Does anyone know how to remove the trim piece below the microwave on an '03 342?

ronpscott

The microwave won't power up and I can't figure out how to remove the black trim piece below the microwave in order to pull out the unit. I removed all of the screws under the microwave and tried to pry out that trim piece, but it's not moving. From the photos attached, you can see the end when it butts up to the cabinet.  Maybe I should replace the breaker first and see if that's the problem?  Any suggestions would be appreciated. 

Black_Diamond

Pull the frig to start. You will not have access by cutting a hole thru the shower side, the breaker panel and wires are all in the way. 

Black_Diamond

Big pain. You might check it didn't come unplugged to start. 
Breakers can go bad, they are a bugger to get to also. 
You may need to loosen the whole upper cabinet. Need to pull the frig to get to the bolts. Three go thru the counter to hold it doen, then the ones on the side by the head. Helps to remove the end panel towards the bow too. 

raybo3

You might be able to access the micro wave plug by removing the refrigerator and using a mirror to see if its unplugged. Taking apart the cabinet is a major PITA...... 

ronpscott

BD and Raybo, thanks for the pointers. Will try the fridge route first.

Serenity

I have a 2005 320 and the micro stopped one day. The plug did come undone and it was located right behind the breaker box above the galley. Plugged it back in and I was back in business. I did secure it better once plugged back in. Good for 2 years now. Maybe your 342 will be the same. Just a thought anyway.

ronpscott

I'm still trying to figure out a way to get to the microwave plug without removing the entire cabinet.  Where is the outlet box located and would it be possible to cut an access hole on the hull side of the cabinet (at the rear of the shelves) to reach the outlet?  Thanks for your help.

elangone

Did you ever figure this out? This just happened on my 04 342.

reneechris14

On my 270 the black plastic piece was screwed straight down.push micro back an inch to get the srcews. But now I have a 2005 342 micro + coffee don't work?

ronpscott

Just wanted to provide some follow up on the microwave saga. The black trim piece at the bottom of the microwave is actually hard plastic held in by four screws from the top. The screw heads aren't visible, so good luck finding them. I took a jig saw to cut the plastic trim piece horizontally in half; when I came to a screw I used a 3/8 drill to drill through the shaft of the screw.  Then I removed all of the large screws holding in the upper cabinet, removed the trim piece on the wall by the head, put a putty knife under the cabinet to break the silicone seal and then I was able to tilt the cabinet forward.  The microwave is screwed to a piece of plywood that is held in place by screws going through the top of the shelf behind the sink.  But the plywood is also held in place by a single screw at the rear of the microwave.  So you need to tilt the cabinet forward in order to reach behind and remove the screw holding down the plywood. Then you can remove the microwave.

The microwave is plugged into the bow side of the electrical panel; it is reachable when the cabinet is tilted forward.  To avoid having to go through this again, I plugged in a short extension cord so that I could deal with the microwave in the future without having to deal with the cabinet.  In total, this was about a 3 hour job.

Now for the microwave, it turned out to be a $2 fuse that needed to be replaced.  Removed the cover and found the fuse in a white fuse holder, replaced the fuse and it fired right up.

For the trim piece that I destroyed, I'm going to get a new piece of cherry moulding and drill holes all the way through the cabinet so that I can put some wood screws in from the bottom. So next time the microwave needs to come in, it will only take five minutes...

Any questions, let me know...