PEB159CDN1WW General Electric Microwave - Instructions

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.

Replaced

1) Removed 4 screws securing the microwave to the cabinet.2) Slid microwave out, unplugged and placed on a work surface that allowed lower trim to hang over. 3a) Removed two screws and removed the cover on top of the oven. 3b) Unplugged high voltage plug from Magnatron. 4) Removed wires from overtemp fuse mounted to Magnatron. 5) Removed the four screws securing the Magnatron to the oven. 6) Removed Manatron. It's a tight fit, but can be done without removing anything else. 7) Replaced Magnatron. This is where I needed the magnetic part retrieval tool. The nature of a Magnatron is the use of strong magnets surrounding the tube. Getting the four screws back into place wasn't possible with just a normal magnetic screwdriver tip. I used the retrieval tool to position the screws back in place. Be sure to not initially tighten any screw completely, until they can be evenly tightened. This ensures correct compression/seating of the shielding material near the neck of the tube. 8) Reverse removal steps. Plugged in and tested microwave function on a cup of tap water. 9) Reinstated in cabinet and got a big thank you kiss from the wife!

One small Phillips screwdriver and one fuse puller (I used cord). Unplug unit. Remove the two screws on the vent face plate. Remove the one screw on the panel assembly. Gently let hang. Pull the fuse located on the upper left wall. Replace fuse. Reassemble.

unplugged power cable / unhooked front vent / unscrew the monitor panel / slide up to dislodge / take the fuse out and put in the new one in / fuse is located right in front of monitor panel once its open might be covered by wirings / you can unpin the cables from the panel to make it easier for you just make sure to put it back properly or you can have somebody hold the panel for you. Installing the fuse is easy waiting for the parts is crazy......

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 found the right part the first time on PartSelect.

Symptom: Terrible sparking coming from the right side of the microwave even with nothing in the microwave. The part that was behind the cover was the business end of what I learned was the magnetron,

Repair process: Without appliance repair experience I went onto Google and searched for parts for my model PEB1590DM2WW. I was able to find a great parts schematic on partselect.com. At first I ordered a magnetron and while waiting for the parts to arrive I also learned that the capacitor can also fail easily as described in the other install feedback on the partsselect website. So I ordered a capacitor just in case. These convection microwaves are around $600 new so a $80 in parts is not out of line for 8 years of service.
I installed the magnetron first and turned it on. sparking immediately continued so I quickly shut the unit off. After replacing the capacitor and letting it charge for several minutes before trying to start the microwave cycle was the issue. I choose to leave the replaced magnetron as the original unit was discolored and felt the replacement was inexpensive insurance. I also learned that if the wave guide (which is a plastic/metallic composite material) that covers the opening to the magnetron is burnt or has metal melted to it as mine did it will act similar to the microwave having metal inside the enclosure and will continue to spark and basically melt the wave guide further. Replacing the wave guide was very easy as well.

I am very thankful for the knowledge base and support available from Partselect.com as they made this repair possible on my own. Thank you partselect.com

I removed the main cover ( torx security bit required) and tested the magnetron, capacitor, diode and door interlock switches according to instructions found on the internet. The capacitor and diode tested good but the magnetron looked burnt and corroded on the tip. The magnetron I received was an exact replacement for the original. It was easy to replace the magnetron which arrived in 2 days standard shipping. I also cleaned the fan while I had access to the inside area. Hoping to get another 18 years use from the microwave!

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.

Check with Digital meter all connections.Find a Thermostat open loop.This thermostat is near the Megatron .

I just matched the prong in the turntable hole and coupler fit into the hole perfectly. All The Best.

The tray came within 5 days and I simply took it out of its well-packaged box and slipped it into my microwave. It is working just like new. I can't thank you all for being so punctual and reliable. better than having to buy a brand new microwave.

The burned remnant of the coupler was a bit difficult to remove. I did so with a pliers and also used the pliers to clear out some burned fragments of the coupler. With a flashlight I determined that the slot for the coupler was now clear. I matched the configuration of the slot with that of the new coupler and it slid immediately into place with no difficulty whatever.

I am so glad I found this web site. I ordered the shelf and now I can use my microwave as a convection oven.
The ordering was simple and the delivery was quick. Thank you so much partselect.com