I tried to repair a microwave once. I was unsuccessful.
It just stopped heating things up. A bit of research suggested that the most common failure was the capacitor, which was like $10, so I figured why not? I was going to have to take the broken microwave off the wall whether I could fix it or not.
Didn’t work, bought a new microwave.
Microwave repair can actually be quite dangerous if I understand correctly, as they can hold a residual charge which can be very harmful if you short it.
Good thing you survived. They are seriously dangerous. The capacitor usually retains enough energy to kill you for days after it was unplugged.
That’s exactly the part I was changing. The terminals on it were plenty recessed, and I was careful not to stick my finger directly into the socket.
Diode and magnetron are also frequent failure causes. The magnetron is easy to test with a resistance meter. Should be low ohms through and infinity to its casing. (all cables removed of course)