# Microwave turns itself off during cooking cycle



## KarenLK (Aug 19, 2008)

Last night this happened for the second time. I was cooking Rice-a-Roni, when all of a sudden the thing went dead -- no power at all. The rice was nearly done, but not quite. I went to check to see if a circuit breaker had tripped, but no.
We went ahead and ate the not-quite-done rice, and all of a sudden I heard the microwave make a clicking sound, and it was alive again.
What happened???


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## isisdave (Aug 19, 2008)

I think it overheated and shut itself off for safety. After it cooled, the thermal switch reset itself.  My whole-house fan has taken to doing this recently.  It'll run for two hours, shut itself off for three minutes, and start back up.

Or it's the aliens.


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## jlr10 (Aug 19, 2008)

I had this happen to my microwave and it was caused by something falling against the vent.  Once I saw that and cleared the vent to get air again it worked fine.


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## borntotravel (Aug 19, 2008)

I would get it checked or replace it, I don't trust microwaves anymore.  We had a nice GE over the range microwave that was only 5 years old that caught on fire on the inside while it was on reheat for 60 seconds.  I'm glad I was standing right in front of it.  There was no metal inside, it just caught fire from inside wall - scarey!  Didn't have any problems before and I don't know why it happened, but it sure made me thankful that it was me it happened to and not my 10 yr old daughter!


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## grest (Aug 20, 2008)

mischievous spirits...??
Connie


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## Don (Aug 21, 2008)

I agree with isisdave.  Our over the range MW will cut out if we try to pop two bags of popcorn without a cooling off period.  It will cook for a longer time (no shut offs yet) if we are cooking other things.
Our over the range MW does not have an exhaust fan like our previous free standing ones did, so it tends to run hotter in the chamber.  If yours is over the range, you might try running the stove fans.  They will suck a little of the heat out of the MW cooking chamber.


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## KarenLK (Sep 3, 2008)

It did it again last night. I was cooking packaged AuGratin potatoes, and there was a lot of steam. I think the other time it was Rice-a-Roni...same thing, lots of steam.


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## Don (Sep 4, 2008)

And it comes back on after five to ten minutes, right?  Sounds like the over temperature sensor is taking it out.


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