0z cup of water in the oven along side the popcorn bag. See if this helps. Usually, the oven only runs 2 to 2.5 minutes for a bag of popcorn. You may have to experiment with the slightly different cooking time...

Remove cover after disconnecting , check for dirt/moisture in the cabin, if so wipe clean and dry, check the magnetron and area clean and use an jet air to clean off. Check the wave guide covers, if food had deposited
then it must be checked or replaced. See link: http://www.espares.co.uk/advice/microwave/a/5/1146/how-to-replace-a-microwave-guide-cover.html

in 99 % of cases the problem is the magnatron it is a very expensive part and unless the microwave is well worth the money we normally write the units off


sorry (

but i hope this helps

best of wishes

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Always place the bag of popcorn on an upside-down paper plate.

This allows more microwaves to penetrate the bag from the bottom.

Also always place food of any kind in the microwave off-center on the tray, NOT in the middle of the tray.

Not only does it cook more evenly (think of how you stir liquid) but it also prevent the same spot from being heated repeatedly on the glass turntable, which can lead to overheating and breakage.

We're happy to help you with free advice and we'd appreciate your thoughtful rating of our answer.

It's 850 Watts, 0.9 cu ft.

That's enough for popcorn, but a magnetron does lose power once it starts to age.

The figure I've heard is an average life expectancy of 2000 hours for a magnetron.

Two "Band-Aid" suggestions for better exposure and more even heating:

1. Place the popcorn bag on top of an upside-down paper plate.

2. Place the bag off-center instead of dead center. Placing food in the center of the turntable is not as efficient as placing it off-center.

We're happy to help you with free advice and we'd appreciate your thoughtful rating of our answer.

Because the microwave energy is beamed into the interior of the microwave and then dispersed by a metallic "stirrer," the pattern of the energy can be fairly consistent, rather than completely random. But this pattern sometimes causes certain portions of the food to overcook (creating tough spots) and others to undercook. A microwave oven with a carousel is far better at cooking the food consistently--the pattern becomes quite random while the carousel is turning.

try a different brand of popcorn & let me no what happens

Placing the bag on an inverted glass bowl or pyrex casserole dish worked!!!!!  For 2 years, I have cursed my Dacor microwave for its inability to make popcorn (burns a hole in the bag, bag stays flat, almost no kernels pop, etc...)  I read the last suggestion to use the glass plate and I am now sitting with a bowl full of perfectly popped popcorn - with only 1 kernel unpopped.  The metal tray in the microwave conducts too many waves through the bag I guess.
Thanks for the solution!

The cooling fan is a must!

Otherwise, the magnetron will be ruined, and that drives up the repair cost.

If you or a friend decide to work on it, we have *critical* safety, disassembly, and troubleshooting info at our site, and our link is at our listing here on FixYa: http://tinyurl.com/yzjozk

You can order parts here: https://www.mcappliance.com/partorder.aspx

To contact Magic Chef about getting an *authorized* servicer, see: http://www.mcappliance.com/contactus/contactus.asp

We're happy to help and we appreciate your thoughtful rating of our answer.

It may be a food placement issue or possibly a bad humidity sensor.

I always recommend that folks put food off-center on the turntable (not in the center) to assure more even heating.

It's a stirring action, so imagine how inefficient it would be to stir just by twirling a spoon in the center of your coffee!

Also, when you put your food off-center, you're not putting it in the same spot every time. That will help prevent repeated heating of the the same spot on the glass, which can lead to weakness and cracking. Microwave popcorn gets hot enough to do that.

We have the entire service manual at our site if your or a friend want to look that over: http://www.microwavedisplay.com/r820bc_bk_bw_sm.pdf

If you need a new sensor, you can order Sharp parts from Tritronics at http://www.wehaveparts.com

Please write back with more details if you need further help.

We're happy to help and we appreciate your thoughtful rating of our answer.