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Repair and disassembly guides for GE Microwave ovens.

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Fuse blowing when door is opened

Fuse blows if door is opened before end of heating. Can be opened anytime not in heating part of cycle.

Update (08/16/2018)

Model is JVM3160 Df. How would I find the schematic for this?

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davkal what model is your microwave?

Mine too…never had a microwave to auto trip circuit when open door in middle of cooking time to check n stir food ..;@ All shuts off completely….Safety precaution maybe But all these years cooking with a microwave Never had this problem until buying this brand type…Had GE before this worked just fine for almost 15 years…Just gets very frustrating to try to remember turn off before open door to check food After in habit many years doing without circuit shutting down ;@ Also happens to my husband & son because we are use to opening door checking food then reclose door tap to finish cooking & no need to restart all cooking time again to finish cooking …,like the way use to work for many years before no problems !!!

I just fixed mine!!! I saw that the bottom or third switch was very loose. I placed a small Zip tie around the housing and the switch. between when it started to be housing and the middle of the two connection. I checked it and now no blown fuses. I didn't want to glue or other permanent attachments, so that i can replace the switches if they do go bad. I hope this helps others.

Sorry i need to add that i only secured the second and third or middle and bottom switches

I had this same problem with a 4 year old GE microwave. Both door latch slides were wore slightly so I used JB marine weld to epoxy stronger plastic pieces (cut from a credit card) on the slide area to square up the wore ends. This worked great for not blowing the fuse but now when closing the door the fan and inside light come on. It is not actually turning the heating mechanism on or turning the plate. What the heck is that all about?

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Here’s an answer I’ve not seen elsewhere: Over time the door latch wears down such that the timing of the interlock switches gets confused. There are three switches that must activate in the correct order. When the latch is worn, the timing of the two lower switches is disrupted. After trying everything else (and I mean EVERYTHING), I noticed the worn latch and started experimenting, opening and closing the door very slowly and listening for the switches to activate. They must be out of sync, somehow. How can I correct it? Believe it or not, I simply wrapped some duct tape around the tip of the lower black plastic latch. This caused one of the lower switches to activate a fraction of a second sooner . . . before the second switch . . . and the problem was solved.

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Thanks, Charles! After looking everywhere and trying everything else as you did, your duct tape solution is what fixed mine. How were you able to make the duct tape stay on the lower black latch without it becoming stuck in the cavity after opening and closing the door? I ended putting duct tape into the actual cavity and so far it has stayed.

Just out of curiosity, did you try replacing the latch board (https://www.geapplianceparts.com/store/p...) as well? That was going to be my next step before seeing your post.

What I did was notice after couple years and bottom switches are operated on same turning lever on an axle. However the axle piece became worn down and the piece would wobble. Causing the switches to close at a fraction of sec at different times tripping breaker. So what I did was installed a straw over the axle to tighten up the connection. All working properly and no more blown fuses or middle monitor switches.

Charles, I agree that the door latch wear changes switch timing enough to cause line-to-line shorts, as well as increasing inductive kick from the HVT. Our GE is 5 yrs old and on its 3rd latch bracket. My son's 15 yr old GE with same physical layout has no wear on the ramp, and apparently no electrical issues. I suspect cost reduction.

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The door safety interlock switch is bad or the connection terminals at the magnetron capacitor is loose causing arching/intermittent voltage surge. WARNING the capacitor is storing high voltage and is a potential shock hazard.

A qualified repair technician is highly suggested to service your microwave oven.

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I replaced the capacitor. I have had the door switches out and don't appear to be bad. Fuse does not blow if I end cycle with the cancel button.

My microwave oven had a similar issue. Opening the door while on is another option to stop the cooking cycle. My fuse blowing was a result of one of the two interlock switches failing. I assume your replacement fuse is the proper type and specific rating. Sounds like the fuse your using is sensitive to the voltage surge when interrupting the cooking cycle by opening the door. You could try a ceramic delay burn fuse it is not your standard fast blow fuse. It absorbs surge and is available with the same rating as the original fuse.

Had the switches out. Seem to be ok. Mounted in plastic so should not short to ground. If fuse does not blow it will still trip the 20 amp circuit breaker.

It is designed flaw of many owens. It is ridiculous schematic to prevent microwave to work with even slightly opened door - one hundreds of inch may counts. That middle switch shorten 127 VAC power and blow the fuse. Just committing suicide. Strange way to protect. Seems that is UL idea for double killing. Or job security for repair shops. And all is that done by mechanically operated switches located on plastic support. No adjustments can be done to assure that middle switch operates before the door switch (commonly upper of three switches) will cut the power. Slight looseness of any mechanical detail or door misalignment can cause the power still applied when middle switch shorten power and blow up the fuse. In several such case the switch can weld contacts together and fuse will be blown every time when plug into outlet. Not sure that this switch is necessary at all. At least all mechanical design must be much, much more simple and reliable. It is 21-th century, people!

Thank you Igor!! You got me on the right track. That dang plastic housing. In my case on my 3 year old unit the top hole of the plastic housing was very slightly worn down. It was enough to be slightly out of sync causing the fuse to blow. I almost have up before I saw your post. Much appreciated!

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SOLVED:

I had the same problem with a 3 year old GE Microwave. It comes down to a design flaw. I changed the capacitor and all three switches and still had the problem. The issue turned out to be the white plastic housing that holds the 3 switches. Over time the hooks from the door latches wear away where they meet the white housing. In my case the top hole wore down faster than the lower hole causing the switches to release at different times when the door is opened which will in turn send a power surge to blow the fuse. Attached a picture of the worn piece.

Certainly check the continuity of the switches first. Second I would replace the plastic piece holding the switches. I say do those first because they are the most likely causes and you don’t have to take the microwave down to do it. Lastly, if you still have problems, I would change the capacitor (DANGER - capacitors hold a potentially deadly charge).

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I think I have the same wear problem on the latch board with my GE microwave that is blowing fuses if I open the door. As others have said, timing or adjustments are critical, and this wear pattern disrupts correct operation. I found ebay to have a better price and documentation on the latch board than the online parts places.

I replaced my switches last year to fix this, but the problem is back and the switches test fine today, so thanks for posting this "wear" problem! When I open the door I can hear the dual switches on the bottom disengaging first, but I was able to glean from Igor's post, the top switch needs to disengage first (or at least all at once).

We have short people in our household, so the door is often pulled from the lowest angle possible, likely contributing to uneven wear and flexion of the door so that the bottom comes out before the top.

Temporary Solution: I was able to temporarily fix this (and confirm it is not a capacitor problem) by adjusting the position of the white switch housing so that the top is tilted back, and the bottom is closer to the door. While the difference is only a matter of millimeters, this is allowing the switches to disengage in the correct sequence!

next.. going to order the new switch housing!

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I took away the switch in the middle. That switch simply short 120 AC power when door opens. If there still power, it just blow the fuse. It is overkill, because another switch (top one) opens when door is open and cancel 120AC power from outlet. It is double protection (not necessary for my opinion). Timing is the problem and with flimsy plastic supports of all three switches shortening switch can close before power interrupted by top (power) switch. That will blow the fuse. And one can change a dozen of switches and other parts, but will have the same problem. Can try to redesign switch support, adjust switches position making timing reliable, but just eliminating shortening switch is an easy and fast solution. I blew up four fuses in couple weeks, but now microwave works without problems.

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If you take that switch out, beware that you can actually microwave yourself in the event the other relay welds together. That is the purpose of the "crobar" relay you removed which results in a "fail-safe" condition to the user at the expense of blowing a fuse or tripping a breaker, or even damaging the microwave itself. I have this same problem in my microwave, and though I haven't had time to fix it, I decided that rather than subject my family to this risk, everyone now presses the stop button before opening the door. I highly recommend you put that safety switch back into your unit or you could be inviting a disaster to yourself or someone you care about. Better yet, if you don't know what you're doing (obviously because you removed it) you should spend a few hundred dollars and just go get a new microwave. I have a master's in electrical engineering, and although I hate the concept of crowbar circuits, I understand they are a necessary evil. And they will save your life when absolutely needed.

Igor, that's a bold move, but this information definitely helped me from a troubleshooting standpoint. Thanks for posting!

Brad, you are right with your concerns. Thank you. I began noticing that fans starts and plate rotates for one sec when I opening the door. But only when opening microwave door before loading food. Never after heating cycle was completed. So pushing stop may not help. I tested if there is HF power when I open the door with a piece of aluminum foil (not very reliable method). No heating. Maybe should test with less conductive material. But if want to be on safe side - better buy more reliable MW. Changing fuses several times a day is not an option, otherwise you will move fuse outside enclosure and have dozens of those. Definitely it is flaw in firmware (can easily delay in FW) and in design idea that is from 196x?

This also solved my problem.... ironically, what Brad Riching said was exactly what I needed. I needed to understand why this switch was connected between hot and neutral. I took apart the switch to insure it was good and actually scrapped the connection (inside the switch) with some sand paper to give it a little more "distance" before connecting to a closed position and that solved it for me. I would prefer having this "crowbar" switch in there than remove it completely and have no chance of having a 3rd backup.

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I found the schematic and trouble shooting chart folded inside the back of the control panel on my JVM3160DF2WW. Did you find a solution to your fuse blowing problem? Mine is blowing the 20A fuse at first when opened door during cooking. I found the lower left hand bracket for the door hinge was loose (the spot weld broke). I fixed it with a small low profile bolt and a nut with lock washer in a pre-drilled hole behind the door when you remove the door. The door was sagging a bit before the fix but it blew another fuse on startup. I need to check the door switches.

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Most homes have circuitry that's limited to a 3000w per set and you can have multiple sets such as when set runs the ceiling lights other sets run other rooms walls or sections of the house. However just 3,000 watt limit makes it so you can't run a frigerator the toaster and a heater or a microwave on the same circuit. If that was your case there would be some understanding of why you could be tripping the circuit when you open the door in microwave but I don't think that's your case. You should test the microwave on an unoccupied circuit (that is one that has little or nothing plugged into it most likely a garage). If the device were to trip the circuit all by itself that would mean that there is a short within the microwave and the door could be all or part of the trigger. A spot where our concurred should be noticeable you are in fact creating a surge which is what trips the breaker and this should be noticeable if you were to get inside it. Since you have a limited electrical knowledge I would recommend replacing the unit strictly on the grounds that is much safer than having a microwave burn down in your kitchen.

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Casper

If you read my answer, it said the fuse was blown, not that the circuit breaker tripped. I think almost all microwaves have a 15A or 20A fuse at the inlet power cord. Also, what makes you think I have limited electrical knowledge? I have an advanced degree in Electrical Engineering and after looking at the schematic, I have a part on order that I suspect is causing the problem. Additionally, circuit breakers trip based on current flow exceeding their rated limit, not wattage as you said. Standard kitchen wiring calls for 20A lines for appliances. At 120 volts it would only take 2400 watts to cause a 20A circuit breaker to trip.

Arthur Rubinstein I do not see where CASPER YOUNG directed anything toward your answer or toward you. I do not see where it was said that "you" have a limited electrical knowledge. It looks to me like his answer is directed toward the OP. Consider cooling your jets and not to take things personal.

So Arthur : what part did you order? Did it work? Mine does the same stuff. Replaced all the door switches, even though the originals checked out ok. They were cheap. Trying, w limited success, to train the wife to turn the unit off before opening door.

The first part I ordered was a replacement for the Power Relay because I found mine would sometimes stay closed or opened slowly allowing power to still flow to the high voltage transformer. If the monitor switch closes before this relay opens it will blow the fuse. The part was ordered from China on ebay for $4, SONG CHUAN 302 302WP-1AH-C M02 12VDC and took 2 weeks to come. The relay in the microwave was the same number except M07 which I do not think is available anymore. The M02 is probably faster opening so it is better. That still did not correct the fuse blowing but I think it was one reason. I found the Monitor switch, the middle of the 3 switches on mine not always working properly. After replacing the monitor switch (KW3A normally closed from ebay) the fuse did not blow when opening the door to interrupt a cook cycle. Comments are limited in size so read the next comment also...

I found some other strange behavior that was related to the door sagging (see my comment above) and also how tightly the door closed. After fixing the door hinge, I noticed there was some slack on the right side of the door where the handle is. I could move the door slightly by pushing and pulling on the handle without opening it. I could also move the door up and down by pushing up under the handle (enough to cause the Secondary switch, the bottom one to open and close). I got rid of most of this slack by loosening the 2 screws that holds the bracket for the door switches and making sure the bracket was pushed down (against the two plastic overhangs that only let it go down so far) and simultaneously pushed back into the microwave so that the door would close tighter. The holes for the screws were slotted to allow some movement. When your done you can test the operation of each switch with and ohmeter and repeatedly opening and closing the door. Check your door first, easier than replacing the relay.

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No, but I modified the tip of the lower latch itself by adding some 2 or 3 layers of duct tape. Not the most elegant solution, but it works for quite a while before the tape gets worn and needs to be renewed. A properly trimmed and mounted strip of tin can would be more permanent . . . either applied to the tip of the latch or, preferably, glued to the worn portion of the latch board.

Also bought a couple dozen fuses from China. Cheap. If a little too short, just carefully bend in the fuse mounting brackets. The control board slides onto slots (as you know) and doesn’t need to be screwed in. Same with the upper plastic piece over the door. Same with the shield in front of the fuse. As a result - AFTER UNPLUGGING - I can replace a blown fuse in about two minutes without tools.

Long term solution? Avoid GE microwaves in the future. Cheap, shoddy and rickety . . . plus replacement parts are exorbitant. Classic modern planned obsolescence.

Oh, and don’t use Goof Off to clean tape residue off the control panel. It reacts with and clouds the plastic.

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Tim,

Thanks fo the comment. My fuses don’t blow, the breaker trips. I was thinking about adding tin or something similar. How would U attach it? Cheers

Charles, sorry for calling U Tim

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My plastic latch area was worn only about a 1/32 " but that was enough to cause the blown fuses. There were 3 switches and the middle one which crowbars the power and blows the fuses, ends up closing first due to the worn out plastic. I bent and glued a very thin piece of metal ( from an old floppy disk slide cover - PERFECT thickness) over the worn plastic area about 6 months ago I believe...so far still working fine...thanks to all who brought this to my attention, I thought the fuse flowing was a bad diode or capacitor.

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Thanks Jeff, what kind of glue did U use?

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Hi @jb0078257

Here's a video that shows how to remove the door off its hinges for GE models that may help.
Not sure if it is applicable to your model but maybe still good as a reference.

If there's a problem with the hinge then unfortunately you may have to contrive a fix as they're not even shown in the parts list for your model and of the parts that are shown not many seem to be available anymore. Although I have found out that the GE JVM1630 series oven is very similar to your model series and they do list the hinges¹ for it.

Here's a video that shows how to fix the door latch and an even clearer video that shows how to access the internal components in the door

Just curious - does the fuse blow when you open the door after the cooking cycle has finished i.e. oven stopped operating or if you open the door during the cooking cycle to stop the cooking cycle for whatever reason?

¹ The supplier states that the hinges are a special order, but if you search for the manufacturer's part # only there are other suppliers online that have them and that may suit you.

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Thanks folks for the information on this thread; it has proven most helpful. Our 5-year-old over-the-range GE microwave has been blowing fuses, but I think that your input has helped resolve the problem.

I live in a northern Canadian city. Our microwave is mounted on an exterior wall and vents straight to the outside. Yes it gets cold. A couple years ago, when it was really cold outside (below -30C) it blew a fuse when the door opened. Last year, this started to happen more often, when we were only at -20C. Earlier this winter it started happening at -10C.

I found this thread and the next time the fuse blew, I took a look at the switches and found that they had some play in where they were positioned. My guess is that the cold weather caused them to shift such that when the door opened they did not open/close in the right order. I shimmed them so that the switches were better fixed in place and would trigger in the required order. So far (and I’m knocking on wood here) even though we are going through a -20C cold patch, the microwave is continuing to operate without blowing a fuse.

So thank you for your insight and advice!

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I had made the various repairs I described above. My last issue was the hook on the black plastic door latch wearing down and also grooves worn into the white plastic switch holder caused by the black plastic hook. I think it was the lower hook that wore down and I put a piece of wire insulation shrink tubing around the top of the hook. This built up the worn end of the hook and made it wider than the groove in the white plastic switch holder. It worked for a while but I decided to replace both parts anyway. Since replacement, I put some silicon spray lube on the ends of the black plastic hooks and the surface they slide on when you close the door. I just put 1 drop on the end of a Q-tip and wipe the areas every month or two. I probably have done this now for a couple of years and haven’t noticed any wear on the parts I replaced.

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Where is the main 20 A power fuse located on the JVM3160 microwave oven? I believe mine has blown due to the door microswitch problem in this discurssion.

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If the microwave is blowing fuses or the breaker while opening the door, chances are really good it’s the monitor switch. Which is the middle or second switch. If you remove the plastic “latch board,” the receptacle the door hooks latch into which holds the switches, be certain to reinstall correctly. Because there’s a small plastic hook that must go through the metal structure before the board is slid downward into position. It’s possible to install this without properly seating it, without sliding it downward into position, but if you do the switches will not align properly with the door hooks and it’ll just blow the fuse or breaker again. Also when ordering the monitor switch make sure you order the right one. Because the upper switch has the same KW3 number on it but they’re not the same switch. And they cannot be substituted because the upper is normally open and the monitor switch is normally closed. Lastly, do not open the microwave door while it’s running. Because it arcs the monitor switch internally every time and shortens its life. Let it finish running or hit cancel.

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It is one or all of the door switches, the most Likely one is the bottom switch. This can cause the house circuit breaker or the 20A 125V fuse behind the input panel to blow. There are sets on ebay or eparts with all the switches, two Normally Open & one Normally Closed switch for the set. Make sure you unplug the Microwave before replacing them.

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Don't know if you ever found out, but in my GE OTR microwave the schematic was stuffed into the area where the door switches are. I found it because I had the same problem.

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I replaced my broken door close switch with a new one and it immediately broke!

The on/off switch jammed and wasn’t clicking.

I then simply unplugged the switch and the microwave worked again. I know I’ve removed a door safety feature but it seems like it might be issue with the door hooks.

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Hi @nickr98944.

Search online using the make and model of the oven to find parts suppliers for the oven.

The door interlock switches are a safety feature and are there for a reason!

They are there to protect you and your family from the harmful effects of the dangerous microwave radiation which could be emitted from the oven if the door was opened and the oven was still operating. The door interlocks immediately stop the oven from operating when the door is opened,

The oven door when closed makes the oven cavity a Faraday cage so no radiation can escape as it is contained within the cage.

The door actuating hooks and the interlock switches only cost a few dollars each. Your health and the health of your family is worth a lot more I would imagine

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Thanks for all the input about it being the worn plastic ramps on the plastic door switch holder. I cut thin strips of the metallic foil duct tape and pressed three layers up and over the end of the ramp so it’s folded and adhered to front and backside of the ramp. Coated with a little lithium grease. Works great! Can open door while running and no blown fuse or tripped circuit breaker!

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My problem is the same fuse blows when door is open when running. I determine the problem is the bottom switch because when I pulled gently on the handle of the microwave, I can hear it click. I was able to isolate the problem to the bottom switch by holding the bottom of the door and pulling on the top. When I held the bottom of the door, the fuse would not blow. My fix was to use a soldering iron and heat up the top of the bottom latch where it hits the micro switch. Then I would use a zip tie and hot weld to add more nylon to the switch, increasing its thickness by a millimeter. After five fuses and vary frustrated family unable to use their microwave. It turned out to be a simple fix. Hopefully this helps somebody out there.

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Burned 10 fuses so far trying to fix my GE microwave. Replaced all switches without success. Someone mentioned wear at the tip door latches could affect the timing sequence of the switches. He used duct tape to repair the wear and it fixed the problem (temporarily?). Noticed wear at the top of the switch holder ramps and tried the same fix. Worked for a bit but the duct tape bunched up making difficult to close the door. So I bought a new switch holder. Worked for a while but then the fuses started blowing again! Someone suggested disconnecting the middle switch so I tried that. Worked for a few cycles but then the magnetron started up on its own at the end of the cycle. Unplugged the unit and plugged back in but the magnetron started up again. I've run out of ideas. Help! Anyone!

@jb0078257

What is the model number of your microwave oven?

GE model JVM1635SLJC. Purchased in 2016. BTW the door hinges have some wear in them cause a bit of sag. So when I apply some upward lift at the handle end, I can hear some switching going on. Not a good sign I presume although I once the latch hooks slide up to the end of the ramps, the door (handle end) reaches its normal height (same level as the top of the unit) and so I would assume the initial sag might be less of an issue?). Also, as mentioned, I put in new switches and a new switch holder but did not replace the latch hooks (not sure how I would open up the door to install that anyway). Thanks for interest.

Thanks jayeff for the information on replacing the hinges and/or the door latch hooks. After spending too much time and money on this 8-year old unit (3 switches, the switch bracket, 10+ fuses), I decided it was time to bite the bullet and get a new one (NOT a GE!). One last thing I tried was to reduce the sloppiness of the switch lever (as had been mentioned in an earlier post) by wrapping metallic tape around its mounting post but that didn't help.

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