A microwave has become a bare necessity of every urban household. Hence, its malfunctioning has the power to cause major havoc. Is your microwave giving you a hard time? Does it keep tripping the circuit breaker every time you try to operate it?
Don’t you worry, we have got your back and will offer a guide to curb the problem. Dive into the end of this article to understand the sole cause of this inconvenience and the solutions that can assist to get away from the problem and leave you with a fully functional microwave.
Why does the microwave trip the breaker?
There may be multiple reasons why your microwave is behaving in such a weird way. Some of the causes are listed below:-
Overloaded Circuit
If your circuit breaker is overloaded, that is, too many appliances are plugged into the same circuit, then this might be the reason why your microwave keeps tripping. Usually, circuits rated 20 amps are used, and microwaves draw 15 to 20 amps from it.
Hence, exceeding the circuit limit causes malfunctioning of the microwaves, leading to tripping. Tripping can cause severe damage to the circuit and the appliance alike and may even be the reason for a potential electrical fire.
Uncleaned Turntable
The turntable is the disc-like structure on which you keep the eatables you want to warm or cook.
Spillage of liquid consumables on the turntable and the failure to clean at the very instant can result in the turntable motor coming in contact with moisture, thus causing severe damage to it and hence being the reason for tripping the breaker.
The use of a multimeter to measure the continuity can help determine whether the turntable motor is faulty.
Faulty Door Safety Latch
If any of the microwave’s door safety latch hooks have ruptured or some switches the safety latch are non-functional, the device won’t serve its purpose appropriately.
This could serve as one of the causes of a tripping or broken circuit. You can determine whether the door latch is causing the problem using the multimeter in ohm mode.
Microwave Malfunction
If your microwave has a separate circuit, then the chances are that your microwave is not functioning correctly. To determine this by connecting the appliance to another dedicated circuit of a higher amp limit, and if this breaker trips, know that your microwave is at fault.
The device might not be able to function correctly due to the malfunctioning of its various components, like the problems mentioned above.
Problematic Electric Supply
If your entire electric supply is haywire, your microwave may cause the breaker to trip. This can be detected by glancing at the electrical socket to see if it has melted or undergone damage.
If you are having issues unplugging the appliance, the plug and the socket are fused together. In this case, cut out the electric supply immediately and try using brute force to set them apart or seek professional help.
How to Solve the problem?
These are a few steps given below to solve the issue. One can try multiple ways to get rid of the situation.
Dedicate a circuit to the microwave
Giving an entire circuit for the microwave to itself can help you solve the problem since it will direct the right amount of current the appliance needs to function without restraint.
The microwave won’t have to share the current with any other device, which was the cause of tripping in the first place. This solution will also give longevity to your product.
Replacing the microswitches or latch hooks
If your door safety latch switches or hooks turn out to be faulty, replacing them may do the job for you. Equipping your microwave with these new parts may set the appliance right and bring its functionality back to normal.
Installing a new turntable motor
Revamping your turntable motor, which might have given in to the moisture beneath the turntable, may suit you if you detect such an issue. Putting in a new motor would make the appliance run smoothly and efficiently without tripping the breaker.
Putting a new socket into place
A burnt-out and disoriented socket would serve you no more. Consider changing the plug-in and using a new one instead to ensure that your microwave is safely into the socket.
Also, checking on the overall electrical supply of the place is strongly recommended to avoid problems like a blown fuse or short circuit.
Conclusion
Hence, this article is quite resourceful for a person who is dealing with a faulty microwave. Identifying the cause of the tripping of the breaker would be of great help to the user to point out the specific solution and bring back the microwave to life.
Any of the problems mentioned earlier could keep your appliance from working in the right way, and the solutions could prove as simple ways to restore the entire system to normal.
Moreover, these resolutions would assist in improving the performance of your microwave and increasing its life, thus giving you an added amount of time to enjoy its services.
FAQs
How to use a multimeter to check the continuity of the turntable?
Start with unplugging the microwave and discharging the capacitor. Follow by searching the turntable motor, which is most likely beneath the turntable, and switch off all connectors.
Next, set the multimeter’s probes onto the terminals of the motor to get the reading for continuity. The structure works perfectly if the reading is between 6 to 11 ohms. Any deviation from that requires the replacement of the part.
How to use the ohm mode of the multimeter?
Using the ohm mode of the multimeter, you can get to know whether the door safety latch is working correctly. First, the outer case of the microwave needs to be opened to access the microswitches of the door latch.
Next, the electrical connectors are disconnected, and the multimeter probes are placed on the microswitches terminals. Whether or not you get a reading of continuity with the door opened and closed helps you decide if the portion is defective and requires replacement.
