Totally non Buick related but please indulge me. I have a Kitchen Aid 36" over the stove microwave. Touch screen display in the door. Machine works great. Lately its started changing display screens and menus by its self. I'll be sitting at the island eating lunch or having morning coffee and BEEP! it changes from one screen to another. As I watch one button will darken as if a invisible finger touched the pad to start cooking food.Its not always the same button either. I hope I didnt have a ghost move into the house. Searched Google and Youtube. Only results were if it didnt work at all. In those cases it said to replace the screen. Doubt thats the solution to this. Its probably the primary control board. My Kenmore washer was doing weird stuff and throwing random codes. Youtube said to replace the control module. 150.00 later and it still did the same thing. Found a dime floating around inside the pump. 10 cents in my pocket cured the issue on that one. You guys got any ideas?
I would probably use it until it doesn't work anymore. The cost of the repair will probably be 1/3 the cost of a new microwave. If you buy the part that you think will fix it and it doesn't fix the problem, you're out that money and still have a broken microwave. I know it's a common practice,but I don't think it's a good idea to put a microwave above a stove because heat is the worst enemy for electronics.
I would agree, it's not worth fixing or buying parts for it. They are really inexpensive now, you can just buy 1 for 100.00 or so and sit in on the counter. That's what I did at my mother's house, she uses the old one like a breadbox! She likes the new one better because it's counter height, she can see in it, there's less chance of getting burned, too.
This unit was 1400.00 about 3 yrs ago. because its fit s a 36" opening, Standard is 30", Its a tough one to find. I think theres only 2 mfgs. that make these. I gotta fix it.
Touch pad is bad.Moisture and heat from cooking wreck havoc on that style touch pad. I always tell folks to run the vent fan while cooking,even if it is not vented to the outside.
Generally I agree with others, but over-the-stove models are expensive, so understand wanting to fix. Sounds like screen failure...internally making contact...but as you say, could be circuit board component or the pcb. Are these parts used in another model? Someone might be parting something out on eBay. Not likely, but maybe a call to KitchenAid might yield useful info...
Check voltage levels, possible voltage spikes or poor ground. Reverse polarity will mess up computer electronics too. Do you have an outlet tester that tells you if you have an open ground or reverse polarity?
Ya should've dumped the new shop and lifts etc. and built underground! New season premier for Walking Dead is gonna be on Sunday night at 8pm CST! been waiting 6 months! ws
Since you are dealing with a higher end unit, sometimes a call to the manufacturer can get you connected to someone in tech support. I'd think Kitchen Aid might offer that. Guaranteed they have people in that capacity who have ran across the same problem, key is to get them on phone. I have a built in oven and microwave combination. The microwave quit working and like you repairing was the only real option. Thanks to internet I determined it was the magatron and found a replacement for $55 saving me a boatload of money of a service call. The comment about checking voltage is a good one. Maybe try getting an extension cord and plugging it in to a different outlet on different circuit just for sheetz and giggles. My microwave display does all sorts of weird things when I'm running the generator during a power outage. The voltage is 116 but apparently there is some sort of transient that the electronics do not like. All other electronic appliances work fine.
Im thinking this is when the issue started. During Irma we were without power for 4 days. Whenever we tried to turn on the micro it would come on run for a second or 2 then brown out, struggle and then run again. It was weird as everything else worked fine .The micro had worked fine in the past on the same generator but not for as long.
I have the exact same unit .. no help but its been trouble free for 10+ years. I'd take Nick Rabi's above advice as he's a field tech for home appliances and has probably seen it all
Ours does some strange things every now and then as well. It's a 16 year old Maytag so we figure it's on overtime. I just unplug it, plug it back in and it resets. All is good.
Be advised that disposing of microwaves is not that easy. When I remodeled my kitchen I took the combination oven/microwave to the metal recycler. They said they would not take the unit due to the radioactive element in the microwave. The remodeler said he knew where/how to dispose of it so I left it with him and asked no questions.
