Dale Thompson
01-11-2005, 10:47 PM
Hey - don't laugh - this may happen to YOU!! :(
About a month ago, the LOML complained that the overhead light in our built-in micro-wave oven had gotten dim. This is the light that lights up the stove below, not the "internal" light. I took off the cover over the light(s) and saw that one of the two bulbs was "out". I went to unscrew the "bad" bulb and the whole system went out. The glass on the "bad" bulb was broken loose from the metal base. I also noticed that the glass was broken loose from the base on the "good" bulb.
Procrastinator that I am, I left the metal base in the "bad" socket. I also left the "working", though broken, bulb in the second socket. When I kicked the breaker back on, everything was OK - for about ten minutes. On my second cup of morning tea, the system went out again. This time it was not the breaker!! :eek: :mad: Checking the schematic, I saw that there was a 15A fuse somewhere in the oven. As luck would have it, I didn't have a 15A AGC but I had a 10A. IT WORKED!! - Until yesterday.
I replaced the fuse with a 15A and it blew in a couple of minutes. Another replacement blew the breaker.
Time to shop for a new micro-wave! EGADS!! You can get a countertop for $30. The built-ins that I picked up on the "net" start at about $500 and go up from there. OK - I said to myself, "Self, think about this for a while. You don't have any money and, being retired, you don't the time required to replace the oven!" :rolleyes: :eek: :D
I removed both "bases" and replaced the bulbs and fuse. Time will tell but I'm willing to bet that the problem is solved. I'm not sure about the reason for the problem but it must have been the disconnected base which heated up from the incredible heat of that other little bulb and somehow shorted out.
The only bummer is that those little red-hot bulbs cost me $4 each!! :eek: :eek: :D
Dale T.
About a month ago, the LOML complained that the overhead light in our built-in micro-wave oven had gotten dim. This is the light that lights up the stove below, not the "internal" light. I took off the cover over the light(s) and saw that one of the two bulbs was "out". I went to unscrew the "bad" bulb and the whole system went out. The glass on the "bad" bulb was broken loose from the metal base. I also noticed that the glass was broken loose from the base on the "good" bulb.
Procrastinator that I am, I left the metal base in the "bad" socket. I also left the "working", though broken, bulb in the second socket. When I kicked the breaker back on, everything was OK - for about ten minutes. On my second cup of morning tea, the system went out again. This time it was not the breaker!! :eek: :mad: Checking the schematic, I saw that there was a 15A fuse somewhere in the oven. As luck would have it, I didn't have a 15A AGC but I had a 10A. IT WORKED!! - Until yesterday.
I replaced the fuse with a 15A and it blew in a couple of minutes. Another replacement blew the breaker.
Time to shop for a new micro-wave! EGADS!! You can get a countertop for $30. The built-ins that I picked up on the "net" start at about $500 and go up from there. OK - I said to myself, "Self, think about this for a while. You don't have any money and, being retired, you don't the time required to replace the oven!" :rolleyes: :eek: :D
I removed both "bases" and replaced the bulbs and fuse. Time will tell but I'm willing to bet that the problem is solved. I'm not sure about the reason for the problem but it must have been the disconnected base which heated up from the incredible heat of that other little bulb and somehow shorted out.
The only bummer is that those little red-hot bulbs cost me $4 each!! :eek: :eek: :D
Dale T.