Swapping the bulb in a Sharp microwave, anything tricky to watch for?

Thomas Martinez

Thomas Martinez

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Saw the question about changing the light bulb in one of these microwaves. Thought it was worth a discussion thread as it come up every so often. The basic steps are unplugging the unit first, removing the cover, then removing the bulb from its holder inside the microwave.
The two tricky parts about this though are the safety relate to the microwave itself and the type of bulb that is used in the unit. The units do run at high voltage so one should not power it on with the cover removed. The capacitors in the microwave can also retain a charge, so one must ensure that the unit is unplugged prior to removing the cover. The other part is that you cannot simply use a standard bulb for the unit, it uses a dedicated bulb that fits into this holder, and a standard bulb will not physically fit into the microwave.


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on the carousels i've worked on, sharps usually hide the bulb behind a little metal cover on the top right inside the cavity, single screw. Takes 2 minute. The over-the-range models are a different beast though, those have the bulb up top behind the vent grille like you mentioned.
 
Capacitor discharge is the part people skip and it bite them. The HV capacitor can retain a charge in the microwave even when the microwave is unplugged. Always make sure to short the capacitor out before touching anything on the microwave. For a bulb replacement on a Sharp microwave this doesn’t apply to the HV capacitor but if you ever find yourself having to remove the main cabinet on the unit, make sure to do this before touching the microwave.
 
History of the Karate said:
wait does the bulb actually get hit by microwaves or is it shielded somehow? like how does a filament bulb survive in there at all
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Most microwave bulbs are 125V 20-40W appliance bulbs with higher temp ratings than normal household bulbs. The microwave bulb compartment is located external to the cooking cavity but still enclosed by the metal shield with perforations that act as a Faraday cage that blocks the microwaves at 2.4Ghz from entering the compartment. So the bulb is only exposed to the heat that is radiated from the cooking cavity.
 
Important Iguana said:
Most microwave bulbs are 125V 20-40W appliance bulbs with higher temp ratings than normal household bulbs. The microwave bulb compartment is located external to the cooking cavity but still enclosed by the metal shield with perforations that act as a Faraday cage that blocks the …
Click to expand...

oh that makes sense, so the holes in the metal are smaller than the wavelength. Neat. Does that mean if the shield fails the bulb could potentially get cooked?
 
History of the Karate said:
oh that makes sense, so the holes in the metal are smaller than the wavelength. Neat. Does that mean if the shield fails the bulb could potentially get cooked?
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In theory yes but in practice if the shield is that bad the microwave would be leaking the microwaves out the front anyway, so the bulb being cooked would be the least of your worries.
 
i changed one on a sharp carousel like 6 years ago and the screw to access the bulb was rusted to hell. Just bought a new microwave honestly it wasnt worth the headache
 
OEM sharps use an E17 intermediate base 125v 30w typically. You can purchase these bulbs at any decent appliance parts shop or repairclinic. Do not waste your money on the sharp branded bulb, it is the same but with a sticker on it.
 
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