Microwave does Not heat

[bikefever]

In our 2009 Model 3455 the microwave quit heating. The light, turntable, fan operates but no heat on a 3 year old over the range Dometic DOTRM15B. Camping World wants to replace it. Is there any trouble shooting I a can do? Has anyone had similar issues? Is it easy to drop from cabinet? Has anyone replaced it with and a different microwave?

Thanks for your help.

[racerjoe]

there should be 4 screws around the outside of it,remove those and you will get to the microwave to remove it. for what they are worth today,you would spend as much repairing it as you would replacing it.

[cmawendy]

We had to replace ours in 2009, we had nothing but trouble with Camping World though so we took it to a dealer that deals with Montana's and they had it replaced with little problems. It worked great until about 4 months ago and now we have to hit the upper right hand edge to get it to "start." Crazy......

[Carl32092]

If you don't find a wire loose, or a fuse blown, it is probably the "maggie", (magnetron), in it and it's cost will be all most what a new unit runs. Time for a new one..

[snfexpress]

There is a 3 year warranty on the Dometic microwaves. Call them...

If like ours, which I have replaced three times, there are 4 screws/bolts from the upper cabinet into the frame and siding of the microwave from the top. There are two screws holding the upper plastic vent; these are from the top of the vent. Remove the vent and you will find two set screws, one on either side that screw into the special backing plate screwed to the wall. You can reuse the backing plate. I can get it in and out by myself, but others might want to have some help because it is heavy and awkward to handle.

[bikefever]

Removed the microwave and checked the fuse. Fuse was good and their was no evidence of bad components. Purchased a new GE microwave from Home Dept for $175, removed old wall bracket and installed the new wall bracket and microwave.

Suggest others with a Dometic replace it with a different brand.

[bncinwv]

I would think it would be a little overboard for all of the Dometic Microwave owners to replace their units with a different brand because of one reported failure? With our extended service plan, I know ours is good for another six years anyway (less a $50 deductible). Think I will keep it, sorry. As always, the above is merely my opinionated rambling!!
Bingo

[Art-n-Marge]

Warranty or not, if something breaks three times, I'm getting a new brand.

As for removing it to test it on the table or to replace it, mine is a microwave/convection model and is held in with four screws. I'm 5' 9", about 175 lbs and was able to slide the MW out of its cubby and remove it. It is heavy but probably no more than 25 lbs, but it's a wierd upward angle so might be awkward. Mike (snfexpress) looks like a taller, stronger guy than me, but I wouldn't say I had too much difficulty. I may have even used a single step stool, but I don't remember.

The only precaution I'd have with swapping it out, is I would expect that the Dometic has been designed with RV use in mind and probably allows for the moving and shaking when traveling, where another brand may not. If the new brand has a warranty, then they might not honor it they know you use it in an RV.

Ours is an Apollo, 5 years old and we while haven't used it as much as many others others have had problem with it. If this one breaks, I'll buy another but not necessarily the same brand.

[bncinwv]

DW would kill to get her Apollo back!! We went through three of them, but she would still say that it was the best cooking machine that she ever had including what was in the stick house. I will say that our Apollo failures were all electricity induced and after the addition of an EMS and Autoformer, we never had a problem. Oh, and of course, the new Dometic is a lot bigger than the Apollo so it is not a direct swap. (That is my story and I am sticking to it, I have enough projects on the table at present anyway!!) I failed to let Michael's post about three failures register, so my statement about one reported failure is obviously amiss. Guess I had better reserve judgement until the unit proves itself, Thanksgiving will be another good test while in Florida.
Bingo

[bikefever]

Ok. Being an electrical engineer, and having read the previous threads as well those on other forums, the Dometic is a terrible unit and is prone to failure. great for those of you who have not had problems.

As for the Dometic being designed for an RV, this does not make a difference as they appear to have problems. My vote is for a know brand such as GE with excellent in home reviews. The salesman at Home Depot knew that the new microwave was going to be installed in a RV and stated that the warranty is valid. If it craps out within 90 days bring it back to the Depot for an exchange. Craps out after, GE will warranty it.

I do have an extended warranty, however with a $100 deductible and being on the road for two months, no repair place would pre order a replacement without their diagnostic testing. So the Monty would have to be in their repair shop for over a week waiting for a new Dometic. Less hassle to replace it with the GE.

[clarkandsheila]

I have an Apollo convection/microwave like many on this forum. Twice now the microwave function has quit, once two years ago, last time just a few days ago. Both times I found it was the door switches. There are 5 of them and it only takes one to goof up.

I checked the magnetron and it was fine. I downloaded instruction off the internet.

Then tested each switch individually and all were operating ok.
All the switches are mounted on a single carrier/holder. If there is ANY wear on the switch plungers or any of the actuator arms or pivots, and there will be eventually, one of those switches will fail to get pushed far enough. Also I could see the metal bracket the switch carrier was mounted to was bending a hair adding to any movement or wear problems.

I shut the door, loosened the three screws securing the switch holder and carefully pushed the whole carrier to the front. SHUT THE DOOR, you don't want to go any further than required and with the door open that could happen and then when you slam the door you will break something. It moved about 1/32" and then tightened up the screws and the unit is fine again.

The previous time, not knowing in the least bit what I was doing, i just poked and prodded at the switches and I guess it was enough that it ran for another season. This time with a bit more wear it took the carrier movement. But that poking told me what the problem was, wear.

UNPLUG THE UNIT. Just be carefull when you open the cover as the capacitor and magnetron are right there. Use your voltmeter set to to high DC volts and test the capacitor. There is a discharge resistor which will bleed the cap. down in 5 - 10 minutes but check to be sure the voltage is gone. If not and you touch it, it will hurt. UNPLUG THE UNIT.

I've seen this before on the machinery I used to look after. Initial factory setup was when the switch just worked but of course after some time wear occurs, electronic circuitry changes a bit and sensor ranges alter. There is nothing really wrong that a small adjustment can't take care of.

Before replacing the ovens, if you are comfortable with a bit of disassembly or know someone who is, try adjusting the door switches first.

When I get home I will order a couple replacement switchs and carry them. They are miniature snap action microswitches. Cherry, Honeywell, Omron and others make good replacements. Just need a good parts or electronics store. I haven't identified the exact switch model yet or I would post it. The odds are your switches are ok but just need an adjustment.

[RRman]

On appliances (or any electronic component) I have always assumed they probably came all the way from China so the RV won't shake them up anymore than they already were (or optimistically were designed for).

I replaced the heating elements on my Apollo myself with parts supplied by the vendor.