<p>Our over the range microwave stopped heating. Still turns on and the turntable and lights work, but the food does not heat up. The darn thing is less than 4 years old, but out of warranty of course. Have had no problems before - worked at noon, not working tonight. Anyone have any microwave knowledge? Ideas?</p>
<p>I don’t but check the fuse/circuit breaker and plugs.</p>
<p>Our microwave went seemingly dead one day, and shutting the breaker, and unplugging it for a while helped it to come alive. I did read about the circuit breaker in the manual I think. Check the troubleshooting list or if you don’t have the manual look on line. Some of these units have an internal circuit that needs to reset. Good luck.</p>
<p>I suspect it is dead and will have to be replaced. The high energy circuits go first.</p>
<p>I had suggested to my husband unplugging it for a while. Guess we will give that a try first. Got to unload a cabinet to get to it first. After that I guess we have to try and find the instructions. Sigh :(</p>
<p>Really can’t afford a new one. Can’t imagine doing without one though.</p>
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Or, turn it (light and turntable) on then flip breakers in the service panel until it goes off, then re-set the breaker</p>
<p>Check the fuses for continuity. Does it make any unusual noises?</p>
<p>What brand is it? Do you have a model number?</p>
<p>The micro wave emitter is dead. You need to replace the thing.</p>
<p>Trust me…if it lights up, you have primary power. Forget the fuses and resetting…march on down to your favorite dealer with the dead unit in hand (to trade it in for recycling) and buy a new one.</p>
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<p>Are these things in the microwave itself? It has power so it is not a power source problem. I need to search for a manual on the thing.</p>
<p>I know there is a possibility we will have to replace it. Really cannot afford it right now. it just seems one thing after another 
Sigh. Really should microwave emitters and things die in under 4 years ? I know things aren’t built to last nowadays but I expect at least 10 years from my appliances. The previous microwave was over 20 years old and still worked - it was just old and ugly!!</p>
<p>If you end up getting a new one, I recommend getting a Sharp.</p>
<p>Electronics typically fail either in the first few days/weeks or last until what is called “mean time before failure”. Yours could have prematurely failed due to power spikes or fluctuations or was simply defective. </p>
<p>Such things never fail at the right times…sorry!</p>
<p>I think the ‘over the range’ microwaves are not lasting as long as the countertop models. Maybe it is a moisture issue? Too much boiling water for pasta in our house. We have had problems with ours. Based on the symptoms you report and our similar experiences, I agree with others who say you will have to replace it.</p>
<p>Well I downloaded the manual and the warranty information. The manual says that if everything else is working but it is not heating it is probably the magnatron. The good thing is that the warranty for the magnatron (which I assume is the thing that provides the microwaves) is actually good for 5 years. I know it is under 5 years old, so there is hope that it will not cost too much $$$s.</p>
<p>Good for you! I agree.</p>
<p>I just hope it’s not a GE so you don’t have to deal with their repair service. My GE microwave stopped working a few years ago at age 5, and I was determined to fix it because it was part of a microwave-over-oven single unit that would have been a fortune to replace. It was flashing an error message that convinced the GE repair guy to replace a certain component. That worked for a week. He came back and moved on to the next recommended component for the error message (I swear, most of the GE people have no training in how anything actually works; they just slavishly follow the manual like monkeys). Same one week result. The next time I insisted they send a different person. He stared and stared and scratched his chin, then fiddled around a bit, and lo and behold, all fixed. It turned out the exhaust vent was blocked. He literally just blew on it to clear it. (This no doubt came from having two long haired cats and one very sheddy dog who like to hang out in the kitchen.) Sometimes the answer is simple, but getting there is complicated. Then I had to start on the long, nightmarish path to getting back my money for the two unnecessary parts. A long story for another day.</p>
<p>It’s a whirlpool. I am generally frustrated with the quality of appliances nowadays. We bought a new Maytag cooktop at the same time and the knobs are cheap plastic and keep breaking. We have replaced all 4 and now thay are on a 2nd cycle of breaking. I will never buy maytag again.</p>
<p>Good Luck! I hope it can be repaired (and not too expensively). Did you by any chance keep the old and ugly one just in case?</p>
<p>I don’t think we did. And my husband thinks we never sent the warranty card in plus he is thinking it may be over 5 years old - just, of course. :mad:</p>
<p>Oh well we will try and check it out tomorrow. If worst comes to worst maybe we will buy a cheepo countertop walmart one for now. I am not really keen to spend hundreds of dollars on one at this point in time.</p>
<p>Too bad! I have two old (23+yrs old) ugly ones and wish there was an easy way to get one to you. Of course they weigh a ton! Don’t you just hate appliances? My husband really wants a fancy frig, but the 22 yr old one works fine… I just know a new one will break immediately.</p>