Frigidaire Microwave Keeps Tripping Breaker? – Complete Fix

Wondering why the Frigidaire microwave keeps tripping breaker? Here is the solution!

Microwaves are a common appliance in most homes nowadays, but when they start to give homeowners trouble, they can be extremely problematic.

Most of the time, whenever the microwave door is opened, closed, or starts, the circuit breaker trips automatically. 

Here’s what that means and what has to be done!

Whenever the Frigidaire microwave is tripping the breaker, the two main reasons are the fault in the unit or an overloaded circuit breaker. Solving the problem is quite difficult and involves a thorough inspection of the circuit breaker as well as other factors!

Let’s discover more about the causes of microwave circuit breaker tripping!

Why Is My Microwave Tripping Breaker When Door Opens?

When the Frigidaire microwave often trips the circuit breaker when you open or close the door, then the microwave door latch is defective.

For safety reasons, the circuit automatically detects the problem when you open the door and the defective latch switch is activated.

However, the interlock switch is the cause, because a broken microwave component or insufficient voltage can also cause a circuit breaker to trip.

That’s why it is very important for you to know everything about circuit tripping to properly troubleshoot your own microwave.

The following are the possible frequent causes of microwave circuit breaker tripping:

• Overloaded Circuit by too many devices!
• Faulty Circuit Breaker
• Defective Microwave
• Microwave Faulty Capacitor
• Faulty Transformer in appliance
• Microwave Faulty Timer
• Defect in Microwave Turntable Motor

Don’t panic, we’re going to discuss a simple and effective way to troubleshoot and fix the microwave circuit breaker tripping issue.

Let’s jump right in!

How To Fix When Frigidaire Microwave Keeps Tripping Breaker?

After discussing the causes in detail we can now implement the appropriate solutions to easily troubleshoot your microwave.

To fix the microwave tripping circuit breaker issue, we first need to find out the actual problem in the appliance, so follow the guide chronologically!

Important!

Since we can’t know if the circuit breaker or the microwave itself is defective yet, the first thing we must do is determine the actual issue.

It’s very important NOT to skip the start of the guide!

Alert: Make sure to unplug the microwave from the power outlet before going in!

Solution #1 Test The Microwave Circuit Breaker

The microwave needs a 20 AMP circuit to supply the appliance with enough voltage, although some users have already set up a dedicated circuit.

Hence, you must first make sure that no other heavy appliances are plugged into the same fuse on which you have the microwave. 

Note: In some homes, each room has a different fuse on the circuit breaker!

Here is the way to test the microwave circuit breaker:

First of all, unplug your microwave from its circuit breaker and plug any other appliances into it.

Then check if the breaker is still tripped and if yes, then surely the circuit has a fault due to overloading. The conclusion is to unplug some heavy electrical devices!

In case the number of connected devices does not change the tripping, keep reading!

Solution #2 Replace Faulty Breaker!

Replace your malfunctioning circuit breaker with a brand-new, dedicated circuit/fuse.

This is the most effective approach because a dedicated fuse will supply voltage to only one appliance. This is usually intended for devices above 3 kW. 

This is the only way to protect the circuit from tripping and prevent the microwave from a surge!

In case your microwave is already set up on the dedicated circuit, but the problem continues to appear, no worries!

There are quite a lot more things to attempt so keep reading!

Note: Test unplugging ALL devices from the power, with only the microwave working!

Solution #3 Check The Microwave For Defects

Your Frigidaire microwave circuit has already been checked, but there is no problem there!

Therefore, the microwave itself may be defective or one of its components may be the cause of the breaker trip.

Hence, it’s crucial to test the microwave itself before proceeding further!

Here is how to test the microwave for any fault:

1. Locate any circuit at your home that has a high voltage (3 kW+).
2. Such appliances could be a garage door, oven, or microwave. 
3. Disconnect the appliance from the power.
4. Then, plug your microwave into the same outlet.

Considering that the other appliance was working well until now, and your microwave is still tripping the circuit, things are not good.

We’ll need to check a few components to know for sure!

Note: The next part of the guide becomes quite technical!

Solution #4 Inspect Microwave Safety Latch

There are many switches associated with the door latch that helps the Frigidaire microwave to function properly by sending signals.

There is a chance that when you close or open the door, there might be a Faulty Switch in the microwave latch. 

When the unit detects any fault it typically trips the circuit breaker so all you need to do is to properly inspect the microwave door latch switches.

Here is how to inspect the Frigidaire microwave door safety latch:

1. First, unplug the unit from the Power Outlet.
2. Then, open the door and check the microwave hooks for any damage.
3. If you find any hooks faulty, then replace the hooks by detaching the door.
4. Next, use a Philip screwdriver to unscrew the microwave from the vent.
5. Tip: Take out the vent using a knife.
6. Next, unscrew the Control Assembly.
7. Take it out by noting down the wire’s orientation.
8. Then, carefully look into the control assembly to locate the Door Latch Switches.
9. Disconnect all the door switches and test all of them via a Multimeter.
10. Replace the switch if anyone has a fault and no continuity.
11. Once you have done this, then reassemble all the wires and components!

After fixing the door safety latch switches, plug your microwave into the circuit and check if the breaker is still tripped or not.

If it does, then move on to the next solution!

Solution #5 Replace The Capacitor 

The capacitor is one of the important components in the microwave because it stores voltage to make sure that the microwave works properly.

Maybe your microwave capacitor has got some fault and that’s why the microwave keeps tripping the breaker when the door opens.

Alert: Be careful while testing capacitors because it can also lead to an electrical shock ask some professional for help!

Here is how to replace the microwave capacitor:

1. Make sure to unplug the Frigidaire microwave power.
2. Then remove the turntable and its support from the microwave.
3. Next, unscrew the microwave upper mounting bolts from the cabinet to take it out.
4. Lay down the microwave on any towel or blanket. 
5. Use a Phillip screwdriver to unscrew the microwave’s lower panel.
6. Disconnect the wire connector to fully remove the lower panel.
7. Then, place the microwave up by propping up its front.
8. Next, unscrew the microwave vent, upper cabinet cover, and blower assembly. 
9. Fully remove the cabinet cover of the microwave.
10. Then, locate a Capacitor from the back.
11. Place needle nose pliers with insulated handles on both terminals.
12. This will release the danger of electrical shock.
13. Next, disconnect the capacitor wires and their mounting screws.
14. Detach the capacitor from the microwave.

Finally, test the old capacitor via a multimeter for continuity. If it is faulty, then replace the capacitor and detach all components back in order to secure the microwave.

After replacing the microwave, make sure to check if the machine is now tripping the circuit breaker!

Solution #6 Test The Turntable Motor

Sometimes when any liquid leaks into the microwave turntable motor that supports the rotation, the machine gets faulty and starts to trip the breaker.

There is a chance that your microwave turntable motor has a fault and that’s why when you turn on the appliance, the breaker trips.

Here is how to test the microwave turntable motor:

1. First, unplug the microwave from the Power Source.
2. Next, unscrew the microwave’s lower panel.
3. Then, disconnect the wire connector from the panel and from the turntable motor as well.
4. Unscrew the motor screws and disconnect them from the microwave.
5. Test the motor with a Multimeter for continuity.

In case the motor turns out to be faulty, then replace the motor and connect the wires and panel screws back to secure the microwave.

However, in case that’s not the problem either, simply contact Frigidaire Customer Service and report the problem. 

Note: Don’t forget to check if your warranty is still intact!

Quick Recap:

Whenever your Frigidaire microwave keeps tripping breaker, first you need to test the circuit as well as the microwave to locate the actual defect.

If the circuit is faulty then replace the component but if not, then test the microwave turntable motor, safety latch, and capacitor!

Check out our blog for more microwave troubleshooting guides!