KEMS308 KitchenAid Microwave Oven Combo - Instructions

Easily removed the door from the oven by releasing clips attached to the door hinge -- very nicely engineered. Removed about 6 philips head screws to allow the door assembly to be taken apart for access to the glass. Lifted out the broken glass, cleaned the inside of the door, installed the new glass, reassembled the door (a two minute ... Read more project), and reattached the door to the oven. Cleaning the inside of the door took longer than the actual repair!

This built-in oven was slid out of it's space and set on a box. I removed the back cover with nut driver and located the safety overload device. removed nuts and used pliers to remove wires and replace them. The power must be off to do this repair.Replaced the cover and slid back into place. This could be a lot more difficult if your pow ... Read more er cord or gas line is not long enough to make it out of your wall space. Or of your oven is attached well to the frame.

Part No. PS11766760
Ignore the other repair comments on this page!!! The new replacement part can no longer be put into place as simply as the original bracket. This is a r3eplacement part with a modified design. Significant parts of the microwave (MW) must be dismantled in order to provide access for insertion of the new part. Th ... Read more is is confirmed by notes at other web sites which provide this part. My approach also required cutting/drilling holes into sheet metal panels.

Kitchenaid/Whirlpool must have realized that the original part is inherently weak at the point at which it is supported at the ceiling of the MW. The replacement part is a good option from a strength standpoint, but a horrible one for ease of insertion. The original is a single ceramic piece. The replacement part includes a metal clip which holds the top stem of the ceramic bracket from the top ("roof") side of the MW. Getting at the top of the MW cavity is the difficult part. One needs to pull the entire built in oven from its location and remove at least the control panel from the front of the unit.

It took me 3-4 hours one day to see how to install the replacement part. I failed since I unexpectedly found that there are two sheet metal panels above the MW cavity which need to be removed in order to access the slot through which the bracket stem must be inserted. Maybe somebody else can think of a way to remove the metal panels, but I could not do it so I put the MW back together again.

After this failure I considered trying to repair the original part again (this was the second time it had broken). The first repair broke when the conventional heating element was used in the MW. This option might again be an interim solution so I went back to trying to install the new replacement part.

This time it took over 3 hours to remove the control panel, several wiring units, a transformer, and several side and top sheet metal panels. Each removal step was preceded with a photograph of the item to be removed so that everything could be put back as they were originally located. After all of this work it was determined that the MW would have to virtually be totally dismantled in order to access the bracket slot at the top of the MW cavity. There were simply too many items on top of the sheet metal panels to allow for bending the panels up to access the necessary slot in the oven ceiling.

Fortunately, my wife asked why I didn't consider drilling through the existing sheet metal panels at the top of the MW. Had she suggested that earlier in the dismantling, it would have saved hours of work.

After reassembling the side panels I drilled access holes through the two sheet metal panels over the top of the MW oven. Certainly one needs to be careful in measuring the location for such holes. The holes were to be rectangular, developed by drilling multiple holes around the perimeters of the final "holes." The two sheet metal panels are about 3/4" apart and the lower panel is about 3/4" above the MW oven cavity. After drilling out the holes (about 1/2" x 1") I successfully found the desired slot in the oven ceiling. Then the drill cuttings needed to be cleaned out with a vacuum cleaner - including inside the MW oven.

Inserting the replacement part was not trivial. One needs to hold the ceramic part in the oven, with the heating element in its proper place on the bracket, and then simultaneously place the metal clip onto the stem which has been inserted through the slot at the top of the MW oven. Long tweezers are handy for putting the clip into place. Then the fun begins. Somehow the metal clip must be pushed down onto the ceramic stem. This is a trial and error task with various long blunt tools used to try and push the clip down while not pushing it off to the side. Somehow I got the clip onto the stem and the part was finally in place.

Another hour (+) to re-assemble the MW and push the oven back into the cabinet and the job was finally done.

btw, the only reason it was relatively easy to pull the oven out of the cabinet (and push it back in) was that we have two office chairs at home (without arms) which come up to about the right height for having the oven sit on the chairs. Adding some 2x4's on the seats of the chairs brought it to exactly the right height. The wheels on the chairs also helped. Given the weight of the oven, removing and replacing the oven unit is not a trivial task and one needs to be careful at all times.

There were several observations I made about the new replacement part which also "froze me in my tracks" early in this project. That is why I kept thinking of ways in which to repair the original part more effectively than I had done previously. The problem is that the ceramic section of the replacement part is not the same size as the original. It holds the heating element higher against the ceiling of the microwave and the horizontal section which holds the heating element is shor

Removed the oven door by following the straightforward instructions in the user's manual. Removed philips head screws to take the door assembly apart. Removed clips holding the two inner door glass plates, and the two plates. Removed the clamp holding the broken glass plate, then the glass and associated glass fragments. Then cleaned ... Read more and re-installed the three glass plates and their clamps in reverse order. Re-assembled the door and re-attached to the oven. Only cautionary note is to be careful when removing, handling and re-installing the various glass plates. Watch out for fragments from the broken plate; they can cut you and/or fall on the floor.

Important note: hinges are left and right do not mix them up or door will not re-assemble properly and you'll get to do it twice.

Steps I took:

Removed the oven door per the instructions in the oven operator manual. Removed several screws to release the interior steel liner.

Removing the steel liner was a ... Read more bit of a hassle, Had to manipulate it to get it loose but it eventually came away from the stainless steel exterior door panel.

Disassembled the interior glass layers, there are three. The glass you need to replace is the last layer, of course. removed and discarded the broken glass. Note: the interior glass is not secured by a bracket or screws, it is held in place by compression of the interior steel liner and a another liner that is inside the door assembly (you'll figure this out when you dis-assemble).

Another note: there is a fluffy material gasket between these two liners, use care when you disassemble or the fluffy gasket will turn into confetti.

Take the opportunity to clean all glass and parts of the accumulated oven grease.

Re-assembled door and re-installed...looks good.

Another note, getting the door back together requires a little patience because there are clamping overlaps of the steel liner to the SS exterior door panel. Be prepared to jockey things around a little and make sure all your screw holes are all lined up before you begin to button it up. Remember, hinges are left and right they are not interchangeable.

Removed and replaced above named parts, rewired.Be sure to tighten all nuts that secure wires. I believe this is what caused the problem.

Remove side deco strips to remove screws that hold to cabinet. Pull microwave out and set on saw horses (power cable should be long enough to do this). Remove screws to top cover and lift enough to remove all connectors from the front panel pcb. Remove grounding wires from next top lid. Remove connectors from transformer on rigt side and ... Read more the two connectionss at the rear fan assy. Remove top cover/vent assy. Remove the next top cover to get access to the light bulb assy. Use a cloth or kleenex while handling the new bulb as you replace it. The clip thta holds the bulb is easily released and use reverse procedure when assembling. For springs those can be replaced without removing the microwave from the cabinet. Remove the 2 screws that hold the door together accessed from the inside of the door at top. Pull door up to release from the clip at the bottom. Remove the broken spring and replace with new one. Use a screwdriver to help twist the torsion spring to clip into place. Replace door assy in reverse order.

Turned power to oven off. Removed trim screws and trim. Removed screws that anchored oven in cabinet. Removed oven from cabinet. Removed back panel, tested thermal fuse. Determined it was defective, ordered new part and reversed procedures above to reinstall.

This was easy and I'm glad I didn't go to the trouble and expense of hiring an appliance repair person. I'm reasonably handy, but I really have no experience in this kind of repair. I'd like to mention that the part I ordered arrived in just two days and it was exactly the right part, so I was very pleased in that regard.

Aft ... Read more er turning off the circuit to the wall oven and confirming that the power was off, I had to remove the oven from the wall in order to access the wires and connections in the back. Normally, this wouldn't have been necessary because usually the broiler element can be disconnected from the clasps that connect it to the electric source by simply unscrewing the defective element from the roof of the oven, pulling gently on the connection ends from inside the oven cavity in order to "pull out" an inch or two of the electric source wires and the metal clasps that accept the "male" connecting ends of the broiler element. Once the a bit of the wire and the metal connecting clasps are exposed and able to be held with pliers, the element can be disconnected from the connector clasps by simply pulling on the prongs of the element (hard).

But in my case, one of the metal connecting clasp for one of the wires had melted, presumably when the element burned out, and that clasp could only be accessed and replaced from the back of the oven. Also, I would imagine that the wires and clasps could "slip" back behind the unit when they're disconnected if that's not done carefully. However, removing the wall oven was pretty easy for me -- even as a one-person job. I just put a tall table in front of it and slid it out so that it rested on the table.

If you have to replace a metal connector clasp, they're inexpensive and available in the electrical departments of hardware/home stores.

In my case, there's a metal panel at the back of the oven that had to be unscrewed and removed so that I could access the areas where the electrical source wires connect through the back wall of the oven to the broiler element. This was just a matter of removing a few screws and then removing the metal panel.

Once the metal panel at the back of the oven was removed, I was able to replace the melted connection clasp by using a wire cutter/stripper and then pliers to secure the clasp on the end of the exposed wired by deforming the clamp with the pliers. Once that was done, I simply removed the screws that held the broiler element to the top of the oven cavity, disconnected the remaining three clasps that connect the element to the source wires (the fourth clasp was the one that had melted and that I'd replaced), removed the defective element, inserted the four "male" prongs of the broiler into the four clasps that connect them to the source wires, replaced the metal panel at the back of the oven, screwed the new element back into the top of the oven, slid the oven back into the wall cavity, turned the circuit back on, crossed my fingers, and everything worked like a charm.

I saved a money, but more importantly (for me) I saved a lot of time that I would have had to have spent waiting around for a repair person.

After popping the last few kernals of popcorn, we hear a different kind of pop sound come from our microwave oven. When we looking inside, we found that the glass turntable had broken unevenly in half. Although we didn't understand why it had happned, we did know we'd be without the use of the microwave without a new one. After less th ... Read more an 10 minutes surfing online, I had found the correct part on PartSelect.com and had arranged to have it shipped to me by speedy delivery. Once it arrived, I just popped the new turntable into the microwave and used the box to dispose of the broken one. It could not have been easier and it saved me the cost of a service call and likely further delay.

Safety first , I shut off the circuit breaker . I removed the racks from inside the wall oven . I removed the the wall oven from the niche .Then removed the three sheet metal panels in the rear of the oven exposing the mounting screws that hold the blower down .I removed the wires from the blower motor and then the blower assembly ,then I ... Read more removed the small duct affixed to the blower assembly by a single sheet metal screw and transferred it to the new blower assembly . I installed the adhesive backed foam strip that is a vibration dampener and reassembled in reverse order.Once the over was returned to its original position in the wall mounting I turned the breakers back on and tested the oven ...AAAAAAAAA++++++++++++ To be fair i must admit that I am not a novice at this 15 years of my working career revolved around HVAC and appliance repair ,still however a novice that is mechanically inclined can perform the same task in about 70 to 80 minutes as opposed to my 35 . That is all there is to it.

Unfortunately, you must replace the whole door. It was only a matter of removing 6 screws but sliding the door back on was a little tricky. Still, it beat calling a repair man and the item came in 3 business days. The part fit exactly right.

There are two lights in this model oven. The glass will open by pulling outward on the near end. Since these are halogen bulbs I used a clean cloth to hold the bulb while replacing. Bulbs are expensive especially when purchased from Kitchen Aid dealer. I got two bulbs from PartsSelect delivered in two days for considerably less.

My unit is a wall mount/cabinet/built-in model. The repair is actually fairly simple once you determine that the actual microwave is just a component of the entire unit, and that it (the microwave) can be easily removed from the unit. I did not figure this out until after I removed the entire unit (disconnect the power supply, lift the ... Read more entire bulky, heavy unit out of the cramped space in the cabinet, etc). Once I got it out I figured out how easy it is to remove the actual oven - a couple of screws, literally. The unit is a bit bulky, but not particularly heavy and is quite manageable. I did this entire process alone.

I got the oven out, rolled it on it's side and found the plate to access the motor. The plate is located on the bottom/underside of the unit. The plate is nothing more than a section of the underside of the metal housing that has been cut-out as an access point. This "cut-out" is not complete - that is, not completely cut out so as to all the plate to stay in place without the need for screws, etc, until you actually have to use it. I used a pair of dykes to cut the couple of points still connecting this plate, removed the two phillips screws to remove the motor, disconnected the two wires connected, then reversed to complete the repair. You then flip the cut-out plate over/rotate it, and some screw holes line up. Find a couple of small screws, and re-attach the plate to cover the motor.

The actual fix is really easy, again, once you figure out the simple way to remove the oven. I am an idiot, so you will probably find this much easier. I could probably do this repair now, after my experience, in less than 30 minutes (probably less than 15 minutes). I probably save a couple hundred $ by doing it myself so was well worth the time to do it. Good luck.

Removed a screw and clip to remove the lens and replaced bulb. Then replaced clip and screw. Done.