# Repair man is crazy



## supercrew37365 (Mar 12, 2010)

Here is the problem I have. Had a customer call me with a problem with there microwave. The microwave would turn itself on and off at any given time .They called the manufacturer of the microwave and they sent a repairman to look at the microwave. The repairman told the customer that the problem was not with the microwave put that they had an open or floating ground. I went to investigate for an open or floating ground. I measured voltage from ground to hot 123 volts neatural to hot 123 volts neatural to ground .5 volts . I also checked the ground wire at the outside service panel I discovered no problems . In a side note the circuit that was feeding the microwave was comeing from a bath room. I ran a new 20 amp circuit to the microwave to bring it up to code. Has any one heard of maybe a haridryer and micrwave on the same cicuit doing something to the microwave circuit board.


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## 10492 (Jan 4, 2010)

supercrew37365 said:


> This is the problem had a customer call with a problem with the microwave the manuf of the microwave sent in a repairman. The repairman told customer that the porblem was not with the microwave put that they had a open or floating ground. I went to investigate measured voltage from gound to hot 120 neatural to hot 120 neatural to ground .5 I also check the ground wire at the outside service panel no problems . In a side note the circuit that was feeding the microwave was comeing from a bath room i ran a new 20 amp circuit to the microwave has any one heard of maybe using a haridryer and micrwave on the same cicuit doing something to the microwave circuit board.


 
Can the repair man at least spell?

Is the problem fixed?

What is the problem?


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## MDShunk (Jan 7, 2007)

Bummer.


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## supercrew37365 (Mar 12, 2010)

The problem is the microwave comes on by itself starts by itself. The repairman said that is was an open ground that was the problem. I could not find an open ground I was wondering if anyone had heard of a problem like this. The microwave shared the same circuit as the bath thought maybe that a hair dryer on the same circuit may cause a problem with the electronics in the microwave. I ran a new circuit to the microwave not sure if the problem is fixed yet it happens randomly.


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## MDShunk (Jan 7, 2007)

supercrew37365 said:


> The problem is the microwave comes on by itself starts by itself.


Advise the customer to just keep some popcorn in the microwave at all times.


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## drsparky (Nov 13, 2008)

Back in the 70s my parents got a their first microwave, the manufacture recommended keeping a cup of water in when not in use in case it got turned on by accident. You could also buy microwave leak detectors and check the door seals once a week.


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## 480sparky (Sep 20, 2007)

supercrew37365 said:


> This is the problem had a customer call with a problem with the microwave the manuf of the microwave sent in a repairman. The repairman told customer that the porblem was not with the microwave put that they had a open or floating ground. I went to investigate measured voltage from gound to hot 120 neatural to hot 120 neatural to ground .5 I also check the ground wire at the outside service panel no problems . In a side note the circuit that was feeding the microwave was comeing from a bath room i ran a new 20 amp circuit to the microwave has any one heard of maybe using a haridryer and micrwave on the same cicuit doing something to the microwave circuit board.


 
Try typing English, not IMing gibberish.


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## Toronto Sparky (Apr 12, 2009)

Speaking of microwaves.. Here in Toronto , Hydro One has a habit of lowering voltage (brown out) in extreme demand periods to avoid overload shut downs.

Almost every year I see microwave ovens out to the trash because they were thought to be dead.. .

My microwave stops heating (fan and light keeps running) at 109 vac. Make sure voltage is up before you trash the micro.. (BTW Toronto normally runs 120vac +- 2)

I have seen it drop below 100 during these brown outs.


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## RIVETER (Sep 26, 2009)

drsparky said:


> Back in the 70s my parents got a their first microwave, the manufacture recommended keeping a cup of water in when not in use in case it got turned on by accident. You could also buy microwave leak detectors and check the door seals once a week.


I am reminded of the poster who said that he checked the continuity of a fuse while it was laying on a stainless steel table, remember that? Well, I bought one of those microwave testers years ago and after checking the door seals for a couple of weeks and no microwaves registered and I wondered if the darn thing really worked. You'll never guess what I did. This is a TRUE story.


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## Rudeboy (Oct 6, 2009)

The repairmen isn't crazy, he's friggin awesome.


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## cdnelectrician (Mar 14, 2008)

Toronto Sparky said:


> Speaking of microwaves.. Here in Toronto , Hydro One has a habit of lowering voltage (brown out) in extreme demand periods to avoid overload shut downs.
> 
> Almost every year I see microwave ovens out to the trash because they were thought to be dead.. .
> 
> ...


Interesting piece of info, I was not aware of this. Haven't seen voltage below 115 volts here.


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## leland (Dec 28, 2007)

*The answer..*

.. could be here.


http://www.johnnorrisbrown.com/paranormal-tn/index.htm


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## Toronto Sparky (Apr 12, 2009)

RIVETER said:


> I am reminded of the poster who said that he checked the continuity of a fuse while it was laying on a stainless steel table, remember that? Well, I bought one of those microwave testers years ago and after checking the door seals for a couple of weeks and no microwaves registered and I wondered if the darn thing really worked. You'll never guess what I did. This is a TRUE story.



I still have one of those testers.. Even still in the box. It was from Radio Shack.
It did go up slightly when I pressed it to the glass.. 
I always wanted to disable the miro-switch just to see what it would read if the door was ajar


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## jw0445 (Oct 9, 2009)

I'm thinking Riveter looked at his meter from the outside in.......


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## RIVETER (Sep 26, 2009)

Toronto Sparky said:


> I still have one of those testers.. Even still in the box. It was from Radio Shack.
> It did go up slightly when I pressed it to the glass..
> I always wanted to disable the miro-switch just to see what it would read if the door was ajar


Years ago I was told that a guy did just that. He supposedly put his hand in and when it just barely began to feel warm, it was too late. I dealt with microwave transmission in the military and it could have just been just another story they told us to keep us from doing something stupid. NOTE...do not test your microwave tester INSIDE a microwave oven.


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## jw0445 (Oct 9, 2009)

That's what I thought you did. Did it survive?


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## RIVETER (Sep 26, 2009)

jw0445 said:


> That's what I thought you did. Did it survive?


That IS what I did...and NO, it did not.


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## electricalperson (Jan 11, 2008)

i cant see how an open ground can cause a microwave not to work. the equipment grounding conductor has nothing to do with the circuit. its just there for protection incase of a ground fault. i do believe flourescent lights need a ground to start the lamp but thats about it


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## RIVETER (Sep 26, 2009)

jw0445 said:


> That's what I thought you did. Did it survive?


Just thought that I'd touch base, again. It was a dumb thing that I did and I've tried to figure out why I would do that. The only explaination I can come up with is that I have not always been as smart as I think I am.:whistling2:


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## mattsilkwood (Sep 21, 2008)

RIVETER said:


> That IS what I did...and NO, it did not.


 Did the microwave make it?


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## mattsilkwood (Sep 21, 2008)

electricalperson said:


> i cant see how an open ground can cause a microwave not to work. the equipment grounding conductor has nothing to do with the circuit. its just there for protection incase of a ground fault. i do believe flourescent lights need a ground to start the lamp but thats about it


 It can't. That's just something a repairman can tell a homeowner to make himself sound like he has a clue. 

You see, the way it works is any manufacturer is incapable of building a flawed product and it is always the instalation.


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## supercrew37365 (Mar 12, 2010)

The microwave was working and is working . The micorwave would come on by itself without anyone touching the controls. The repairman told the home owners that the circuit had an open ground . I checked the circuit and found no open ground . The only problem I found is that the circuit to the microwave was feed from a bath circuit. I ran a new circuit for the microwave,now if the micorwave acts up the repairman can no longer blame it on anything.:thumbup:


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## RIVETER (Sep 26, 2009)

mattsilkwood said:


> Did the microwave make it?


Yeah, It was only a second, or two, before I realized I had had a dumb ass attack.


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## mattsilkwood (Sep 21, 2008)

supercrew37365 said:


> The microwave was working and is working . The micorwave would come on by itself without anyone touching the controls. The repairman told the home owners that the circuit had an open ground . I checked the circuit and found no open ground . The only problem I found is that the circuit to the microwave was feed from a bath circuit. I ran a new circuit for the microwave,now if the micorwave acts up the repairman can no longer blame it on anything.:thumbup:


 It's not made by Toyota by any chance?:whistling2:


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## supercrew37365 (Mar 12, 2010)

Ok update on microwave. Customer called today microwave is not working at all now . They purchased a new one today and I will install it on friday. I dont think the repairman was right.:laughing:


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## RIVETER (Sep 26, 2009)

supercrew37365 said:


> Ok update on microwave. Customer called today microwave is not working at all now . They purchased a new one today and I will install it on friday. I dont think the repairman was right.:laughing:


Why do you have to install it? Is it a built-in, or do you just plug it in?


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## ElectroMotive (Mar 10, 2010)

Obviously the microwave repair technician was lying. Once the power checked out OK I would delete the entire event from my short term memory and move on to the next job.


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## Old man (Mar 24, 2010)

Same thing happened to me several times in the last few years. The repairman claims loose wires are causing the electronics in the appliance to act up. (ie its the electricians fault).


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## Rudeboy (Oct 6, 2009)

Shoulda just blamed it on the plumber.


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## Toronto Sparky (Apr 12, 2009)

My less than a year old microwave stopped cooking.. A $4.00 (door interlock) micro switch fixed it


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## Shockdoc (Mar 4, 2010)

Repaiarman huh ? I had one tell a dentist customer of mine he needed a dedicated outlet for a shaker, so on speaker phone I asked him to read the info on the nameplate since he blamed the previous units failure on not getting enough power. It was quite humorous when the whole party heard him read, "1.0 amps @ 120 volts" . They should stick to replacing faulty elements and switches within the appliance and keep their electrical advice to themselves.


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