Old Faithful has been working well for almost 30 years, is in great condition. Recently, it started to work erratically. Sometimes it works normally; sometimes it starts normally, runs a few seconds to up to a minute, then shuts off and zeros out the clock. At first it seemed to shut off more when it was not on full power. Now it is happening more frequently when on full power. We have tried different combinations of things, like resetting clock or not before using it again. The most consistent thing we've noticed is that it seems to work more reliably when it hasn't been used for a couple of hours, then starts to shut down more frequently when heating up a number of items. It also seems to work better if the buttons are pressed more deliberately.
I have seen reference to a control panel being rebuilt with new rectifier and capacitor on one repair site, or replacement of a whole control panel for approx $90 being needed. What do you think? Its been a great micro, but we don't want to put more money into it than the cost of a new one.
Believe it or not, we still have the owners manual: it is JC Penney Model 5910, but with reference to "863" on some of the paperwork. Thank you very much for your guidance!