DIY microwave touch panel repair

In detail: do-it-yourself microwave touch panel repair from a real master for the site my.housecope.com.

In this article, we will consider the causes of the malfunction, as well as repair the panel membrane with our own hands. Using the Samsung G2739NR microwave oven as an example.

If your microwave oven behaves in a strange way, turns on by itself, increases or decreases the heating or cooking time during operation, the buttons do not respond to pressing, most often the problem lies in the membrane of the microwave oven touch panel.

The keyboard consists of two films, on which conductive tracks and contact pads are applied.

The cause of the malfunction, often in the sensor membranes squeezed from physical impact, which come into contact with each other from the slightest vibration.

To begin with, you need to make sure that it is the sensor that is faulty and not the control unit or the microwave microcontroller. To do this, you need to ring the board with a multimeter for failed components (this is a topic for a separate article).

After we are convinced of the correctness of our assumptions, we proceed to repairing the microwave oven sensor. For this you will need:

  • Phillips screwdriver or five-pointed screwdriver with a hole inside (Torx Tamper Resistant).
  • Stationery knife or scissors
  • Tweezers (optional, but will make the job easier)
  • Scotch tape or electrical tape.
  • PVA glue or Super glue

Before proceeding with an independent repair of such equipment as a microwave oven, you must remember that high voltages of up to 5 thousand volts pass through it even when it is off (there are components in the microwave oven that accumulate electricity), which of course is life-threatening.

Video (click to play).

Disconnect the oven from the 220V network

Use a screwdriver to unscrew all the bolts securing the oven cover (in some models, they are even on the bottom)

Carefully disconnect the sensor membrane cable from the control board, the terminals from the relay, etc. (in this case, we either remember, or write down or photograph the connections, so that later everything can be returned to its place)

Unscrew the plastic panel from the oven frame

Unscrew the control unit board from the plastic panel

Carefully (prying it with a knife and without damaging the cable) peel off the sensor film from the plastic

Peel off the film with the membrane

On the inside of the membrane along the contour of the buttons, it is necessary to glue adhesive tape or electrical tape (the main thing is that the material is not conductive) in order to increase the distance between the film and the membrane and prevent unauthorized closure of the buttons

After the performed operation, it is necessary to glue both halves and pushing the loop into the slot of the plastic panel, gently glue the film in place, if there is not enough glue, then you can smear the places of poor connection with PVA glue or “Superglue” (in the case of using “superglue”, the repeated procedure may damage the film)

We screw back the control unit board

Insert the ribbon cable into the board connector

We fasten the panel to the microwave body

We connect the terminals to their places

Dressing and screwing on the lid of the microwave oven

We put a glass of water in the microwave

We turn on the 220V network

Checking all buttons

If all the buttons work only after pressing them (and not by themselves), then the operation to restore the sensor's performance was successful and the oven can be used further.

This method does not guarantee long-term operation of the touch control panel, as the film will be pushed further, which will cause the malfunction again.

Practice says that this kind of recovery is enough from two weeks to six months.

Good luck with the repair!

If you doubt your knowledge of electrical engineering, want your microwave oven to last you longer, or just don’t want to bother with self-repair, you can use the services of our specialists who will be happy to help you solve this problem at your home or workshop.

The more often we use household appliances, the faster they fail. In this regard, the microwave can be classified as one of the most demanded household electrical appliances in the kitchen. It is not by chance that they break quite often.

One of the weakest points of microwave ovens is the control panel. At one point, the technique begins to malfunction: the touch buttons for selecting programs stop responding to pressing or work every other time, the start button on the microwave does not work, and problems can also arise with the door opening button.

Image - DIY microwave touch panel repair

Fortunately, in most cases, you can fix all of the listed problems with your own hands, without asking for help from a service center.

First, you need to establish why the microwave does not respond to pressing some buttons.

Image - DIY microwave touch panel repair

This is most often due to:

  • damage to the conductive tracks on the board,
  • loss of contact in connectors,
  • sticking contacts.

The first thing to start with is checking the quality of the keyboard bus contacts in the control module connector.

If everything is in order with the contacts, the touch control panel itself will most likely have to be repaired.

If no touch buttons are pressed on the microwave, this indicates that the control board needs repair or complete replacement.

To carry out diagnostics and repairs at home, you must have the following tools on hand:

  • crosshead screwdriver;
  • stationery knife;
  • multimeter-tester;
  • contact cleaner or finest sandpaper;
  • alcohol or degreaser;
  • conductive adhesive for repairing boards.

Image - DIY microwave touch panel repair

Image - DIY microwave touch panel repair

Image - DIY microwave touch panel repair

Image - DIY microwave touch panel repair

Image - DIY microwave touch panel repair

The process of diagnostics and repair itself is carried out in the following sequence:

VIDEO INSTRUCTION


It should be understood that such manipulations allow you to get rid of the problem for a while. If microwave buttons are pretty worn out, it is recommended to completely replace the entire sensor.

Another common problem faced by owners of microwave ovens is the door refusing to open when the corresponding key is pressed. The first thing that comes to mind in this case is that the microwave opening button has broken.

In fact, the problem is not in the button itself, but in the part called the "microwave oven door latch." It is made of plastic and can wear out and break with prolonged use.

Image - DIY microwave touch panel repair

Replacing this part will help to solve the problem. Today, you can find and order on the Internet a "native" latch for almost any microwave oven, especially when it comes to a popular model.

However, to make sure that the latch is not jammed, but that it really broke, you need to somehow open the door.

It is easy to do, you just need to remove the cover of the microwave oven housing by unscrewing a few fastening bolts with a screwdriver, and squeeze the hook by hand or with an improvised tool.

VIDEO REVIEW