[elizmack]

The magnetron in our GE combo micro/oven went out. I ordered a new one (I should have called GE first). Anyway...the trick is trying to replace in the unit since it is connected to the oven. Anyone know how to replace magetron in one of these built in combo units?

[magician59]

Begin by removing the trim. This will give you an idea as to how it was assembled. A lot of combination units only seem to be one-piece, but in reality, are just plugged in together, and surrounded by a single trim.

How did you conclude the problem is the magnetron?

[elizmack]

My husband is the one who installed the unit. We know how it goes together...just no knowledge of the inner workings of the appliances.

We had a repair man over to fix our dishwasher when the micro stopped working (bad week for us) and he listened to it and told us it was the magnetron.

My husband is accessing the inners or the microwave thru the control panel and the top..which he was wise enough to leave the cabinet above with a removeable floor.

He struggled with the tight quarters...but has manaed to remove it. Now to replace sensor and magentron. I did not order a new diode though...how to know if it is still good?

[magician59]

Most diodes can be checked with an analog meter(the kind that uses a needle indicator, rather than a digital readout). Remove the diode and set the meter to the ohms scale. touch one meter probe to one of the diode's leads, and the other one to the other lead. You should either get a reading, or no meter action. Reverse the probes and check again. You should get just the opposite of what you found in the first test.

This in not conclusive: Some high voltage diodes require a "base voltage" in order to test, and will look like bad diodes, because you won't get a reading in either direction

If you do get a reading in one direction, but no reading when you reerse the test probes, you diode is good.