GE Disassembly GE JEM21K 003 microwave not heating. There appears to be one hidden fastener (RH side) that I need to remove for disassembly. Help?

"F4" on a GE is normally a defective humidity sensor.

There should be a "mini-manual" (tech sheet) hidden inside the unit behind the control panel or hidden on the left side behind the grille, which is very helpful when troubleshooting, testing, and locating components.

See these files for disassembly help:
http://wwww.microwavedisplay.com/safety.txt
http://wwww.microwavedisplay.com/disassembly.txt

You can find helpful exploded view diagrams and order parts by entering your full model number from the tag on the oven here.

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

See these files:
http://031d26d.namesecurehost.com/mwd/safety.txt
http://031d26d.namesecurehost.com/mwd/disassembly.txt
http://031d26d.namesecurehost.com/mwd/doorsw.txt

You can 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.



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

It may be a bad convection heating element or just a bad thermal cutout.

If it's less than one year old, it will be fully covered under warranty and you can contract GE here to have an authorized servicer come out and fix it free.

If it's out of warranty and you or someone you know wants to check it out, I'd first suggest you take a look at the "mini-manual" hidden inside the unit (behind the control panel, hidden on the left side behind the grille, or attached to the inside of the outer cover) which is very helpful when troubleshooting, & testing.

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

Otherwise, see these files: safety disassembly

Accessing some parts may require you to pull the oven from the wall and remove the cover.

If so, the installation instructions are very handy, and it's best to have two people since the microwave can be heavy and awkward.

You can download GE owner's manuals and installation instructions here.


You can find links to helpful exploded view diagrams and part ordering help here.


I'd recommend that your bookmark this link to your favorites.

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

That would be either a shorted top door switch or possibly a shorted main relay on the control board.

Either is a pretty simple fix.

There should be a "mini-manual" (tech sheet) hidden inside the unit behind the control panel or hidden on the left side behind the grille, which is very helpful when troubleshooting, testing, and locating components.

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

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

If you only need a switch, you can order a universal type here for $5 postpaid.

Here are some other helpful files in case you need them:

http://www.microwavedisplay.com/safety.txt
http://www.microwavedisplay.com/disassembly.txt
http://www.microwavedisplay.com/doorsw.txt

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

With the symptoms you have, I would most strongly suspect a shorted high voltage rectifier diode or a bad magnetron, or a loose and possibly corroded connection on the magnetron's terminal.

The diode is a fairly cheap fix, and the mag will cost more.

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.

There should be a "mini-manual" (tech sheet) hidden inside the unit behind the control panel or hidden on the left side behind the grille, which is very helpful when troubleshooting, testing, and locating components.

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

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 (if it's not shorted, it's probably okay)
http://www.gallawa.com/microtech/mag_test.html
http://www.gallawa.com/microtech/xformer.html

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

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

First of all, you must be sure you are using a microwave safe container. If it is not marked as such, it is not.

Try heating a cup of water in a clear glass container. If it still does not work right, your stirrer may be bad.

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" (tech sheet) hidden inside the unit behind the control panel or hidden on the left side behind the grille, which is very helpful when troubleshooting, testing, and locating components.

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

LIGHT BULB

I have a diagram at my site which helps you find & replace many GE cooktop and cavity light bulbs. It's at http://207.234.249.73/mwd/ge_lamp_replacement.jpg

If there's no obvious removable cover over the bulb (most often on the rear or side) and the owner's manual doesn't address it, then disassembly will be required.

Bulbs can be had in most grocery stores, hardware stores, home improvement centers, and big box or department stores.

Many models use halogen lamps. You must not touch the new one with your bare skin, as the oils will shorten the bulb life.

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

Yes of course. The latch system is designed to keep it from cooking with the door open.

If the latch is broken, it will not activate the door switch, which is used to tell the oven it is closed.

We have critical safety & disassembly info (including a how-to video) at our site, linked here.

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

There may 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.

Please write back with your brand and model number if you need further help.

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

That would be a problem with your primary interlock switch or its mount.

NOTE: 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.

If you or someone you know decide to look into it, we have critical safety information, info on door switch diagnosis and replacement, and disassembly information at our site, and our link is at our listing here on FixYa: http://tinyurl.com/yzjozk

The interlocks are highlighted in the diagram below.

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

Generally, the most common causes of a failure to heat are:

- bad door switches or door switch mounts
- loose connection at the magnetron
- problem or loose connection on the control unit circuit board
- bad magnetron or other high voltage part (such as a shorted diode)

If you or someone you know decide to look into it, we have critical safety information, info on door switch diagnosis and replacement, and disassembly information at our site, and our link is at our listing here on FixYa: http://tinyurl.com/yzjozk

You can usually find helpful exploded view diagrams and order parts by entering your full model number here: http://tinyurl.com/gv383

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.

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

Normally you have to separate the door panels (as shown in the attached photo) and then you'll see the screws you need to remove.

You can usually find helpful exploded view diagrams and order parts by entering your full model number here: http://tinyurl.com/gv383

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