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PVM1870SM3SS General Electric Microwave - Instructions

All Instructions for the PVM1870SM3SS
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Microwave completely stopped working
Turned out the issue was easily solved by replacing a single, inexpensive fuse.

First off, UNPLUG THE MICROWAVE.

The fuse is located under the plastic grill at the top of the microwave. It's held on by two screws. Once you've removed the screws and taken off the plastic grill, you go to the right side of the microwave and remove another screw that holds a small metal grill in place. Removing the small metal grill is probably the toughest part of this repair. You kind of have to rock it back and forth a bit to get it to release. Once that's off, you can get to the fuse. I removed the burnt out one with a pair of needle nose pliers. I also put a small piece of cardboard under the fuse when I did this so I didn't accidentally drop it into the innards of the microwave. I did the same thing when I replaced the new fuse. I then plugged the appliance back in and made sure it worked. Once that was confirmed, I replaced both grills.
Parts Used:
FUSE
  • Kim from Cliffside Park, NJ
  • Difficulty Level:
    Really Easy
  • Total Repair Time:
    15 - 30 mins
  • Tools:
    Screw drivers
959 of 1241 people found this instruction helpful.
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light worked, timer and control pad worked, but no turntable, no heat, no noises of any sort, just didn't start up
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.
Parts Used:
Secondary Door Switch
  • Marla from Arlington, TX
  • Difficulty Level:
    Easy
  • Total Repair Time:
    Less than 15 mins
  • Tools:
    Screw drivers
314 of 374 people found this instruction helpful.
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Carousel tray drive coupler broke
This coupler has a tab on it that keeps you from being able to push it straight down onto the motor from the inside of the microwave.
Turn off the breaker to the microwave or unplug it. Remove five screws that hold the bottom cover of the microwave. The cover will hinge down and hang on tabs at the back.
Unplug the wire connector on the drive motor by pulling it straight off. Remove one screw that locks the drive motor in place. Turn the motor slightly to unlatch it from its mounting tabs.
Place the new coupler into the opening inside the microwave. While holding/turning the coupling with one hand, insert the motor shaft into the coupling. It will only fit one way. Press the motor and coupling together until the motor can be latched into its mounting tabs. Secure motor with screw and install bottom cover.
Parts Used:
Glass Turntable Coupler
  • BRIAN from PERRY, OK
  • Difficulty Level:
    Easy
  • Total Repair Time:
    Less than 15 mins
  • Tools:
    Screw drivers
59 of 73 people found this instruction helpful.
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Not working as far as heating or cooking
Replaced High Voltage Diode. Very carfully due to the extream danger of a electrical shock.
Parts Used:
Diode
  • Theodore from Medical Lake, WA
  • Difficulty Level:
    Really Easy
  • Total Repair Time:
    Less than 15 mins
  • Tools:
    Screw drivers
151 of 361 people found this instruction helpful.
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Microwave Fan Turned on When Door Was Opened
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.
Parts Used:
Secondary Door Switch
  • Bishop from Coupland, TX
  • Difficulty Level:
    Easy
  • Total Repair Time:
    30 - 60 mins
  • Tools:
    Screw drivers
48 of 59 people found this instruction helpful.
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All electircal functions worked except the heating mechanism
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.
Parts Used:
Secondary Door Switch
  • Chad from Firestone, CO
  • Difficulty Level:
    Easy
  • Total Repair Time:
    15 - 30 mins
  • Tools:
    Screw drivers
48 of 63 people found this instruction helpful.
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Microwave wouldn't turn on
I found the thermostat & one connection burnt... replaced the thermostat and replaced a wire terminal. I checked the door switches and found the one with burnt connections faulty... the switch was constantly closed, even when it was supposed to be switched open. Replaced the switch and the thermostat, and the microwave now works like new. If the thermostat goes bad again, I'll replace the magnetron next time.
Parts Used:
Thermostat Cut-Out Secondary Door Switch
  • Gary from West Mifflin, PA
  • Difficulty Level:
    Easy
  • Total Repair Time:
    30 - 60 mins
  • Tools:
    Screw drivers
51 of 77 people found this instruction helpful.
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Turntable won't move, no heat -but light and fan ok.
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.
Parts Used:
Secondary Door Switch
  • Sean from San Jose, CA
  • Difficulty Level:
    A Bit Difficult
  • Total Repair Time:
    15 - 30 mins
  • Tools:
    Screw drivers
41 of 51 people found this instruction helpful.
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I diagnosed the problem incorrectly: based on a previous repair.
The old fuse is perfectly good. The new ones arrived within a day.
Parts Used:
FUSE
  • Ralph from Brandon, FL
  • Difficulty Level:
    Easy
  • Total Repair Time:
    Less than 15 mins
  • Tools:
    Pliers, Screw drivers
64 of 136 people found this instruction helpful.
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No heat in the microwave
We purchased our Microhood oven about 4 years ago along with the extended warranty package offered thru home depot. Within one year, the problems began. Each year the secondary switch would go bad rendering the microwave useless. If you have 3 small children like we do, you tend to use it a lot. We sure take the microwave for granted.

Each time G.E. would fix the problem at no charge. Ths time - the warranty had expired and GE wanted to charge us $80.00 for service call plus parts and labor. We estimated the cost to run at least $150.00 or more.

To top it all off, GE was going to have a service tech avail for over 2 weeks. This is poor customer service and completely unaccceptable.

Because this was a recurring problem, I figured it was the same part that had being going bad since we purchased the appliance. I decided to order the part "secondary switch" myself and attempt to fix the microwave on my own.

I ordered the part last Tuesday, the part arrived last Friday. Within 10 minutes I had the microwave apart, replaced the part and had the microwave back in working order.

PartSelect saved me over $100.00.

We are very satified with PartsSelect, I would recommend them to anyone
Parts Used:
Secondary Door Switch
  • Douglas from Mechanicsburg, PA
  • Difficulty Level:
    Really Easy
  • Total Repair Time:
    Less than 15 mins
  • Tools:
    Screw drivers
30 of 38 people found this instruction helpful.
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Everything worked on the microwave, except it would not heat anything.
The microwave had been working fine until one day when the timer counted down but the heating motor (or whatever you call it) would not come on. So the timer would count down but nothing inside would get hot. I did not know what it was for sure but decided to take it apart and look. Once I had the control panal off, I found three small wired switches inside. One of these switches appeared to have shorted out. So I searched online and found Partselect.com. I found a matching switch , ordered it (arrived in couple days), put it in, and VOILA it works! Thanks Partselect.com.
Parts Used:
Secondary Door Switch
  • Randy from Ottawa, IL
  • Difficulty Level:
    Easy
  • Total Repair Time:
    15 - 30 mins
  • Tools:
    Screw drivers
27 of 34 people found this instruction helpful.
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appliance stopped working -- no readout on screen
1. turned off electricity -- unplugged the unit 2. removed 3 screws on top of top vent, removed vent screen then I located the little white cylindrical fuse and popped it out with a table knife. Then I popped in the new fuse. Replaced the vent screen and screws -- plugged in the appliance and it is working again.
Parts Used:
FUSE
  • Carolyn from ARMONK, NY
  • Difficulty Level:
    Easy
  • Total Repair Time:
    30 - 60 mins
  • Tools:
    Screw drivers
23 of 23 people found this instruction helpful.
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When opening door, the microwave would turn on
I've been fixing and taking things apart since I was a kid. I hoped that it was a bad switch in the door. Got out my test meter and check the 3 different switches. All 3 tested good, but one was a bit hit and miss. It would work if the microwave was on its side and wouldn't when it was set flat. I found the switch online and installed it. Took care of the problem.It was a whole lot cheaper than buying a new microwave. Thanks! Bill Brown, Fridley, MN
Parts Used:
Secondary Door Switch
  • William from Fridley, MN
  • Difficulty Level:
    Easy
  • Total Repair Time:
    Less than 15 mins
  • Tools:
    Screw drivers
23 of 29 people found this instruction helpful.
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tray broke
replace tray
Parts Used:
Glass Cooking Tray
  • martin from the villages, FL
  • Difficulty Level:
    Really Easy
  • Total Repair Time:
    Less than 15 mins
24 of 33 people found this instruction helpful.
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The Halogen surface bulbs burned out on my over-the-stove microwave..
Extremely easy. Less then 10 minutes tops.
Remove the screw holding the cover to the lights.
Remove the burned out bulb(s) (they may give a little resistance).
Carefully line up the holes for the prongs on the bulbs.
Insert the prongs firmly but gently using the styrofoam holders the bulb(s) was/were shipped in so as not to touch the bulb(s) with your fingers.
Replace the screw to the light cover.
Turn on the lights and give yourself a pat on the back.
Parts Used:
Halogen Light Bulb
  • Eddy from LAKELAND, FL
  • Difficulty Level:
    Really Easy
  • Total Repair Time:
    Less than 15 mins
  • Tools:
    Screw drivers
19 of 23 people found this instruction helpful.
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All Instructions for the PVM1870SM3SS
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