Bulbs burn out quickly and dimmer inoperative

Hi,I would try (www.espares.co.uk),you can put the model in and it should give you the right lamp for your microwave,all the best.

I've seen this with most microwave ovens I've had. When the microwave emitter kicks in to cook, the unit uses much more power, providing less to the internal bulb, which dims a bit. Unless it's very dramatic, for example the bulb turning off or going almost out, it's normal behavior. If the bulb is going very dim or out, it could be that the circuit it's connected to isn't providing enough amperage to adequately run the oven. In the case of your microwave, it's rated at 15 amps, so should have adequate power on a standard household circuit by itself.

First thing to do is unplug it and take a pair of needle nose pliers and get the base of the old bulb out and replace it. Microwave ovens have a lot of things wired in 'series' which means that is one switch,bulb or any thing else in the circuit goes out then the circuit cannot complete it's path and will not let the other parts function. It is a safety feature that is built into them. As in many things I think they over do the safety features but they didn't ask me when they built it. LOL! Try replacing the bulb and let me know how it works.

Mine burned out within a month. Probably due to the poor design of the machine which forces you to slam the door to get it to shut.
My biggest concern is the under counter lightbulbs it has burned out in my kitchen over the last year. I wonder how much leaking this thing really gives off. Moving in a few weeks and will be throwing this cancer machine out.

Mine is JMV8166BAS over-the-range model, and yours may be similar. Disconnect electric source (pull plug, or turn off circuit breaker).
1. Locate and remove 2 Phillips head screws on top projecting from cabinet/wall,etc,
2. Carefully & slowly, slide entire front vent 1/4" towards your left simultaneously pulling toward you.
3. Remove vent filter, if any.
4. In very center maybe beneath filter space, locate approx.4" width aluminum colored metal cover, possibly held in place with Phillips head screw.
5. Remove screw, exposing small light bulb.
6. Gently pull back on bulb, replace with identical wattage, 120V bulb from big box or appliance store.
7. Human touch may shorten life of bulb, so carefully push wire prongs into plastic bulb inlet socket using whatever allows you to grip bulb in the limited space.
8. Reverse 5 - 1 for reassembly. Before replacing vent assembly, notice the small notched angle clips on the bottom before aligning to microwave unit, as these were slightly tricky on my unit when inserting & sliding assembly 1/4" toright.

If they are halogen types, oils from the skin will shorten their life. You should never touch them with bare skin.

If someone slams the door (a nono!) while the lights are no, that can shorten their life or blow them right away.

If they are left on for hours at a time, that will reduce the number of days they will last.

I would recommend a good quality replacement (not made in China if possible!) from a home improvement center such as Lowe's, Home Depot, etc., as opposed to the grocery store types.

Or you can find links to helpful exploded view diagrams and part ordering help here.
I recommend that you bookmark that link to your favorites.We're happy to help you with free advice and we'd appreciate your thoughtful rating of our answer.

If there are 2 bulbs try swapping them around. If the night light works then you just need a bulb. Take the bad one with you and match it up at a parts store. Some actually have a dimmer circuit programmed in the board and that will not be a easy fix. Do you hear a click when you try to activate the night mode? If you cannot find a bulb or do not want to replace or repair the unit just disclose the non working light. I was in real estate for a couple years and a burned out bulb will not be a deal breaker as long as they are told up front.
Eric

The part that controls that is goes through your control panel on your microwave. For the lights to come on to start with the door being closed switches have to be working right and when you press start the lights come one. When the microwave is through cooking and you open then close the door then the lights should go out. The logic IC on the control panel board that detects all these events is not being reset correctly. Unless you get a microwave tech to track down the component on the control panel circuit board it is not something that you could do on your own since it takes voltage and signal checks with the proper equipment and then some soldering and desoldering of the defective component(s). Good luck and God bless.

Beware of this place, microwavedisplay.com. Of late, some are seeing very long turn around times. They don't respond to emails or answer the phone. See http://www.whoila.com/blog/?p=725 for some recent experiences.

The controller needs to be repaired. We regularly repair these control board assemblies for only $32.50 nationwide, and that's much cheaper than replacing the board. For safety, disassembly and other info see http://tinyurl.com/yzjozk