Microwave turns on when door opens

Microwave turns on when door opens. A microwave oven is a nifty appliance in today’s kitchen. Most of the food items are required to pass through the microwave before eating.

But the malfunctioning of the microwave could be an unpleasant situation. For example, you may face the issue of tuning on your microwave when the door is open.

So, it must be unfavorable if turns on with an open door without hitting the start or timer button.

In this article, we will discuss why the microwave oven turns on when the door opens and how to fix it. Let’s get started.

Turning on a microwave oven while the door open prompts towards different reason. There might be an issue with the door interlock switch in the door latch.

Or it may be an error in the firmware or pressed interlock switches or electrical components. These issues may result in running the microwave oven.

It would be best to fix it before using it again because the radiation may get out of the oven and hurt you.

Inspect The Issue

In most microwave ovens, it assumes as a normal thing that the oven turns on the lights when you open the door. That is not harmful as well as not an issue.

That is a built-in feature to facilitate the users with lights to look inner side of the oven while placing food in it. In that case, it turns on lights but doesn’t generate heating. So, not harmful.

But, if something happens, like when you open the door, the lights turn on, and the dish or plate inside the oven starts moving in a circular motion with the fan turned on. It must indicate an issue.

You may also check whether it is just moving or generating radiation. It will help you to take safety measures while tackling the microwave.

So the only thing you may need to do is place a glass of water. Don’t close the door fully and wait for 15 seconds. After that, check the temperature of the water and get an idea of whether it is developing heat or not.

After inspecting the issue, you may start to know the reasons and fix the issue by following the instructions below.

Microwave Door Switches

A faulty door switch is a primary issue with turning on the oven while the door opens. These are also known as interlock switches.

Modern microwaves contain 2 to 4-door interlock switches on the door latch. That enables or disables the microwave runs.

For example, when you open or close the door, the metal prongs of the door switches inspect that the door is open or closed and then allow the oven to run.

You can say that a door switch works as a safety precaution and stops the from running when the door opens, even if you have hit the start button.

In contrast, a door interlock switch fault disturbs the performance of the entire microwave. The lost its senses to inspect the door position and turned it On before the door closed.

Panasonic inverter microwave problems

Interlock Switch Stuck On

Whenever you close the microwave oven door, the switches get pressed, and the interlock switch returns to its position after opening the door.

So, an issue you face might appear because a faulty switch gets stuck. It may cause a closed-door inspection for the motor and allow the system to turn ON.

To resolve the issue, you may follow the method and get the smooth working of your microwave back.

Error in Firmware

If you are experiencing the issue of turning On the microwave with its door open, there might be an error in the firmware.

Modern microwaves contain a central control board responsible for receiving signals and giving commands for running microwave functionality more efficiently.

But if somehow the firmware gets any error, it may confuse the motor from turning On and Off without inspecting the door position.

Malfunction Circuitry Inside Microwave

Whenever you put something in your oven, it gets cooked with heat called microwave radiation.

Each microwave contains a magnetron that creates these radiations. But due to safety or to prevent any radiation endangerment, microwaves have their own safety features.

Gas Oven Igniter Glows But No Flame

That is why it does a great deal with circuitry inside it. But if there is a malfunctioning cable or water inside, the motor may develop the issue of starting or stopping running without considering the door position.

Solutions For Microwave Open Door Turns On Issue

After educating you about why turns ON the microwave even when you open the door, like faulty or stuck door switches, firmware errors, or malfunctioned circuitry.

Now, It is time to resolve the issue as you already had an idea of resolving it. You may try soft and hard resetting and replacing the faulty door interlock switches by following the instructions.

Soft Reset

The other components are fine if you suspect an issue with the firmware. Then you may try the soft reset method to fix the common error or glitches.

Depending on the model number or brand, there are two ways to reset your appliance. The first one is simply hitting the reset button from the display board and getting the results.

If your microwave doesn’t have a reset button on your oven, it might be possible that your appliance has a secret reset button.

You may also get assistance from the user manual or simultaneously hit the OFF and CLEAR buttons for almost five seconds.

You might be able to listen to a sound with a pop-up statement on the display panel, indicating that the device is reset now.

Hard Reset

If the previous method does not work, you may try hard resetting your device. It may help you to get rid of a temporary glitch or error that is causing the issue of turning on the oven.

So, firstly you must detach the cord from the power source. Then you must wait for at least 30 to 60 minutes. You may also shut off the power from the circuit breaker.

During this period, the power gets vanishes from the microwave components. The error-related issues may get fixed with a hard reset.

Steps To Replace Faulty Switch

If you want to resolve the issue and want that runs normally after the door is closed, then you must need to replace the malfunctioning switch.

If you want to do the task, you may follow the instructions to get successful results. Before starting the procedure, the new interlock switches are required for replacement.

Ensure you purchase the door interlock switches according to your microwave model number. You may get the manual’s help and purchase the switch after removing it and taking it to the nearest electric store.

Step 1

Before tackling your microwave, you must detach the device’s power cord to prevent electrocution—dispatch capacitor.

Step 2

Now, you must detach the top cover of the microwave. You may refer to the user manual whether you need to remove screws or it could detach with a slide. After that, you must detach the control panel to access the display board.

Step 3

Now you must access the door interlock switches. The position and number of switches vary based on the model.

So you may refer to the manual book. You may find the switches at the back of the door latch on the switch assembly. You may remove it by unscrewing or pulling it out after opening the electric panel.

Step 4

Detach the door switches and test them by pushing them. If they make a sound, you don’t need to replace them. No sound indicates a problematic switch.

Step 5

Now you may insert the new replacement switch in place of the faulty door switch. Don’t forget to buy the switch of the same model.

Replace all the components in a sequence as you do while detaching. Tighten the screws and place the top cover at the end.

Conclusion

We hope that these guidelines may able you to diagnose the issue of turning On the oven when opening the door.

In case of a faulty door interlock switch, you may replace it by following the instructions. If you feel hesitant or the solutions don’t work, then don’t hesitate to contact a professional.