Need some help with our Panasonic Inverter NN-SD681S. Very light use and in perfect condition except that it suddenly started shutting off after 2 seconds. All other functions are fine (lights/power fine, timer works, etc) After it turns off, power is still on, just goes back to the main "menu"
When I hold the door in tight and a minuscule bit "up" (maybe 1/16 of an inch movement, literally the tiniest visible amount) it works perfectly and does not shut down. The second I let go of the door it shuts off . The door closes and secures normally, but I guess is off by a tiny bit that makes the difference. Googling and looking on this site I see this likely means there is a door latch issue, or possibly the magnetron.
Is this accurate? If so, what exactly do I need to fix/replace and is safe to do? Wasn't sure if it's just securing/moving an internal part or actually replacing something. DH has some electrical experience so as long as nothing will blow up, he can probably do it.
Best Answer
This is indeed a door latch issue; however, you're best off referring this to a microwave oven technician (they exist, although much of their business comes from foodservice not residential). Microwave ovens contain a dangerous HV transformer and capacitor: the transformer will supply several kilovolts at several hundred mA, and the capacitor is well over a microfarad. Furthermore, the door latch interlock is a critical safety system on a microwave oven -- if it fails or is bypassed, you can get into a situation where the microwave tries to start cooking you as well as whatever food you put inside!