Kenmore Microwave Repair in Main Line, PA

A Kenmore microwave packs high voltage into a small box, so every repair starts by safely discharging the capacitor before any test is made. Kenmore microwave parts depend on who built that particular unit, which the model number reveals. Inverter models use a power board in place of a transformer, which changes the parts list when the unit stops heating. For a Kenmore microwave in otherwise good shape, most single-part failures are worth fixing.

It is also true that Kenmore has never had its own factory: Whirlpool, LG, Electrolux, GE, Panasonic and others built its models under contract, and the three digits before the period in the model number identify the actual maker, which is worth bearing in mind when the microwave first shows symptoms.

Kenmore microwaves have their own short list of usual suspects: door interlock and monitor switch failures; inverter board failure on inverter models; high-voltage diode and capacitor faults; control board and keypad failures; and waveguide cover burning and arcing. Even so, a symptom only narrows the search. The same complaint on a Kenmore microwave can come from components with very different costs, and only testing on site tells them apart.

One microwave symptom fools a lot of owners: a microwave that runs but does not heat, which seems like a total failure and is usually the magnetron, the high-voltage diode or the capacitor rather than the controls. Reading it correctly matters because the wrong reading leads to the wrong part, and on a microwave the wrong part is often the expensive one. A technician who sees the pattern regularly can usually separate the possibilities within minutes.

Stone and colonial homes on the Main Line have thick walls and kitchens rebuilt inside rooms that were never designed for modern appliances. Vent openings and gas lines were added later, by whatever route the masonry allowed.

For a microwave in particular, the local factor is over-the-range microwaves in compact apartment and townhouse kitchens, where the unit doubles as the range hood and its grease filters and fan are part of the service. On the Main Line, towns are split across three counties, with Ardmore, Bala Cynwyd, Narberth and Gladwyne in Montgomery County, Radnor and much of Wayne in Delaware County, and Berwyn, Devon, Paoli and Malvern in Chester County, so the code office for a permit question depends on the town.

Gas ranges and gas dryers are common on both sides of the Delaware, and gas work deserves care. Before we disconnect a gas appliance the supply is shut off, and every connection we touch is leak-checked before the appliance goes back into service. If we smell gas or find a problem on the supply side, we stop and tell you.

Problems in the gas piping itself belong to your gas utility (PECO in most of these Pennsylvania towns) or a licensed plumber, not an appliance technician. If you ever smell gas in the Delaware Valley or anywhere else, leave the house first and call the gas utility or 911 from outside.

Book online and include a photo of the microwave's rating label. If the repair turns out not to be worth doing, you will hear that before any work is quoted.