My microwave (only 1 year old) just gave me a Sensor Error and it sounds a little different like the fan is going out. What should I do?

try unplugging the unit for about 5 min..... for the microwave to reset. Plug back in and try a microwaveable safe bowl with a little water for 30 sec. This may take care of the error message.
F4 indicates an open sensor

If the microwave oven is 10 years old then it is time to consider a new unit, by your description it is going into cascade failure where different parts have stopped working, the buzzing sound is the magnetron warning you, it is about to fail. The fans job is to keep the magnetron cool while it is running.

Hello :

Many models of the GE microwave have sensors that can detect humidity from the foods you are cooking. This allows the microwave to make adjustments to the power levels used to cook your food. If "Sensor Error" appears, you should either press "Clear" to cancel the mode or leave the food in the appliance longer to give the microwave more time to detect the food.

Press "Time Cook" to manually enter the time if you receive an error message when trying to use the "Sensor Reheat" mode of your GE microwave. The error message may be caused by the food item being too large or too small to detect..

good luck .

please rate !

The running sound is only the fan. The heat comes from a magnetron which is the primary part of every microwave, Sounds like the magnetron is dead. If it's a newer unit (1 to 3 years old) it should be covered under a warranty. Contact the manufacturer for repair or replacement.

blown fuse- exercise caution-disconnect and get service-this sounds very wrong do not reconnectuntil serviced

hey! you told that everything working in your microwave oven! inside the microwave oven! transformer only producing heat! that transformer only fault in your oven! try to repair or change the transformer!!!!!!!

Then I would suspect one of these problems:

- loose or corroded connection at the magnetron
- bad magnetron
- shorted high voltage diode

If you or someone you know decide to look into it, we have critical safety information and disassembly information at our site, and our link is at our listing here on FixYa.

At our site, we now have a video available showing how to remove a typical control panel assembly in under 5 minutes.

You can usually find helpful exploded view diagrams and order parts by entering your full model number here.

There should also be a "mini-manual" hidden inside the unit behind the control panel or hidden on the left side behind the grille, which is very helpful when troubleshooting & testing.

Here are some links you or someone you know can use for test help, but read their safety warnings first:

http://www.gallawa.com/microtech/diode.html
http://www.gallawa.com/microtech/mag_test.html
http://www.gallawa.com/microtech/xformer.html

If it's within the magnetron portion of the warranty (usually 5-9 years) but out of the original full warranty (usually 1 year), then your manufacturer will cover the part cost, but not the cost to visit you or the labor charge to do the work.

Some manufacturers will send you the magnetron to do it yourself. If nothing else, you can save about $75 by taking it to the shop yourself.

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

SRUte- This sounds as if you have a collapsed door switch, this would cause this problem,I would not recommend using it until repaired. But as far as recommending a good brand,each to his own everyone is different.I have done repairs for years,and I Love Panasonic products,they seem to have minimal problems.I hope this helps you out. cooltek Mar,3/08

Sounds like it overheated, tripped the thermostat, then the thermostat reset. Chances are you have a bad magnetron. GE may have a campaign (not a "recall", mind you!) to offer free replacements if yours is a model that has a known history of problems with the magnetrons. I would call GE and ask them about that. *grin* GE Answer Center 1-800-626-2005 24 hours a day, 365 days a year