Samsung OTR Microwave Recall

Grok on these mind-expanding, interactive breakdown diagrams of various appliances so you can see how they’re put together. An indispensible troubleshooting and repair aid!

Air Conditioning

Dehumidifiers

Dishwashers

Disposals

Dryers

• Gas Whirlpool Style, Lint Filter on Top
• Gas Whirlpool Style, Lint Filter in Door
• Gas Maytag Style
• Gas GE Style
• Electric Whirlpool Style, Lint Filter on Top
• Electric Whirlpool Style, Lint Filter in Door
• Electric Maytag Style
• Electric GE Style

Freezers

• Chest Freezer
• Upright Freezer

Ice Makers

• In Freezer
• Free Standing

Microwave Ovens

• Counter Top
• Built In

Ovens, Ranges, and Stoves

• Gas Free Standing
• Electric Free Standing
• Gas Cook Top
• Electric Cook Top
• Gas Walloven
• Electric Walloven

Refrigerators

• Side by Side
• Freezer on Top
• Freezer on Bottom
• Freezer on Bottom

Trash Compactors

Washing Machines

• Top Load Maytag Style
• Top Load Whirlpool Style
• Top Load GE Style
• Front Load Maytag Style
• Front Load Frigidaire / GE / Kenmore Style

Field Service Bulletins

Kit Instructions

Failure Codes

Diagnostic Manual

Parts Breakdown Diagrams

Buy Parts for your Dacor Wall Oven

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Schematic and Wiring Diagram for the GE JKP36G004BG Oven

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Diagnostic Manual

Wiring Diagrams

Field Service Bulletins

Repair Kit Instructions

Parts Breakdown Diagrams

Buy Dacor Parts

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I need to buy all new kitchen and laundry appliances. Which brand would you stick with (Samsung, LG, Whirlpool, Maytag). I am looking for a frenchdoor and all appliances should match…Stainless too.

Thanks,

John

Let us open our Appliantology hymnals to the Second Law of the Prophecy wherein it is written, “All appliances break.” With this wisdom firmly implanted in that muck betwixt our ears, we begin to see your question from a new perspective.

Like so many propagandized Ameedicans victimized by the slick marketing campaigns assaulting us in the corporate media organs, we see that you have placed aesthetics ahead of practical considerations, such as repairability. In other words, you have placed more importance on form over function, exactly as you have been programmed to do as a good little consumer.

But fear not, my mushy-headed grasshopper, for the Samurai is here to break the spell that the marketing wizards have placed you under. Lo, with his mighty katana, he shall cut asunder the chains of your programming and free you from the trap of mindless consumerism! Let us begin by re-phrasing your question in the way the Samurai would ax it, “Knowing that all modern appliance brands and models are mediocre at best and that all fall short of the glory of the Samurai, which piece of junk am I going to have the easiest time fixing?”

Ahh, Grasshoppah, now you’re beginning to pierce the veil and to do what we professional appliantologists call, “critical thinking.” Using this new, enlightened paradigm, which emphasizes function over form and recognizes the Second Law of the Prophecy, the question further reduces to, “Which appliance manufacturers make their service manuals and technical bulletins freely and readily available to professional appliantologists as well as Joe Do-it-yourselfer?” Eggzellent question, my querying grasshoppah, domo fer axin’!

Currently, there are only two brands which make their service information freely available: Whirlpool (which includes Kitchenaid, Roper, and Maytag brands) and Frigidaire (which includes Electrolux brands). Emphasis on the word, “currently” because Whirlpool is considering restricting access to their technical information to professional appliantologists only– you can thank the over-abundance of lawyers and the bidness-killing tort system in Ameedica for that.

At the other end of the information spectrum are companies that are very restrictive with their technical service information and, for that reason, I would never even consider buying their stuff. The worst offenders in the infowar are Viking and GE. In the case of Viking, they’re not only tight-fisted with their service manuals, but their ranges are the shoddiest on the market. And you get to pay a premium price tag just to have the “Viking” badge in your kitchen. Viking is the poster boy of what I mean by placing form over function.

Awwite, armed with this sacred wisdom and enlightened perspective, gird up thy loins and go git ‘em!

If you see a 5Ab code on the control panel of this Maytag range, it means the range is in Sabbath mode (the “5″ is used to represent an “S”) and only the bake and timed bake functions will work. Don’t ax me why these functions are kosher but broil apparently is not– I am but a gentile Samurai.

Here’s how to get into and out of Sabbath mode:

Hold CLOCK pad for 3 seconds to activate Sabbath mode.

“5Ab” will be displayed and flash for 5
seconds.

______________________________________________________

Hold CLOCK pad for 3 seconds to disable Sabbath mode.

Display will go back to time of day.

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FrigidaIre Smoothtop Electric Range Recall

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Appliantology Scrolls for the Dacor RSD Range:

Circuit Path Drawings

Field Service Bulletins

Bezel Replacement Instructions

Diagnostic Manual (for all models)

Parts Manual and Diagrams

Buy Genuine Dacor Replacement Parts

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The other complaint was that the cooling fan would come on at 100F and stay on– very annoying, also very common in this model. In addition, the temperature on the display would never increment beyond 100F even though the actual oven temperature could be 350F. Both of these problems point to a bad Power Relay Board (PRB).

Corroded Spark Electrode

This corroded spark electrode is one of the reasons the customer called me– no spark at her grill module. The cause is obvious but you still make sure that you’re at least getting spark to the electrode. In this case, the spark was being delivered but getting grounded out by the broken hood. The hood was so corroded that it actually separated from the rest of the assembly. It’s positioned this way in this photo just for your viewing pleasure.

Jenn-Air Range Rear View and Cubby – 1

Notice this range has both gas and 50 amp, dedicated 240vac power supply– that’s ‘cuz it’s a combi-range: electric oven and gas stove. Ranges that are gas-only just need a conventional 120vac wall outlet (for the oven lamp, spark module and/or ignitor).

[This picture has instructive and illuminating annotations, click the pic to see 'em.]

Jenn-Air Range Rear View and Cubby – 2

Usually, on these Jenn-Air jobs, you need to shut off and disconnect the gas supply. Got lucky in this case– they had used a generous length of flex tubing for the "last mile" connection to the range. SoooWEEET! All’s I had to do was unplug the electrical, remove the vent duct from the downdraft fan (remove the kickpanel from the front bottom, you’ll see it right there) and pull ‘er back. Good to go beaver!

[This picture has instructive and illuminating annotations, click the pic to see 'em.]

Back Panel View

The PRB is located in the back of the range behind this rear panel. Back panel is held on with 4 1/4" screws. Comes right off and exposes… (that’s your cue to go to the next pic)…

Back of Range with Rear Panel Removed

… a big ‘ol hairy mess o’ wires! And the component of interest: the Power Relay Board.

[This picture has instructive and illuminating annotations, click the pic to see 'em.]

Power Relay Board

Bunch of connections on this board! Best way to change it out is to do one wire at a time. Helps if you have another pair of arms. In my case, that other pair was attached to my son, Stephen, who was a big help on this job. Also helped with the electrode changeout– more on that in just a bit.

Side View

Now, according to the service manual, in order to remove and replace the spark electrode for the surface modules, you need to tear down the entire top assembly of the range. A royal pain in the gluteous because it involved about a gazillion screws and it’s fraught with danger because any of the screws could be rusted and stripped, especially in a range that age. All of this can slow you way down. But, thankfully I had an extra pair of hands with me on the job and I put ‘em to good use.

Underside of Top Pan Showing How the Electrode Attaches

That’s the nut that has to come off, unstring the spark wire, re-string the new electrode and then secure it with that nut. Yeah, it’s as narrow as it looks.

[This picture has instructive and illuminating annotations, click the pic to see 'em.]

New Spark Electrode Installed

There it is all shiny and purdy!

Parts Used in this Repair Job:

Power Relay Board (PRB)

Spark Electrode

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Unplug the range, remove the element and detach one of the power wires from the element (doesn’t matter which one). Secure that wire so that it doesn’t touch anything– alligator clips can be helpful here. Next, measure the resistance of the element. Should be something around 30 ohms. If you read something in the K-ohms or mega-ohms range, you be needin’ a new element– come git you one!

Re-apply power and set the oven to bake (if I’m troubleshooting the bake element; broil if I’m troubleshooting the broil element). Using my multimeter, I measure the voltage at each of the power wires with respect to ground. In a normally functioning range, I’d expect to read 120vac at each wire. The wire that’s missing the voltage represents the circuit I need to troubleshoot.

A variation on this procedure for cases where the element heats up with the range turned off is to do the same voltage measurement but with the controls set to off. In this case, the wire that’s still supplying voltage to the element represents the leg of the circuit that I need to troubleshoot.

Recommended Reading: Making Basic Electrical Measurements

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1. Replace the electronic control board, typical cost: $250. And there’s no guarantee that the display won’t dim again in a another couple of years.

2. Replace the capacitors on the control board, typical cost: $10. And you gotta be able to solder on printed circuit boards.

Here’s the inside scoop on what’s happening. The digital display is powered by very specific DC drive voltages. Theses voltages are created by a transformer and stabilized by capacitors, all of which are located on the control board. Most of these capacitors are only rated to a working temperature of 220˚F. Well, it don’t take a brain surgeon, like yours so very frikkin’ truly, to realize that over time the heat will reduce the capacitor’s ability to capacitate thus lowering the drive voltage and dimming the display. Awwite, that’s all the theory we need to know so let’s get into the generic strategery of this repair…

The specifics will vary with the exact layout and composition of the control board you’re working on but, generally, the flow goes like this:

1. Kill power to the unit.

2. Disassemble whatever you need to to get at the control board.

3. Locate the capacitors on the control board. Typically, there are three but, again, go with what you see. They’ll look something like this:

4. Make a list of the capacitors, noting the capacitance, working voltage, and temperature rating printed on each capacitor.

5. Go to your local Radio Shack and buy the replacement caps. It’s OK for the replacements to have a higher working voltage than the original but not lower. Try to buy the ones with the highest temperature rating you can get. And match the capacitance rating (usually given in micro-farads, μf) as close as you can to the original.

6. Unsolder the old caps and solder in the new one – soldering help here. Be careful to observe the correct polarity when installing the new caps!

Now go pop yourself a cold brewski and get me one while you’re at it. Mucho domos!

To learn more about your range/stove/oven, or to order parts, click here.

• bake circuit
• broil circuit
• sensor
• keypad
• door lock motor

Let this sacred scroll from the Appliantology scriptures be your faithful guide and guardian during your XL44 contemplations. And, as a bonus, it includes information on how to get to the door lock motor– another common troublemaker in this range.

Xl44 ERC Diagnostic Test

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The problem is caused by the extreme heat used in the self-clean cycle escaping if the wall oven door is removed and incorrectly re-attached by the installer or the consumer. This can pose a fire and burn hazard to the hapless folks who bought GE-built appliances.

So far, 28 incidents of minor property damage have been reported in which adjacent kitchen cabinets have been damaged. No injuries have been reported.

The wall ovens were sold in white, black, bisque and stainless steel. The following model and serial numbers can be found inside the oven on the left interior wall. For microwave combination ovens, the serial number can be found on the left interior wall of the microwave.

GE Profile

Model Numbers: JCT915, JT912, JT915, JT952, JT955, JT965, JT980*, JTP20, JTP25, JTP28, JTP48, JTP50, JTP86

Serial Numbers Begin With: TD, VD, ZD, AF, DF, FF, GF, HF, LF, MF, RF, SF, TF, VF, ZF

Monogram

Model Numbers: ZET3058, ZET938, ZET958

Serial Numbers Begin With: TD, VD, ZD, AF, DF, FF, GF, HF, LF, MF, RF, SF, TF, VF, ZF

Kenmore (All model numbers start with 911)

Model Numbers: 4771, 4775, 4781, 4904, 4905, 4923*

Serial Numbers Begin With: 2T, 2V, 2Z, 3A, 3D, 3F, 3G, 3H, 3L, 3M, 3R, 3S, 3T, 3V, 3Z

If you’re a victim of one of these appliances, you should immediately inspect the oven to make sure you don’t have an incorrectly re-attached wall oven door, which will not open into the flat position. If the wall oven door is incorrectly re-attached, consumers should not use the self-clean cycle and call GE for a free repair. You can continue to use normal baking or broiling function in the oven until the oven is repaired.

For additional information, contact GE toll-free at (888) 569-1588 between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. Monday through Friday, and between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. Saturday ET.

Since this problem pertains to the self-clean function, this is a good time to review the use of the self cleaning feature in an oven. During self clean, the oven can develop temperatures in excess of 900˚F. I don’t care what the manufacturers say, there isn’t a single oven built today that can withstand very many self clean cycles at these extreme temperatures. In addition to posing a potential fire hazard, using the self clean cycle will eventually cause expensive repairs in your oven such as damaged control boards and burned out temperature sensors.

So, let’s review the two rules for using the self clean feature in an oven:

Rule 1: Never, ever, ever use self clean.

Rule 2: If, in a weak moment, you find yourself thinking about using self clean, refer to Rule 1.

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In this particular inconvenience, error code “door” appears in the display and the microwave oven shuts down in mid-cycle. When restarted, the microwave will shut down immediately again and show the “door” error code.

The microcomputer control board (more on that in a minute) will throw this error code whenever it detects an open circuit in the door interlock switch circuit (such as when the door is actually open– go figure!). Hooold on there, Bubbalouie! Uncross them eyeballs and lemme ’splain what that means.

The door interlock switches are the little switches inside the cabinet where the door catches go in and hook when you close the door. They call ‘em microswitches in the trade (I suppose to distinguish them from macroswitches).

In this case, as seen in this wiring diagram, one of the components at play here is the primary interlock microswitch, usually referred to simply as a switch. To save finger strokes, we’ll refer to the primary interlock switch as the PIS, as in, “that little PISser.”

You can tell the PIS from the secondary interlock switch (the SIS- not shown here) because it’s the one with a red and black wire attached to it. How’d I know that? It’s printed right on the wiring diagram.

You see, Grasshoppah, a wiring diagram is nothing more that a road map for wires (and, more interestingly, electrons). Generally, if you can read a road map and fog a mirror, you can read a wiring diagram well enough for most DIY appliance repairs.

Anyway, you’ll need to get to the PIS (some disassembly required; unplug the microwave first and watch out for the high voltage capacitor– it holds a 2,000 volt charge… even when unplugged!). And then check the continuity of the switch while actuating it (pressing the little tab in and releasing it).

Referring again to the wiring diagram, the PIS is just one of the three components that, if open (or bad) will cause the microcomputer to throw a “door” error in the display. You’ll also notice that there are two fuses in that circuit: a 20amp and 15 amp fuse in series with each other (that means they’re on the same line). If either one of those fuses are open, you’ll get the same error in the display. So, you need to do a continuity check on both those fuses with your multimeter.

If any three of these things are open– the PIS or either of the two fuses– you’ll get “door” on the display.

If you check all those and they’re good, then you’re probably looking at a bad microcomputer control board. This microcomputer controls the operation of the microwave and monitors the position of the oven door. As you might expect, this is not something that can be adjusted or corrected by replacing the out-of-spec component on the board. No, the entire microcomputer must be replaced.

To learn more about your microwave oven, or to order parts, click here.