Oven Lamp

Remove shroud . Two black philips head screws on side, and several on the back side. The two bottom screws on the back are special screws that a philips,straight slot, or hex screwdriver will not remove. I took a dremel tool with a thin metal grinding disc and created a straight slot through the centr of the two bottom screws. This allowed their removal with a straight slot screwdriver. Slide the cover straight back and off. The bulb is located on the top of the microwave connected with one screw. Replaced the bulb. It has two prongs that fit into the holder. Replace screw. Slide cover back on. It slides into retaining splines on 3 sides. Replace screws, and you're in business.

First went to Sears & got 'Security Torx' screw driver set for 8.99. Got set of 6 drivers that will fit on drill , this is what will open bottom 2 screws on rear of Microwave. The other screws on the microwave are Phillips head screws.
Then Unplug Unit put on firm surface and go to rear & side of unit & take off only screws on the perimeter of the case. Then take off screws on side of case. (only 1 side has screws) Then make sure you discharge your static electricity by touching some metal or using a grounding wire device (most of us Computer Tech's have). Then gently slide case off from under front tabs. Looking at the right side of the Microwave (front facing) you will see a plug sitting up with two screws. You will not see the bulb as it is inserted upside down in a cover which shields it. The bulb will have a 2 wire attachment shielded by a electric cable attachment. If you don't see it immediately, refer to the schematic under your case or refer to the diagram on this web site carefully. The bulb is there in plain view. After removing the two screws and re- attaching the power cable to the bulb. Re slide on the case cover and replace the screws. I kept my security Torx screws in place in case I ever need to go to a repair person for more serious service then replacing a bulb.

The cabinet must be removed. Lamp is not accessable from inside the oven. They tried to make it difficult by putting two Torx screws in the back. All the others are Phillips head.

Remove the cabinet screws then slide the cabinet off toward the back of the unit. Lamp is on the upper left looking at the unit from the back. The oval lamp base is secured by one Phillips screw. The connector was slightly difficult to remove from the lamp base but it came loose by spreading the plastic connector with a small screwdriver. Needlenose pliers would probably work.

Install the new lamp, replace the cabinet and it's done.

GE Profile Microwave Oven model JE1590. This microwave does not have an easy to replace bulb location and requires this custom bulb replacement part. The microwave cover must be removed to access the bulb replacement location. There are two black phillips screws on the right side of the microwave which must be removed and an additional 5 silver screws on the back. 2 of these screws are philips and 3 are tamper resistant torx, size TR20. If you do not have a TR20 you can either purchase an inexpensive bit set (recommended) or modify the screw heads with a Dremel (type) tool to allow them to be removed with a flat head screw driver. Once all the screws are removed, the oven cover will slide back and lift off. The bulb is located on the top, front, right side of microwave. There is a single philips head screw (pointing down) holding the bulb assembly in place. Remove the screw and the assembly lifts up. Gently slide the bulb connectors aways from the wires and replace with the new bulb. I recommend you wait to remove the old bulb until you have the replacement so you can see how the replacement will fit.

Replacing the lamp is a no brainer. Getting to it is another story. The company clearly does not want people mucking around inside the case. The two lower rear screws securing the case cover are none tamper screws requiring some kind of special driver. Plus they are hardened metal. Lacking the special tool I had to chisel them out. Add to that the fact that the case and cover are very soft metal and you can imaging the mess I had on my hands. Luckily in the aftermath I was able to straighten every thing out during reassembly and the damage does not show too much. Beware, this is not as easy a job as you might think.

Traced problem to the door primary interlock microswitch.By the way this is the second time this switch has failed. Switch appears to fail after about 3 years. Replacing the lamp was bear.I have the SCA2000BCC03 advantium. It is almost impossible to replace the interior light. After removing from wall remove the case and the control panel disconnecting all of the wires. Gentley pull cavity outward giving you enough room to get an offset philips screwdriver on the single screw retaining the lamp. Its a bear but its possible to do and probably saves you $150 service charge. GE must have assembled the bulb unit before placing it into the unit. There is no simple way to replace the bulb. Maybe new units have easier access. My is 12 years old.

I found the right part the first time on PartSelect.

M/W mounted in wall so the hardest part was dismounting it and remounting it. That involved removing the frame, removing the top and bottom brackets, unplugging the unit and sliding it out. The repair was just removing about 10 sheet metal screws that held the metal case on and then unplugging the wires to the lamp and removing one screw that held the lamp in. That whole process in reverse puts it all back together.

Now the lamp works great when the M/W is in use or when the door is open. However, since it was a "Me" operation, I now have another problem. When the M/W is in use it is really quiet like maybe there is a fan not working. And after a medium to long use, the whole thing blacks out and cannot be used again until it all cools down. Once the display comes back on, you have to reset the clock and it's ready to go for the next usage.

I guess I either unhooked something or shorted something when I had the case open. Obviously I'll be taking it apart again soon.

I needed to remove the front fascia plate and remove the microwave from the cabinet. Then I had to remove the microwave cover. This entailed some difficulty because GE used special screw heads to discourage people from fixing their own appliances. Then, I had to find the bulb fixture and that also was difficult and not obvious.

Removed back screws, pulled cabinet off from the rear, unplugged lamp on upper right side in front reattached two wires, replaced 1 screw to hold lamp in place, reinstalled cabinet and done.

Actually followed prior instructions on your site. Spot on.