Microwave oven - how does it work & how to fix it

Today, let's take a look inside a microwave oven. Let's see how does it work and how to repair it. I show all the components of a microwave oven, explain its schematic and talk about its most common failures.
Magnetron autopsy:
• What's inside a microw...
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[@daniloc.9083]

You earned a like for having thoroughly explained the levels of extreme danger which can occur while messing with the internals; very professional of you. I love your videos!

[@Mandrag0ras]

He probably has the most unique accent in all KZbin.

[@rex_schd]

Arruu Makinngggaa Funn of maii diod mannn?

[@gizmosk2996]

It is not unique, it is normal Czech accent with 80% of czech people speaking in English. Maybe his from around Prague there is this funny accent also in native language :D

@@gizmosk2996 I'd say Moravian accents are commonly quite funnier 😄

[@ghenkhoash2440]

In his early videos, he was trying to hide or correct his accent, but probably he found that he'll get more views and likes with the accent!

[@miljanthedrummer]

It's a Czech accent but beside of that, you can learn from him a lot of things.. Respect to him

[@Conservator.]

The warnings at the start of the video’s are getting longer with each episode 😁

[@bob-ii8oe]

the more dodgy the appliance the bigger the warnings are

[@Conservator.]

bob And Micowaves are sure worth a few extra lines.

[@michaelfisher9671]

Conservator they are tailored for each video so sometimes they are longer and sometimes shorter.

[@James_Bowie]

I had a similar microwave oven -- only the front was chrome and the knobs were different. It cost $50 and ran for nearly 14 years. I din't bother pulling it apart to see why it died, but I did buy 2 more of them because I prefer the simplicity and reliability of analog controls. 👍

[@hyperion8008]

Looking forward to the Tesla coil build and Magnetron tear down!

[@golfman9290]

EXCELLENT! this bloke really knows his stuff!

[@00gayan00]

Thanks man. Couldn't get the turntable motor in my panasonic microwave oven to work. Even though it was working when direct power was given. Turns out there were some inside wires disconnected during a previous repair. Figured it out thanks to your schematic. Much love ❤️

[@isseyIT]

if you touch the turntable motor terminals and rotate it manually, it gives you a strong shock!

[@TheTechnoGuy18]

Yea. I discovered that on accident a while ago.

[@igamse]

And it's very painful !!

[@Rainbow__cookie]

@RedKing Games wtf you were 8y old that open a microwave 😂 I would also do it if I got my hands on a broken microwave

[@johnc3403]

That's true, but the gearing is such that you'd not turn it with your fingers. You'd want to hold it in one hand, shorting the terminals with your flesh and get a vice-grips on the spindle and give it a turn.... that's Darwin award stuff..

[@und4287]

I measured it and it went up to 550 volts sometimes..

[@SunixDev]

So it unfortunly cant be opened, just kidding xD that joke killed me xD

[@nosafetyswitch9378]

We had the same problem in my office, our microwave would not start. My boss gave me permission to open it and have a look. Obviously, the fuse was blown so I replaced it and I scored bonus points on my boss' appreciation! Blown fuse is such a common problem with these things!

[@IGDZILLA]

My microwave broke down this morning so I decided to try to fix it. It was working but not heating food. SO I thought it might be the HV capacitor or diode. I went shopping for some spare parts at La Strada (the road) and found one about 400m down the street. It turns out to be almost exactly the same as mine and not very dirty and working fine. Easy. And I don't have to relearn the button menus. Even better.

[@Miata822]

Very good information. Too many videos on KZbin talk about harvesting a transformer from a microwave without mentioning the danger of the capacitor or how to safely deal with it.

[@zx8401ztv]

I had to test the diode with a 9v battery and small bulb, i suspected 3 diodes in series or similar was inside. Sometimes the secondary fuse just pops for no real reason, i think they must fatigue over the lifetime of the microwave. My 800watt microwave is almost identical, the ping timer does the job :-D

[@pyromen321]

33:21 the easiest way to test microwave diodes is to connect them to a 9v battery and measure the voltage drop. At

[@electronicguy4550]

Good to know

[@taka4059]

Thanks

[@Conservator.]

Excellent guide to cheap microwaves! Thank you 🙏

[@TechGorilla1987]

Good day, my friend! Thank you for the content!

[@usmani609]

Very good style of speaking English and transferring useful knowledge.

[@will_doherty]

Interesting video. I would have thought that the reduced current demand shown on your clamp meter on start-up was due to the soft-start resistor being initially in the transformer's primary circuit, the current then reaching its full value when the relay switched it out of the circuit?

[@DiodeGoneWild]

The relay turns on way faster than this. The lower current in the first 2-3 seconds is because the magnetron cathode is not yet heated, and so the magnetron draws no current. Only the lamp and motors draw some current and the rest of it is the inductive current of the transformer. Microwave oven transformers (MOTs) have bloody high inductive current with no load.

[@markweintraut7420]

Test HV Diodes with 12 or 24 VDC and a light bulb. Great video!

[@MsAlanOReilly]

Very funny sense of humour....... love it.

[@andiyladdie3188]

Those mica waveguide covers are cheap, you can remove burned ones, clean the waveguide, replace them and the oven is good as new. Nice video! 👍👍

[@ondra30]

Where is the exploding magtrometer?

[@garrygemmell5676]

Wow that is the most amazing accent I have ever heard - The Count vampire from muppet show has nothing on this accent. He alters the speed of words and I have never heard any of my Slovak friends talk like this very unique - when he says "bloody hell" roflmao!! Great video though very in depth and comprehensive! Cannot beat a guy who loves his pizza Hawaii!!!

[@schaltnetzteil495]

The coil of the fan motor has 3 connections because it has a tap on the winding which powers the turntable motor and the mechanical timer.

[@puckcat22679]

I have not watched the whole video yet, so I'm sorry if you've already gone over this, but oftentimes, if the fuse is blown, the door switches will be bad as well. The idea behind the three switches is that one or two are normally open and the other one or two are normally closed. If the door is opened forcibly, instead of using the opener latch, the switches will change position in the wrong order, which not only cuts power to the magnetron, but also puts a short circuit directly across the input, which will cause the fuse to quickly blow. However, the switch contacts will also be damaged by the massive arc and by the heating, and often fuse together. I had a bowl explode in the microwave once (yes, it was supposed to be microwave safe, but I think there was a defect in it somewhere) By "exploded," I mean it literally blew into a thousand pieces, blew the door of the microwave open, and ejected bits of ceramic and food all over the kitchen. It was quite dramatic. My wife was the one using it, and I heard a loud bang, followed by my wife freaking out. (She was fine) Anyhow, The microwave did nothing, just like this one. I decided to take a look at it, and I found that the fuse was blown, and 2 of the safety switches were discolored and not working. Upon looking at the servicing instructions that were taped to the inside of the housing (this is typical of appliances in the US) I saw an explanation of how those switches are supposed to operate if something like that happens. I replaced the switches and the fuse, made sure the door and door frame weren't damaged, and the microwave works fine again. I even got the parts out of my dad's old microwave, which he had replaced because the fan had failed, so they didn't cost me anything!

[@bendewachter3789]

Thank you. Very complete and clear explanation.

[@1marcelfilms]

Remove the warning sticker to remove warning

[@deepaknanda1113]

😂😂😂 too good idea👍

[@RS_83]

Wow! Just Wow! Thank you very much, my friend! Very useful video. Thank you!

[@Fajardo3]

Interesting Hahaha😄😄😄 the only problem is fuse...anyway thanks 4 ds video esp. Your beautiful explanation & unusual accent. God bless us all...Ave Maria!

[@bramvandenbroeck5060]

People use those microwave transformers for woodburning, which is insane! Don't ever do that, the chances of you dying while doing woodburning are very high! Great video really!

[@praveenmurkar743]

Good explanation thanks.

[@a.lisnenko]

Thanks for the explanation!

[@NOTISL]

Nice one .. time to watch something real interesting

[@electronic7979]

Helpful and useful video 👍

[@carlnikolov]

This guy is brilliant

[@Kungfupanda839]

Nice. Pls do a video on low cost stick welding using a bucket of salt water 🤣🤣🤣

[@richardnanis]

You really know a lot - thanks for sharing! Its always a joy listening! :-)

[@DigitalElectronicsCircuitsLab]

yes

[@willyou2199]

the resistor across the HV capacitor is also quite high of a resistance. 1uF * 10M = 10 seconds. For the capacitor to discharge away 99% of its charge it needs to take ~50s or more.

[@SianaGearz]

Some of these ovens have a smart timer dial where the first 10 or 15 minutes would be at finer steps, and then the steps would get coarser, the minutes would be more compressed. This is super useful! But i wonder how that works.

[@DiodeGoneWild]

I also like those, but I have never opened one. It's a clever idea because otherwise the steps are too small. I only use about 2 - 3 minutes at most ouf of the 30 minute dial. Sometimes I only need about 30 seconds and it's almost impossible to set it.

[@OthmanAlikhan]

Thanks for the video, very high quality knowledge =)

[@amrishhirani6096]

Thank you

[@higorguedes4413]

You are amazing!

[@Pirelli.]

Great video and explanation!!! Thanks!!!💓

[@mrvic3952]

I love that 3000 volts!

[@littlehiawatha4870]

Very educational and interesting.

[@Mark1024MAK]

SeanBZA - I have a microwave, it’s very old now. Stopped using it because the ventilation grill started rusting. Then arcing! So I poked a screwdriver at it to remove the rusty bits that were arcing. But it continued to degrade. So bought a new microwave oven. This worked fine for a few days, then failed ☹️. Completely dead. As still under warranty, I took it to the service agent. So brought the old one back into use! The new one was fixed by the next day 🙂. A couple of years later, the ‘new’ one failed again 😡. Now out of warranty ☹️. I found the main fuse was being blown due to the plastic fitting that held one of the door safety switches allowing a little bit too much movement, hence the door safety switches would short out the mains blowing the fuse (nice and violently, so always use a ceramic fuse, not a glass one that may rupture and belch fire glass and carbon soot). There did not appear to be any suitable adjustment for the relevant door safety switch, so I used a very small nylon cable tie as a shim. The ‘new’ one has now been working fine for about two years 😀. Has anyone made and fitted a new ventilation grill for a microwave?

[@gacherumburu9958]

Thanks for the info

[@Columbariusify]

Crt Tv please. Especially part why it's missing some colours and how to fix it.

[@1pcfred]

That MW oven is mint.

[@opera5714]

I had a tree guy knock down my power line and give me a floating neutral. Wife came out and said there was smoke in the kitchen. Microwave and dishwasher were dead along with many other electronics in the house. Power surge took out the small control transformer which I replaced. Worked again, but I had to get a new microwave because I lost the roller ring under the platter. No big deal as for weeks it seemed to have less power and on occasion it would beep and display multiple error codes, some that weren't even in the manual.

[@physicsandmathemathicssimp833]

Do you think that the old type microwaves are more dangerous than the new ones?

[@nowheremanjk8624]

Make an episode on a topic - under what conditions can the charger damage the phone. You can also do a "crash test" as an example ;-)

[@jasejj]

That microwave is so clean, it wouldn't surprise me if it's never been used, the fuse blew very early in its life and it was just left in someone's garage, with only the yellowed plastic giving the game away as to its age. If that is the case that's some bargain you got there, I bet Slovak build quality was a lot better than the current-day Chinesium stuff ;)

[@DiodeGoneWild]

This has Czech and Slovak text on in, but it's just imported by some Czech or Slovak company that ordered it with custom language marking. It's surely made in China anyway. The capacitor says it's made in China. The magnetron is Galanz, those are also mass produced in China.

[@jasejj]

@@DiodeGoneWild Fair enough, the front styling just makes it look older than perhaps it is.

[@fbifido2]

How to fix Microwave that has calculator type buttons, digital timer? if the touch plastic type buttons are not working? Can you make an on & off button without the timer?

[@sand2698]

Hi sir, may I ask how it is safe when one line of HV transformer connected to core, please help 🙏.

[@DrHouse-zs9eb]

13:40 How does that work? There are no thermostats in there, right? Great Video as always!

[@Conservator.]

Dr. House It is simply not temperature driven or regulated. It’s the setting on the front panel that determines the duty cycle = for how much time power is supplied to the magnetron. I hope this this answers your question. If not, pls let me know.

[@DiodeGoneWild]

There's no thermostat. You just manually select the time and the power (duty cycle). If you select too much, your pizza is charred :).

[@DrHouse-zs9eb]

@@Conservator. Okay, but how does that work without fancy ICs and digital timer chips? I think, it's done purely analoge, right?

[@Conservator.]

Dr. House The control panel (buttons and display) will use a micro controller. So that part is digital. At 14:30 you can see the green PCB. The components you are referring to will most probably be on the other side of the PCB.

[@DrHouse-zs9eb]

@@Conservator. 14:30 is from another microwave. The microwave he shows has a purely mechanical knob for time and power regulation. As far as I know are there no chips. Only a mechanical bell at 7:27 and a mechanical power knob.

[@myoniwy]

@DiodeGoneWild If you use this in your SGTC then you can playing MIDI music. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trigatron

[@walidebdelli1046]

Hi dude, thank you for the video, just a question: What is the brand of your clamp meter. it looks very useful and super handy, regards.

[@DiodeGoneWild]

It's Voltcraft VC-330. I've made a video about it. The internals are the same as UNI-T UT210E. kzbin.info/www/bejne/q2HZknqmgb1_e8k

[@felixcat4346]

There is often no reason people throw out household appliances other than they move. It makes complete sense to throw out a refrigerator in good condition because it costs more to move it across country than to buy a new one when you get there. This goes for all large appliances.

[@a.lisnenko]

Please explain how to replace the magnetron. What I should consider?

[@DiodeGoneWild]

I think that it just has to physically fit into the oven, the seal has to seal properly, and the heater voltage and anode power has to kind of match. But the heating voltage of a thoriated tungsten cathode isn't probably that critical, 3.15 / 3.3 / 3.5V is still somewhat in tolerance. And if the anode power is lower, it's fine. If it's a little higher, the magnetron probably still has some headroom anyway. Generally, you should be able to put any magnetron into a lower power oven.

[@kowaldrums]

Just wondering now... Maybe some new inverter-powered microwaves (without HV transformer) really regulates power instead of just changing the duty cycle ?

[@DiodeGoneWild]

Some of the inverter ones do so. But I think they regulate the power only at 50 - 100% power. Below 50% they may still cycle.

[@Vint_2003]

I also own a galanz switch I had 3 2 had been used 1 is was on my fan heater to replace a burned out switch that was the same but was a cheap Chinese branded one then later on the galanz switch burned out then I used another same switch and that's still lasting. BTW those galanz switch was from that same Rolex microwave.

[@Renanbmx123]

NICE!!!!

[@lonjeloco]

I had a bad magnetron because one of the magnets had cracked. Replaced it and revived a 1.65kv microwave.

[@MalagasOnFire]

Nice video Jesus 4 MOTS ????? First open the Magnetron :D I had one microwave hoven which had the motor of the spinning plate stucked inside and was burning the fuses. it was replaced and it has lasted 20 years until the Magnetron failed and no replacement part was available :( It had the schematic printed on the cover has well.

[@publicmail2]

The 50 year old Xformer in microwave is bullet proof, I wouldn't touch inverter new types for a while, they will fail. Although the cooking can be much better.

[@sourekpetr]

Before testing the caps, make sure, they are discharged or get Darwin Price :-D As layman I know exactly why Danyk is writing that, but even though I find it funny. And yeah I know I am doing everything on my own risk and I am not blaming anyone if I will kill myself (well sometimes even common sense might fail, but this even pays for professionals too)

[@-Crash-Nebula--]

I watched all your videos: jakob Ladder ... sparks of fear

[@keithking1985]

Why has it got 1 winding of the 2ndery to the core??? anyone?? oh i get it now, its grounding!! iv tore down a few microwave's for parts, iv never noticed the schematic before.. il keep an eye out for it on the next one!! : )

[@davey2k12]

My Samsung smart oven microwave just wouldn't power up but acts like it still works but don't stop when open door lo

[@rofo88]

Where is your cat?

[@DiodeGoneWild]

This was recorded in a different location (dog location).

[@jamescrews3516]

Pizza!! But no miss kitty!! :(

[@AKG58Z]

You didn't uploaded more dodgy charger videos when you will..?

[@UnboxingTVofficial]

LC Display, not LCD Display

[@kacpreusz9911]

I remember seeing a video on KZbin where someone removed the motor that spins the plate in a microwave and when he connected a phone charger to it and started spinning the motor, the phone started charging. I don't know if it's true

[@anthonyslab]

I can be true, becouse motors can be used as generators. But if won charge your phone well unless you add 5V regulator (5V is the voltage used for usb if you don't know) Are you Polish btw, the name of your channel looks like you are.

[@Basement-Science]

Those are synchonous motors, meaning they contain permanent magnets and can be used as a generator. Not a very good one though. To charge a phone with it you would need AT LEAST one diode because it puts out AC. If you are lucky your phone will put enough load on it immediately so the output voltage of the motor will be about 5V or less. If you turn it without a load, such a motor will put out a few hundred volts.

[@DiodeGoneWild]

It's possible because the motor has permanent magnets in it. It also has gears so you can spin it quite fast. It can also give shocks!

[@vitcenek8611]

Z těch MOTů jsem si nedávno udělal zdroj na 300kV ;D

[@tejabhai7357]

👍👍

[@MyszkaAgresorka]

15:39 - here you have Panasonic with inverter repair: kzbin.info/www/bejne/pX7RipiEm9SLbMU

[@SuperSerNiko97]

Try putting salt in it

[@Conservator.]

“I really like those machines. They are super dodgy, especially when opened”. Haha, I wonder what comes next. 😂

[@KasparOnTube]

"its not far from electric chair" pokes that transformer casually with screwdriver :D

[@DigitalElectronicsCircuitsLab]

hahaha

[@RicoElectrico]

🎵We gotta install microwave ovens, custom kitchen deliverieeeees〰🎵

[@vampy625]

3:33 We have already seen your face in your other channel and an old video in this channel So why hide it now?

[@stupidfanboyph]

And on his website, too.

[@pyromen321]

I’ve been wondering the same thing. The only thing I can think of is that he just wants to reduce the number of people who randomly recognize him in public or something

[@versedbridge4007]

Yeah, that may be why

[@AmitabhAnkur]

Yes

[@zolatanaffa87]

probably because he wants to focus on the subject of his videos and not on his face, In addition, making videos with this shot allows us to see exactly what he sees and to reduce editing time! So long

[@imhoriz0n727]

signs: Danger! Danger! Danger! diodegonewild: *just hits every danger sign with a melal aka conductive screwdriver multiple times because what could go wrong*

[@PiotrK2022]

On jest wykwalifikowaną osobą, więc napis danger jego nie dotyczy bo prąd ma respekt przed takimi i się ich nie tyka. xD

[@PiotrK2022]

Swoją drogą facet mnie rozwalił. Powiedział że nie wolno włączać rozkręconej mikrofali bo można oślepnąć itd., a na filmie wyjebka i włączył rozkręconą. xD

[@protheon]

Diode can go wild

[@crusaderanimation6967]

@@PiotrK2022 Panie to są internetowe wody między narodowe, nasz rodak pisał po angielsku więc proszę odpisywać po angielsku XD

[@PiotrK2022]

@@crusaderanimation6967 Who cares. LOL

[@electronicbasics1856]

me : mom the engineering teacher told us to open a microwave and draw a schematic of it. mom *shows me this video at 4:52 * me :

[@Rainbow__cookie]

*danger* Electroboom: i see this as a absolute win

[@joinedupjon]

The really amazing thing is that MWO's are usually so reliable despite being nearly full of various switches and fuses that are supposed to stop them working. I think a lot are just scrapped because they survive so long that they look old and unfashionable.

[@SigEpBlue]

Pineapple on your pizza?!?! _ARE YOU CRAZY?!?_

[@therealjammit]

The HV capacitor acts more like a DC restorer circuit. Still doubles the voltage. The filament coils are used to let the filament "float" at high frequency AC (high impedance) and low impedance at mains frequency. This is good for keeping the HF out of the power line, but prevent the HF from being attenuated by finding a "ground", even if that ground is floating at mains voltage.

[@M3DooM]

I test the diodes with a Megger meter at my work, if I’m not sure it always works :) Also it works for the capacitors, sometimes they don’t show short circuit with a multimeter but they will with a Megger. Only thing is to be careful after that because this way of testing charges the capacitor ;)

[@superdau]

I'm repairing a lot of things, but damn, I learned a lot from this video!

[@enzoperruccio]

I once found a microwave oven in the trash that had this exact same symptom where it wouldn't power on or do anything. I grabbed all the parts from it and threw it away, but NOW you're telling me that all I had to do was to replace a fuse? Still, it was dirty and full of cockroaches so I guess it wasn't worth it anyway.

[@coastwalker101]

The microwave I am using now stopped working and I fixed it by replacing the input fuse. That was five years ago and it is still going strong.

[@frogz]

30% of the time its the fuse, 70% of the time the fuse blew for a reason

[@KuntalGhosh]

just replaced the capacitor and now my microwave performing is brand new.. before it used to take 2mins to warm up a cup of water now she does it under 30sec! (it is already 15yo but i took good care of it and it was one of those really high end ones from the times of microwave and fridge craze)

[@jessicaganser2982]

Yes please make a video about your tesla coil.😊🙄

[@electronicbasics1856]

oddly satisfying 2:57

[@diecksl]

Hungry?

[@PPESuperstar]

The fan has 3 connections because it is also a transformer

[@xxexplosivexxxxexplosivexx8512]

5:00 - my microwave looked the same from the inside(except the timer relay)

[@philippezhang]

BRAVO. Thank you very much for the detailed explanation. Once, I've open the timer and cleaned the two contact. After it was very difficult to assemble the timer :) . At the the end, I've successed :)

[@publicmail2]

The interconnects are designed to turn fan and light on when it fails, so fan and light on always or when door opened, no magnatron of course. This causes people to unplug and stop using as intended.

[@honich-eriker]

In the last years, it seems to be difficult to find a microwave oven _not_ being made by Galanz.

[@mohamadaldarwish6678]

Thanks for your explanation 👍 👍 👍 👍 👍 👍 👍 you are the best 🌹🌹🌹 keep going 👌👌👌