We ran into the same problem today with our toaster. There was never a problem before I cleaned it--not only by sliding out the crumb drawer, but by turning it upside down to dislodge every last crumb. After that, It would not stay down when pushed down--and none of the buttons were functional.
My husband took the cover off and found that a magnet is what keeps the lever down when the toaster's on, and allows it to go back up when the toasting is done. It's an electro magnet that works only when the toaster is on. It seems that when I turned the unit upside down and rightside up again, crumbs landed on the magnet's contact plates (which are about 1/4" x 1/2") and would not allow the magnet to engage. Because the magnet wouldn't engage, the lever would not stay down, and the toaster shut off. Brush off the magnets, replace the cover and toast away!
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We ran into the same problem today with our toaster. There was never a problem before I cleaned it--not only by sliding out the crumb drawer, but by turning it upside down to dislodge every last crumb. After that, It would not stay down when pushed down--and none of the buttons were functional.
My husband took the cover off and found that a magnet is what keeps the lever down when the toaster's on, and allows it to go back up when the toasting is done. It's an electro magnet that works only when the toaster is on. It seems that when I turned the unit upside down and rightside up again, crumbs landed on the magnet's contact plates (which are about 1/4" x 1/2") and would not allow the magnet to engage. Because the magnet wouldn't engage, the lever would not stay down, and the toaster shut off. Brush off the magnets, replace the cover and toast away!