JVM250WL01 General Electric Microwave - Instructions

I removed both screws to the broken handle, removed the handle, used pliers to remove a piece of broken handle remaining in the door, and installed the new handle with two screws.

Remove two phillips head screws from inside the door, position replacement handle, insert two screws into new handle assembly.

Noted on partselect.com that someone else with this problem, found it to be secondary door switch. There are three door switches in this model, but online info noted that one of the three might feel "soft" (in my case, one switch clicked in a rather "jiggly" way, the other two were strong decisive clicks.) To access the door switches on this model was the only difficult part. First use a torx bit to remove the two torx screws below the latches inside the microwave. This frees the latching part inside, that holds the door switches, which you will remove after you take off the control panel. The top grill has to come off before you can remove the door panel. Remove the screws above the grill, on the microwave top cover, The grill on this model is covered with a panel that moves out when it vents. After removing the two top screws, the covered grill vent slides left to remove. Be careful, as the sliding tabs are plastic. Wiggle and jiggle it, to slip it off. Below the removed grill, is a small metal grill with one screw in lower center. Remove that screw, and wiggle that out. You'll then see the one screw that holds on the control panel. Remove this screw, and lift the control panel up to remove. Again, go slowly and gently, as the bottom tabs holding the control panel in, are also plastic and easily broken. Lay the control panel on something, (I used the coffee maker) and pull out the wire bundles tucked on the left, that are attached to the latching panel. Wiggle the latching panel gently to lift it up off of it's plastic tabs and pull it out towards you, so you can see the three door switches. Each switch (part number WB24X829) has a little black switch on it. Feel each switch with either your finger, or a screwdriver to see which one doesn't "click" strongly. The weak one is the one you will replace. The door switches are fitted into a tab, and plugged into their wires. Remove the defective switch, pull out the wires, and replace it with the new switch, plugging back the wires, and slipping it back into it's plastic tabs. Then put everything back together in reverse order. The entire job took me fifteen minutes EXCEPT for figuring out how to slide off the upper grill, which I have told you. A repairman would have cost $150, the part was $18. AND, there's a good chance, the other two switches will get "used up" in the next year or so as well, so I'll be ready next time. Thank you, Partselect, why work all day, to make money, only to give it to somebody else, for fifteen minutes of work. All I needed was the knowledge.

Above the stove mounted microwave. I dropped the lens cover from under the bulb and tried to remove the bulb. The bulb separated from the base. I tried to remove the base with a pliers and the lamp socket broke. I ordered the parts and dropped the bottom cover of the unit down (5 screws). Removed 1 screww from the lamp socket, unplugged the wires and took it out. Simply replaced socket, fastened bottom cover of microwave, installed new bulb and closed lens cover.

Builtin Microwave

Ordered new handle through PartSelect and was confident it would fit as PartSelect also gave the length of the new hande (10 in.). Installed easily in a matter of a few minutes using the old screws.

I used a Phillipshead screwdriver to remove two screws and then attached the new handle. I was happy to find the exact part that I needed, and the delivery was quick. Perfect!

At first I tried to use pliers to unscrew the base,very uncomfortable working position,upside down and backwards(the microwave is installed over the range top)very limited space for your body and arms to manuver and you really cant see the base,all of this took place after the breaker was turned off ofcourse,finally figured out that you can drop the entire bottom housing of the microwave by unscrewing 6 screws and the light sockets are easily accessable once you lower it,take out 1 retaining screw ,remove the entire socket and unscrewed the broken base and replaced the bulbs,I said bulbs,there is no sense in having to replace another bulb in who knows how long since only one had burned out but they were both the same age

Unscrewed the two screws inside the Microwave Door and set them aside. Tossed the broken handle and the bits of broken plastic still lodged in the door. Popped the new handle in place, screwed the screws into place, tightened them just enough, and started cooking dinner—quick-n-easy. Way better to DIY than hassle with scheduling a Repair Guy.

It took a while to figure out how to do it. There were no instructions with the parts. The handle was easy - remove two screws, remove old handle, then screw the new handle in place. The door frame was not too hard once I tried several things and finally figured out how to get the old one off. I printed out a parts diagram but it was little help. I had to carefully pry the old frame loose around the edges. There were several places that it was snapped into the door but you couldn't tell just by looking at it. As soon as it came loose the door glass fell out and I barely caught it before it hit the floor. Then I had to figure out how to line up the frame properly while holding the glass in it's proper position. It took several tries to get it right. Then I found that there was a cover piece for the bottom that I should have ordered but it wasn't clear from the parts diagram. I pried the one off the old door frame and used it but it's bent and needs to be replaced - it's not meant to be re-used. They should include the cover piece with the frame. And a set of installation instructions and/or diagram would have helped a lot.

Took off the old handle and attached the new one.
I was a little concerned about it being the right size. However with the graph in inches. I could tell it was correct.

Unplugged the microwave first, then removed the screws that hold the cover in place. This gives easy access to the socket. Remove the screws that hold the socket in, unplug old socket, replace with new one and you are back in the light again.

A great place to start is to reveiw the posting from "Marla From Arlington TX" posted on 8-3-09. It provides an excellent description of the process that you will need to follow. The only additional thing that I would add is to check the contacts on the switches. In my case I found that all three of the switches had a small build-up of corrosion. I used sandpaper to clean the contacts. Because none of the switches had a "soft" click to them, it was hard to identify the bad one. I basically picked the worse looking one and then cleaned the contacts of the other two. I'm not sure if I actually even had a bad switch or if they all just needed cleaning. Whatever the case, it worked. I would suggest checking the contacts first. You may get away with not having to replace any of the switches. And in my case what makes me think that it may have just simply been dirty contacts is that the heating mechanism would engage every now and then. It wasn't dead 100 percent of the time. It's worth a try anyway.

To get to the switches you need to remove the metal cover/housing of the microwave, by first removing several screws that hold it in place, and then sliding the cover towards the back of the unit. You'll find the switches in some plastic holders above the door-open button, and it's its easy to see how the mechanism engages/disengages the switches when the door is opened and closed.

If it is not obvious which switch is bad, in our case the bad switch felt "soft" when we pressed the switch button with our fingers. A good switch has a firm "click" when pressed.

The switches are easy to replace - pop out the old switch (no tools required) and pull off the electrical connectors. Then pop in the new switch and reattach the connectors.

Remove the 2 Torx-15 screws at left of control panel. Work the control panel out by pulling slightly to the left first - it is engaged to the slotted holes to the right.

Remove the door's upper switch by lifting the tab and pulling out the switch carefully. To install the new switch, you may have to remove 2 philips screws holding the plastic assembly where the switches are mounted to the metal frame.

Diagrams on the website are misleading b/c the switch shown up on top of the other 2 switches is the switch w/ the NC (upper) terminal while you'll need the NO (lower) terminal for this repair (symptoms are: turntable won't move, no heat -but light and fan ok). I should have called before ordering the part (had to pay shipping twice)...

Once I got the right part, it works just like before.

After reading some of the comments that others wrote, I decided to order the light sockets along with the replacement bulbs. As predicted, the old light bulbs broke when I tried to remove them - the bulb separated from the base which was still screwed in the socket. After removing the screws that held the bottom panel, I was able to remove the socket assemblies with ease. After inspection of the old sockets, I was glad I ordered new sockets - the old sockets were burned in some spots and very brittle. The parts arrived within a day and a half after I ordered them, but when the parts arrived, one of the bulbs was broken (happened during shipping). I called the office phone number and talked to a really pleasant technician who refunded me the price of the broken bulb and placed an order for a replacement. That was the Wednesday evening before Thanksgiving Day. I got the replacement bulb yesterday (Tuesday) morning - still really quick considering the Thanksgiving holiday. All of the parts are installed and are working excellent. I am definately going to keep their WEBsite for future use, and I'll be letting my friends know about them. Thanks PartSelect, you've earned my business.