How to fix microwave membrane switch and panel?

How to fix the microwave touch panel yourself?

Is it possible to fix a breakdown of a microwave membrane switch and panel at home without special training? Of course you can! In order to carry out repairs without any problems and complications, you only need to study this article and prepare all the necessary tools and parts.

Today we will tell you how to cope with the most common problem of modern microwave ovens – a malfunction of the membrane switch and panel of the device.

How does the touchpad work?

Before proceeding with the direct repair of the microwave touch buttons, let’s define how they function.

The microwave touch keyboard is a simple device consisting of two films. On each of them, contact pads are symmetrically located. They connect by conductive tracks. When you press the button, the films are pressed. Furthermore, this goes through the conductive tracks to the multimeter.

It turns out that no complex processes are happening. This means there is nothing to be afraid of – you can replace membrane switch and panel yourself. The main thing is to choose the right panel. But even here our store comes to your aid and offers a wide selection of structural elements for microwave ovens from all well-known manufacturers.

Reasons provoking an early breakdown of the sensor

Of course, over time, the contacts on the keyboard are erased and no longer respond as sensitively to pressing as at the very beginning of work, but external factors can speed up this process.

First of all, this is rough treatment. As practice shows, 50% of users press the microwave buttons much harder than required. But the sensor does not tolerate rough treatment! Strong pressure causes the button to simply “fall through” and stop responding to touch. The takeaway is simple enough: Be careful with your technique.

Also, do not forget that membrane switch and panel is based on the work of electricity, which means that frequent surges in the mains voltage lead to burnout of the contacts. If you know that electricity problems often arise in the house, make sure that the microwave is not connected directly to the mains, but through a surge protector. Thus, voltage drops will be leveled, which means the microwave will last much longer.

These simple tips can help you avoid the unnecessary headaches of microwave breakage.

Is the membrane switch and panel really broken?

Does your microwave not respond when you press the buttons? Are you sure that they are the problem? From time to time, situations are repeated in which replacing the microwave keyboard does not change the situation, and the device still does not perform the necessary actions.

The thing is that both the electronic panel itself and the microcontroller are responsible for the efficiency of the device’s response to keystrokes on the display. Agree, even if the panel ideally produces a signal, the microwave will not be able to start working without high-quality processing.

To prevent situations of aimless replacement of the touch keyboard, we recommend that you proceed as follows. As soon as the display malfunctions, disassemble the device to get to the board. Next, you need to check the entire microcontroller for faulty components using a multimeter.

 If at least one of the sections does not respond, you will have to replace the entire board. If no problems with the board are found, you can safely order a new membrane switch and panel and install it in place of the old one.

What exactly is out of order?

Since the design of the keyboard on the microwave has a rather primitive design, it can fail for 3 reasons:

• the conductive tracks are damaged;
• the buttons began to “stick”;
• the contact is lost at the point of impact of the loop and the connector on the control board.

And now we will consider in detail how to fix membrane switch and panel.

Repair of sensory microwaves without assistance

Before starting repairs to the microwave oven, disconnect the device from the power supply. But, despite the power outage, carry out work with extreme caution, since some elements of the system can retain a charge and give it out even when it is turned off.

We recommend that you prepare in advance everything that you may need, namely:

• Phillips and flat head screwdrivers;
• a knife with a thin blade;
• scotch tape or electrical tape;
• conductive adhesive, for example “KONTAKTOL”.

The initial steps are always the same, regardless of membrane switch and panel. So, work begins with the following actions:

• We unscrew the screws securing the microwave case to open access to the “stuffing”.
• Disconnect the contacts from the connectors. Life hack: it will be much easier to connect all contacts at the end of the work if you take a picture of the system before disconnecting.
• Detach the protective board by unscrewing the screws
• We unscrew the control module.
• Using a knife with a thin blade, carefully separate the sensor from the module.
• Remove the sensor film from the control panel.

Next, we inspect the contacts, membrane switch and panel elements to find the cause of the damage and carry out the appropriate repairs.

Buttons “sticky”, what should I do?

If the microwave oven sensor reacts once, it can work without pressing or repeat a single signal several times, most likely the whole problem lies in a short circuit.

To fix the equipment, you just need to increase the distance between the two films. This can be done in a primitive way – stick a piece of tape or electrical tape on the part of the film that has no contacts or tracks. After that, you need to connect the two films together and assemble the device.

It should be noted that this will correct the situation only for a while – if the buttons began to stick, only a complete replacement of the touch panel will help.

Replacing membrane switch and panel

Replacing an old sensor with a new one is not so difficult: you just need to unfasten the old film and replace it with a new one. However, before doing this, you will have to find the original keyboard model for your microwave oven.