What E22 Means
Over-the-Range Microwave: KitchenAid publishes for E22 "The Thermal Sensor circuit reported a short to the control board. There may a problem with the Thermal Sensor, the Appliance Control Board, or the associated wiring." The opposite condition to an open circuit: the board saw a path where there should have been resistance. A shorted sensor circuit typically reads as an impossibly high temperature, which is why the appliance stops rather than acts on it.
Common Causes of E22
- A thermal sensor failed short
- A chafed harness shorting the sensor circuit to chassis or to another wire
- A control board input that has failed short
🔧 One Safe Check You Can Try
Switch off the cooking surface underneath and let it cool before you stand at the appliance at all - an over-the-range unit puts your forearms directly above a range, and a burn from a hot hob is the injury that actually happens while people are troubleshooting a microwave. Then power the unit down by switching off the circuit breakers for one minute, power it back up, watch the microwave for one minute to see whether the code returns, and verify the microwave operates.
⚠ Why You Shouldn't Go Further Than That
- A shorted temperature circuit can present as a reading the appliance must never act on, and the safe response is to stop, which is exactly what it has done.
- The high-voltage capacitor inside a microwave can hold a lethal charge after the unit is unplugged and the display is dead, so the inside of the cabinet is not an owner check at any point in this process, whatever the code turns out to mean.
- An over-the-range unit hangs on a wall bracket above a cooking surface and is bolted through the cabinet above it; taking it down is a two-person job over a cooktop, and dropping it is the usual way this goes wrong.
Opening a panel to inspect or repair something yourself doesn't automatically cancel your manufacturer's warranty — but it can risk accidental damage, and some manufacturers do have specific service conditions. Check your product's warranty terms, or ask us, before deciding.