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Does your breaker trip when you open the door of your microwave? Do you want an easy fix for this problem? Then you have come to the right place. Now, I am going to tell you possible reasons why opening your microwave door trips your breaker and suggest the best solutions for a quick fix.
This may be due to the door interlock switches. Besides, the circuit can be overloaded. The problem may happen for the interlock switch of the door or even the problem with the door itself. Otherwise, your microwave is faulty. Probably, you are using multiple electrical appliances that are plugged into one circuit only.
We will focus on some of the main reasons. The reasons are-
7 Reasons for Microwave Trips Breaker When Door Opens
1. An Overloaded Circuit-
If you share a circuit for the microwave with other electrical appliances in your home, then the circuit gets overloaded. So, you must have to check if it is on the dedicated circuit by looking at the tripped breaker’s logo.
You have to note the point for models JE1840 and JE1860 need a dedicated 20 amp circuit.
On the other side, the rest of the models need a 15 amp circuit.
Preferably, the microwave should never share the same circuit with other appliances ever. But exceptions are only applicable to lights only. You have to keep in mind that electricity can be extremely dangerous.
If you are not sure of what you are doing, please do not hesitate to call the technician for repairing the microwave.
Thus, you should not attempt to remove any cables by yourself. This is because it may result in an electric shock. Therefore, you can install the dedicated circuit in the house by taking the help of a professional technician.
The circuit is specifically for the microwave as well as it will help to prevent this occurrence from happening.
You may be interested in the best microwave oven for vegetarian
2. A Faulty Appliance-
Your microwave may not function that’s why it can cause the breaker to trip. In that case, the microwave can pull a tremendous amount of current.
A technician can easily detect if your microwave is faulty. And they can help you to replace the appliance. But you may find some of the breakers mislabeled.
In this situation, a professional electrician will help you to solve the problem. If not, flipping switches disorientedly would result in damaged electronics.
3. A malfunctioning door switch-
However, if your breaker trips when you open the door of the microwave, there may be difficulty with the door switches. Often, these are termed as primary interlock switches and secondary interlock switches.
They become activated by the hooks located on the door and these are situated in the inner side of the cabinet. Point to note, firstly you must observe a door switch’s latch for ensuring any damage.
Before checking the switch is working, you have to unplug the microwave and let it take an additional 15 minutes for discharging the capacitor.
Next, you have to remove the cabinet and monitor the switches for stability by utilizing a multimeter. You can notice terminals labeled common (C) and normally open (NO).
The door switches have cables connected with these terminals. To check for endurance, you should press the actuator button of the switch. The switch is defective if you do not notice a continuation between the terminals. You can use the kit for use in this purpose
4. The turntable motor is wet-
The turntable motor of the microwave allows you to cook your food constantly. There might be a chance that when you put the food in the oven, different types of liquid may travel under the turntable. But you may forget to clean up the turntable.
Therefore, this liquid substance may end up getting its own way to the motor. This results in a leak of electricity along with a trip the circuit breaker.
You can easily check the motor by utilizing the multimeter in ohmmeter mode. Firstly, disconnect the device’s electricity supply and discharge the capacitor. Then search for the turntable motor, which is underneath the oven.
In the next step, unplug the connectors and set two probes of the multimeter on the terminal of the motor to test for endurance.
You can easily detect whether the motor has leaked electricity or not by placing one probe of the multimeter on the oven’s metal chassis and another on the terminals of the motor. If you are able to find a continuity reading, this indicates your motor defects.
You have to be sure and careful in following the safety instructions which are provided at the start of the problem shooting guide. Nevertheless, you may have to purchase the turntable motor for the microwave oven.
5. The capacitor is faulty-
The capacitor keeps storing the energy then it will release the energy in an amplified form. If it is faulty, the oven makes a loud noise at the time of operation.
After that, it ends up blowing the fuse or sometimes tripping the electricity. You should not test the capacitor unless you have firstly unplugged the oven from the electricity supply. And discharging it by the short-circuiting electrical insulated bar.
Otherwise, you have to risk electric shock. Therefore unplug the connector from the capacitor and then set the tips of the probes of the multimeter at the end.
If you are unable to get a value, the capacitor is faulty. In that case, think about repairing and replacing it.
6. The timer is jammed-
The timer of your oven will be electronic or mechanical in design. If any of the electrical contacts of the timer is hampered, this can induce the circuit to trip or even blow the fuse.
You can inspect the condition of the microwave component, but be sure about safety instructions during checking so.
If you are confused about replacing any particular appliance, then check our recommended products. And obviously, there are mentions given, which should be very helpful for you.
7. Faulty Transformer-
A transformer is an amplification appliance. Its job is to amplify the electric current for the microwave’s magnetron. A malfunctioning transformer will make loud noises while using the microwave. It can also trip the circuit breaker.
Bottom Line
Above all, this is all about why your microwave trips break when the door opens. I hope this was a helpful article for you to understand.
The reasons are described briefly so that you can guess what is going through your microwave oven. That’s the aim of this article to help you.
Hopefully, you already have solved your problem. Feel free to comment below if you need anything more to know.
