My MW8108p is flashing and making noises

it is megnatron plate which broke. You can replace that plate yourself . Also can can work without if safely.

Depending on the age of it, you're better off properly disposing it and buying a new one.

i would imagine its a shield but iam not completely sure without a good look

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!

Are you sure the plates were Microwave oven safe? Some dishes have metal in the colors of the design. A snap, crackle, pop noise normally means there is metal present in the oven.

replac the drive motor . if its not the supports ( or wheels that it turns on ) ****

there is a component called a spatter gard inside the oven at the point where the microwaves enter......if food or other foreign substance gets stuck there, then it will start to burn ...the smell and popping noise is coming from the spatter gard.....to fix it you must remove the spatter gard..replace it if it's burnt and /or sand paper the spot clean and then paint the area with a high temperature paint called mr. touch up......to protect the bare metal from the microwaves.....hope that helps

Hi jnflanders,
You've probably solved this by now, but I'll answer just in case. That part is called the stirrer motor. You can replace it yourself, as long as you have an offset phillip's head screwdriver handy.
Before you order the replacement part, figure out if your stirrer is driven by a d-shaped or a square shaft. You can tell by taking off the round plate on the inside top wall of the microwave. GE makes stirrer motors for both d-shaped and square shafts, so you'll have to get the right one. Here's the d-shaped motor that fixed this problem with my microwave: http://www.appliancepartspros.com/part_details.aspx?part_id=2024961.
Good luck!

It could be a magnetron sparks to the open metal inside the m/w cavity or some broken wire on high voltage side. It is not HV transformer (when burn create a lot of smoke and bad smell). Magnetron needs to be replace.

I’m happy to help further over the phone at https://www.6ya.com/expert/vitaliy_f406165329c75ede

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 held in place by a plastic rivet.

It can be fragile, and the metal edges behind it can be sharp, so be careful!

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.

Then you can apply some high-temperature appliance paint, available from places liek Wal-Mart or Lowe's.

If your waveguide cover is burned, it will need to be replaced.

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

For more help from Emerson http://www.emersonradio.com ; Get help using your appliance 1-800-898-9020 ; Get help locating a servicer or parts 1-800-695-0098.