A magnetron is the fundamental element in your microwave that produces microwave energy and enables the rapid warming and cooking of food. Your microwave can become less effective with the use or stop producing heat completely. However, you will be safer knowing how to test a microwave magnetron.
Follow the temperature change of water as it is heated in the microwave for a simple test. You could disassemble your microwave and use a multimeter to measure the magnetron resistance if you have experience fixing appliances, but doing so is riskier and more difficult.
The magnetron, which generates RF energy and radiates it into the cooking chamber, where food absorbs it, can be regarded as the microwave’s brain. There are various methods you can use to test it for optimum performance.
Ensure that your microwave is unplugged before conducting a test. To avoid harming your microwave, your tools, and yourself, you must also discharge the capacitor. If you’re not sure what a capacitor is, it is a device that stores a lot of electricity.
Even with the microwave unplugged, power is still present in the capacitor. You must first perform the microwave capacitor discharge test to check the microwave magnetron.
You must establish a short circuit between the capacitor’s two terminals and the terminal and the chassis to discharge the capacitor. You need to touch one capacitor terminal with the end of an insulated screwdriver after unplugging your microwave.
The screwdriver must then be advanced until it contacts the other terminal. Hold the screwdriver there for a few seconds once it has reached the other side. A loud pop indicates that nothing is wrong. You’ll repeat this procedure until a short circuit is formed.
A short circuit develops when there is a connection between two conductors with low resistance. These two conductors provide a circuit with electrical power.
Method-1: To use this procedure, the microwave oven must first be unplugged from the main power source, and all high-voltage capacitors must be discharged. The leads must now be gently pulled away from the magnetron’s terminals.
Remember to take down the locations of the wires, as appropriate wiring is crucial to the device’s effective operation. Now, set a millimeter at the lowest resistance setting. Now measure the resistance in either direction between the magnetron terminals. For proper operation, the magnetron’s filament resistance must be less than one ohm.
Method 2: A microwave’s magnetron can also be tested using another technique. To use this method, you must once again unplug the appliance from the main power source. Check the resistance between the magnetron terminals and the metal magnetron enclosure with the meter set to its highest resistance scale.
Now, regardless of the meter’s polarity, the meter should read infinite after doing this. Any reading will indicate that the magnetron is broken, no matter how slight.
Keep in mind that testing a magnetron should not be undertaken by someone who has never attempted something similar or who lacks knowledge of cables, wiring, and electronic appliance repair because doing so can be risky.
If something is done incorrectly, it could harm your safety and damage your appliance. There is no shortage of competent electricians and technicians you can contact if your microwave gives you any problems.
The magnetron has permanent magnets and a half-wave voltage doubler circuit. It oscillates and generates a cooking frequency of 2450 MHz. Thus, it transforms the microwave energy from the 60 Hz power supply. Before attempting to fix the magnetron or any other component of the microwave, it is crucial to be aware of these facts.
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