- 1). Turn the heater off and check the breaker. Reset the breaker if it is tripped (do this by turning the breaker off, and firmly flipping it back on. If the breaker immediately trips with the heater turned off, there is probably a short in the supply wires, and a qualified service person should be called.
- 2). If the breaker did not trip again, remove the screw holding the cover on the electrical compartment and slide the cover off. Check the line wires coming in from the power supply with the multimeter set on voltage, and if the voltage registers less than the voltage rating on the data plate located on the case of the heater, the problem is probably in the line wires or the breaker, and a service person should be called.
- 3). Turn the breaker off if the proper voltage is present. Loosen the terminal screws holding the line voltage wires on the thermostat and remove the wires. Loosen the terminal screws on the other side of the thermostat, and find one wire leading to the heat element and the other leading to the limit switch. Remove the wire on the back side of the limit switch leading to the other heater wire.
- 4). Set the multimeter to read ohms. Turn the thermostat all the way up, and hold one lead end to the green ground screw on the case of the unit. Touch the other lead end to each of the terminals on the thermostat, and there should not be any ohm reading. Replace the thermostat if there is an ohm reading between the ground screw and any of the thermostat terminals, as the thermostat is grounded.
Check the line side of the thermostat to the terminal directly on the back side, and there should be a reading. If not, the thermostat is faulty. - 5). Touch the leads of the meter to the two heater wires, and there should be an ohm reading. Replace the heating element if there is no reading, as the element has an open. Check between the heater wire and the ground screw with the meter. A reading indicates a grounded element, and has to be replaced. Check across the two terminals on the overload, and there should be a reading. Replace the overload if there is not.
- 6). Replace all the wires as they came off after replacing any defective part or parts, and replace the cover on the electric compartment. Turn the breaker on and check for operation.
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