Separate exhaust vent for the microwave?

[TxCowboy]

I have an exhaust vent and fan for the 3-burner gas stove that vents to the outside via a flapper vent. Above the exhaust fan hood is the High Pointe microwave.

That microwave was misbehaving this past weekend -- it heated an item for eight minutes but wouldn't heat anything after that for almost half an hour. The microwave acted like it was trying to heat, e.g., the lights on the panel flashed correctly but the turn table didn't spin and the fan didn't operate.

I removed the microwave and was surprise that there is not exhaust vent for the microwave -- it seems to just exhaust into the surrounding cabinetry.

Did the microwave overheat?

Any suggestions for how to fix this issue? Is there a fix? Or am I missing something?

 

[TxCowboy]

Bump for the morning crew.

 

[farside291]

Did you ever get an answer to this question? The reason I ask is I was heating a lasagna last night and it called for 21 minutes. I went to walk the dog came back in and the exhaust fan was running. I tried to turn it off but it wouldn't. Turned off microwave and after about a minute I was able to turn off the fan. Is this fan automatic when the microwave gets too hot? I am not sure if it was venting to the outside or not.

By the way it is a Highpoint microwave.