MVH150E (P1323201M) Amana Microwave - Instructions

change light bulbs

I mistakenly thought I had to remove the microwave to get to the back, not so. I would have had access to what I needed to unscrew; but I have to admit the hassle of taking it down and putting it back equals having to work on it attached to the shelf-your call on how you do this. I unscrewed the front top to remove the vent piece that is across the top front of the microwave. This will reveal the control panel screw. (While you have the vent removed you might want to clean the vent and the exposed filter.) carefully lift and pull out control panel. I unplugged a piece as the wires were tied tight. It will not completely detach, so carefully tip it back from exposed insides. The fuse is not clear but white with silver ends so look in upper right for it. I popped it out and replaced it. Replugged the wired part to cover and carefully fit tabs in and slide down to secre. Replace screw, replace vent piece and secure screws on top of microwave. I plugged it in to test before putting it back above my stove.

Removed 4 small star head screws from back of microwave, lifted body off, removed blown fuse and replaced with new one (found where cord enters). This model is stainless inside and out and I like it a lot. It is also sold by Daewoo and a few other manufacturers.

Finding the part was the most difficult as this is a very old microwave. I spoke to a really nice lady and we figured out that even though it was not the exact dimensions of my previous film that it would certainly fit since it was just a little bigger that what I had. Once I got it lined up correctly, it was really easy to put on after I removed the backing and took off the old film which wasn't difficult either.

I disconnected the power. Took off the front panel that was held together by two screws. Reviewed the schematic that was inside. Located the switches, saw which lead was burnt. Unscrewed the two screws that held the switch in place, cleaned the connector, and put the switch in and connectors back. Powered the device, tested for cooking/heating functionality. It worked, Closed the front panel

Really easy for a 75-year old female; just spent more time reading the online manual than actually installing the light bulbs to find out where to access the light bulbs.

Removed case,
Discharged HV capacitor and removed cooling fan.
Unscrewed ground end of HV diode and unplugged from HV capacitor.
Installed new diode by reversing the order. In my case, the problem was the magnetron was bad, so I replaced it as well.

Piece of cake. One screw to release the dropdown light diffuser. Just remember, the you're screwing the new bulb in from a reverse perspective. Also this site sends the correct part the first time.

We needed a phillips head screw driver to remove the single screw holding the light bulb cover in place.
Removing the old bulbs was a little work, because they had come loose from the sockets. We unplugged the microwave, so we could grip the sockets with a tool. I think my husband used a needle nose plier for this.
The new bulbs screwed in easily, and then we refastened the light bulb cover with the phillips head screw driver.

Unplug appliance. Remove total of 7 phillips screws from sides and front of bottom panel . Panel front drops down, remove one socket screw and socket. Now have access for lineman' s pliers to unscrew bulb base. Reinstall socket, replace bulb and 7 panel screws. Restore power.

screwed in new bulb

Opened Box and Replaced Part......No Problem!

Turn off power supply at breaker . Replace old bulb with new bulb .

I had to unmount the over-the-range microwave oven to be able to gain access to the interior of the oven. Complicating removal (and re-installation) was the fact that there is a "pot-filler" faucet installed directly underneath the oven. In retrospect, I should've removed the faucet before doing the repair, but "c'est la vie."

After I got the microwave down, removing the case was also "interesting." I get bonus points for the fact that the previous owner must've had to replace the same diode before - and then re-assembled the microwave case incorrectly - thereby adding to the confusion (BTW, the service manual that I found online said nothing about how to remove the oven's case).

To remove the case, undo all the screws holding it on, and then rotate the case upwards from the back while also pulling the case backwards. There are crimped folds on the inside of the case that mate with the back edges of the front of the oven's chassis, and these folds have to be unclipped from the chassis in order to remove the case.

Replacing the diode itself was the easiest part of the job. The two connectors on the diode are of different types, making it impossible to install the diode with the wrong polarity.

BTW, the diode that had failed was not an OEM diode; I suspect it was a generic component that had been installed by a repairman sometime between 2004-2008 (when our home's original owners still owned the home). On the other hand, the new diode from PartSelect is an OEM part (it came packaged in a sealed Whirlpool bag).

The fact that the oven had stopped heating indicated that it was either the high-voltage diode or the magnetron that had failed. Since a replacement diode costs ~ 1/10th as much as a replacement magnetron, I figured it made sense to replace the cheaper part first. Fortunately, this fixed the problem.

One last thing: I tried testing both the old and new diodes for conductivity and polarity using my volt-ohm meter (VOM), but I was unable to get either diode to "turn on," even though my VOM is powered by a 9-v battery, and I used the 2-Mohm range setting. I guess the test voltage of my el-cheapo VOM isn't high enough to exceed the diode's threshold voltage, (even though I have successfully used this same VOM to test low-voltage diodes).

removed a dozen screws-discarded large cap-replaced diode-replaced a dozen screws(took longer to replace them than remove for some unknown reason). Microwave now works(wife happy).