My question and problem is identical to that submitted by dmilley; my microwave shuts down and shows an error code of F-9 but the owner's manuel has no key explaining the error code.

leepreja, August 2006

Sounds like this is a common failure. I have owned many microwaves and seldom had issues. Was there a recall on this? Is it cheaper to replace it?

Tim Luster, June 2013

As a follow-up to my earlier post....the Sears repair man showed up and discovered that the magnetron (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnetron) is broken. He said that Sears does not store parts locally so we have to wait for 7-10 days before the part arrives and can be installed.

Blake, November 2007

My Kenmore over-the-range microwave oven (model 721.63763300) has the same problem. It runs for about 10 seconds total while producing a buzzing sound about once per second then stops with error code F9. I got lucky because this all happend 7 days before the Warranty expired. Same Sears respons though.... the technician must come to our home to diagnose the problem. Unfortunately, the earliest they will come to the house is the Tuesday before the Thanksgiving holiday. Once the technician fixes the microwave, I will re-post on this forum what was done.

Blake, November 2007

Same prob here, mine is 2.5 yrs old but rarely used... in any event, based on your experiences I'm not very hopeful

Erik, April 2007

I was told by Sears that my Sears Kenmore Elite Model 721.63669300 microwave has a cracked inverter board and that is why it posts an F-9 code. They won't give me the part number or help me with it. They want to charge big bucks to fix it. Typical!! I told them that I will never EVER buy another Sears Kenmore product.....they can't even fix it locally!!

Terry, February 2007

Sears has not been forthcoming and in many ways obstinate about providing an answer BUT here is their response: "Unfortunately, we are not able to diagnose problems or provide estimates for repairs without a technician examining the unit. This is done to prevent a misdiagnosis by our technicians and incorrect information provided to our customers.... We are sorry, but our Online Customer Care Associates and Product Support Specialists do not have access to the meanings of the error codes. Generally, many of the error codes are listed in your owner's manual. If it is not listed, than it requires a technician's diagnosis."

So you need to spend the money to get the simple answer. I am just as frustrated if not more so now!

John Wood, September 2006