We've had this microwave for three years, it came with the house when we had it built. Well anyway, yesterday I was in the process of making dinner, I wanted to make fried potatoes, and first I cook them in the microwave before I slice them and fry them, anyway, the microwave goes through the cooking process, and afterwards displays this error code "F9". Now I had no clue what that was, the potatoes weren't done so I tried again, it cooked the potatoes but now it displays F9 after anytime you try to cook with it, heat something up, etc. Now my dh says it probably won't pay to fix it so we'll just get a new one, thinking we're looking at around 200 for another one, well this one is a built in over the stove model no less than 600.00 dollars! Ouch, that hurt. I called Sears and you cannot talk to a repair person over the phone they will only set up appointments to have them come out and look at it for you. Now, I trust you ladies so much the first thing I decide to do in most any case I need opinions or experience is log onto Momsview! Does anyone have experience with this type of problem? I don't want to spend 600 plus dollars on a microwave right now and truthfully can't with Christmas right around the corner, so, just wondering if anyone has any input!

By Colette on Tuesday, November 27, 2007 - 04:11 pm:

What make/model is it? Maybe someone has the book and can tell you what F9 means.

By Yjja123 on Tuesday, November 27, 2007 - 04:12 pm:

Need more info.
What brand and model is it?

I just went through trying to get service on my washing machine. I was able to locate the error info and replace the part. I would STILL be waiting for my service call--they said it would be 2 weeks!!

If you give more more info, I may be able to find out what the error means.

By Luvn29 on Tuesday, November 27, 2007 - 04:16 pm:

I swear by google for everything! Everyone laughs at me because any time someone has a question I say, google it!

I think that if you google the make and model of your microwave along with error message, you could probably pull up the info that may help you. For example, google "GE 4658 microwave error message". By the way, that is a totally made up microwave model and such! LOL!

By Yjja123 on Tuesday, November 27, 2007 - 04:21 pm:

f 9 is a inverter failure

By Trina~moderator on Tuesday, November 27, 2007 - 04:21 pm:

I googled it, too.

Here is what I found in reference to F9 and microwaves.

http://www.fixya.com/support/t232223-f9_light

By Yjja123 on Tuesday, November 27, 2007 - 04:24 pm:

read here
http://forums.partselect.com/microwave-repair/f9-error-message-4898.html

It looks like this is NOT a DIY repair

By Yjja123 on Tuesday, November 27, 2007 - 04:27 pm:

One thing I would try first---something a repair guy told me---unplug or cut the power (fuse box) to the microwave for at least 10 minutes. Sometimes this will reset the appliance and erase the error code. Worth a try.

By Mom2three1968 on Tuesday, November 27, 2007 - 06:53 pm:

hi guys, I'm back. We tried to reset it and unplugged it but it didn't work. "But" we didn't attempt that for ten minutes so we are going to try that. It is a Kenmore Elite Model 721.64683300, I saw the inverter issue last night when I googled it, I was hoping that someone had the same problem and whether it was worth it to repair or just replace.

By Breann on Tuesday, November 27, 2007 - 07:21 pm:

I'm guessing it's not under warranty anymore? We just moved into our new build, and our appliances all have a 5 year warranty. Worth checking in to.
I just glanced at some over the range microwaves on sears.com. They have quite a few in the $200 price range.

By Mlee on Tuesday, November 27, 2007 - 07:56 pm:

How did we survive before Google? Or microwaves?

I hope it's an inexpensive fix.

By Mom2three1968 on Tuesday, November 27, 2007 - 07:56 pm:

It's not under waranty anymore, I'll have to look at the website again.

By Bobbie~moderatr on Wednesday, November 28, 2007 - 12:36 am:

Looks like you might be needing to ask Santa for a early Christmas present.

From what I have found, it appears to me that it is the control board (inverter failure) or the door latch is going bad. F9 appears in both cases. It doesn't look to be an easy fix either. You will need to take the whole unit down and take the top off. Which would be okay, if you knew what you were doing.. LOL Going to go through all of that, you might as well just put a new one up, KWIM.

Call a repair guy and ask them how much a replacement of the control board is and how much they charge to do the repair, how long it will take them to come out and go from there..

By Mom2three1968 on Wednesday, November 28, 2007 - 07:19 am:

I called Sears and they won't let you talk to a repair person, they will only let you make an appointment. I'm going to see if I can call a repair person other than Sears after work today and see what they say. I'll ask about the inverter board and see what they say. Thanks everyone for the good ideas and input.

By Brandy on Wednesday, November 28, 2007 - 08:01 am:

It would probably just be cheaper to just buy another one? i'm not sure though...

By Karen~admin on Wednesday, November 28, 2007 - 08:59 am:

Yvonne, you constantly amaze me. Would you like to move in with me? ROFL

By Yjja123 on Wednesday, November 28, 2007 - 09:33 am:

Karen

Here is the BEST place to order parts:
http://www.marcone.com/

In our washing machine situation, the parts were $100. If we paid to have it serviced, the service charge alone was that AND they would only diagnose the problem. We were told it would be an additional 2+ weeks for them to order the parts and return to install them. This would mean they would collect two service charges!
I ordered the two parts that the error code said it could be. They were shipped overnight to me and my washing machine was back in business.

The thing about your microwave is I am seeing a lot of warnings about the safety of removing the cover. I would, personally, not be comfortable doing that. I do not think that the repair is a DIY. I hope you can find a repair person to come out. I do think it will be worth it. I would *guess* that it be be around $200 for the service and the part.

Good Luck!!!

By Bobbie~moderatr on Wednesday, November 28, 2007 - 10:08 am:

Yvonne, I was reading the same thing. Something about a part holding an electrical charge even when unplugged and it being a shock hazard. So not a DYI job, for sure. Don't know what you are looking at or looking for, to high of a risk in IMHO.

By Mom2three1968 on Saturday, December 1, 2007 - 03:47 pm:

We had the Sear's repair guy out this morning, it wouldn't cost us,448.00 for parts, not sure about labor. So we bought a new microwave! Turns out the microwaves I was looking at were convection ovens too, that made a big difference in price. Plus the repair man after paying the 60.00 for the service call he gave us a coupon for 65.00 off a new appliance. So, we got our new microwave pretty similar to the old one for 259.00, after the coupon. It's a microhood over the stove microwave, that problem is solved! Thanks to everyone who responded!

By Dawnk777 on Saturday, December 1, 2007 - 09:01 pm:

I'm glad it's all resolved. Yeah, if it would cost $448 to fix it, you may as well get a new one.

By Yjja123 on Saturday, December 1, 2007 - 09:58 pm:

I am amazed that a part was $448! For that i would have bought a new one too.
You got a great price on your new one!

By Bobbie~moderatr on Sunday, December 2, 2007 - 02:33 pm:

I would have gotten a new one too... That is a bit of nonsense isn't it??? That much for a repair when the new ones are way cheaper.. Glad you got it all taken care off.

By Mom2three1968 on Sunday, December 2, 2007 - 05:48 pm:

Thanks! We thought so too, it was a no brainer when he quoted the price of the parts, I'm not sure if that included labor or not! It's amazing how much we use a microwave and how we noticed how much we missed it when ours was broke!