This microwave was replaced about 2 years ago when I purchased my home. All of a sudden when my daughter was warming something up, sparks started to fly and it looks like a small fire was going on inside my oven. I checked to make sure their was not metal on the plate she was using and there wasn't. I don't know what is wrong with this microwave as I have owned others for many years and never experienced this. Any ideas, suggestions or others every experience this?
Quite often this is due to grease or food particles stuck to the inside of the oven or stuck on or behind the waveguide cover.
The waveguide cover is usually about the size of a playing card and often held in place by a plastic rivet.
It can be fragile, and the metal edges of the oven behind it can be sharp, so be careful!
In some models it is a larger stirrer cover type made of thicker plastic in the ceiling of the oven.
The cover and the metal behind it should be cleaned with a mild, non-ammonia cleaner.
If the cavity metal of the oven is chipped or charred, it will have to be sanded smooth and clean and dried thoroughly.
Then you can apply some high-temperature appliance paint, available from places like Wal-Mart, Lowe's or Builder's Square.
If your waveguide cover is burned, it will need to be replaced.
You can usually find helpful exploded view diagrams and order parts by entering your full model number here: http://tinyurl.com/gv383
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SOURCE: My Goldstar MV-1310W microwave has sparks flying
Microwave ovens do not work well with exposed metal. IF you place uncoated metal in the oven, sparks will occur.
IF the interior of the oven has the metal exposed, it will cause sparking to occur.
There must be NO exposed metal inside a Microwave oven!
SOURCE: microwave problem
That panel is probably mics, not netla, though it may look like metal. The job of the waveguide cover is to protect the waveguide (opening) and the magnetron from buildup of food particles and grease. When the grease and food particles build up on and behind the cover, they will carbonize and arc - and maybe even flame up! The solution is to clean it and keep it clean - but if it's too dirty or is burned, it must be replaced. Sometimes it's necessary to remove the cover to clean both sides of it, and to clean the edges of the opening it covers. It is sometimes held in place with a small plastic rivet (or screw) and once that is removed, the cover will slide over a little then drop down. Be VERY careful not to get cut on the potentially sharp edges of the opening, and do not spray anything into the opening. Apply an alcohol-based cleaner (such as the purple kind) and /or gentle scouring powder to a cloth or paper towel and carefully wipe it out, then when it's dry, reinstall the cover and the rivet. I suggest to my customers that they NEVER use any ammonia-based cleaner (like the blue stuff) on a microwave, since the ammonia will crack and distort polycarbonate plastics.
Hi,
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The plate did not have any gold leaf. It was just a typical ceramic plate that we have used before. We then tried warming up a cup of coffee in a ceramic mug and the same thing happened. So we have ceased to use the microwave. I do not see any paint flaking off but I have noticed that the silver plate on the inside of the microwave has a black burn looking mark on it. This appears to be where the sparks are flying from.
I have the same problem. Do I need to replace it?
Did the plate have any gold leaf on it? Gold leaf material conducts electricity and will cause sparks to occur. Are there any noticeable marks along the oven cavity walls? Sometimes the paint will flake off and also cause some sparking. Has this occurred since the last time you used it? Please provide some more details, so I can get a better idea of what might be going on with your microwave.
PS Yes...I've seen this before. No...this is not normal, but it CAN happen (I hope that makes sense).
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