

If you don’t get a light or sound, then the heater element is bad and needs to be changed. If the water heater element is in good condition, the continuity tester is expected to illuminate or produce a sound. Now, for the first test, place the continuity tester alligator clamp on one of the element screws and place the tip of the tester on the other element screw.
#CHANGING HOT WATER HEATER ELEMENT HOW TO#
If you’re still not sure there’s no voltage check our guide on how to tell which wire is hot without a multimeter. If it doesn’t beep or illuminate, then there is no power and you proceed to other steps. If it illuminates or beeps, then there is still power supply to the water heater and you then find a way to cut it off. Place the tip of the non-contact voltage detector on one of the wires coming from the electrical thermostat and see if the detector beeps or illuminates. Use your non-contact voltage detector for this. To make sure you don’t get electrocuted, double-check that there is no current running through them. The test on the heater elements requires you to deal closely with the metal components of the heater. Some water heaters don’t have this protective insulation, so you may not see it in yours. This could be held in place by a tab, so you simply pull up this tab and take the insulation off.

Make sure you don’t misplace them.īehind the metal plate, there is typically a plastic or fiberglass insulation that further protects the water heater’s internal electrical components. Use your screwdriver to take out the screw and safely store these screws somewhere close by. These electrical components include the thermostat and the all-important heating elements. To get into the water heater, you need to take off the plate covering the internal electrical components. You may do this either from a switch on the wall or a switch at your electric breaker box. Moreso, turning off the power supply saves you from fatal shock hazards. You don’t need voltage running through the heater to measure continuity within it. The first thing you want to do is to disconnect the electric water heater from any power supply.

These have two separate indications of whether the heater element is bad or not. With water heater elements, there are two continuity tests you may carry out a continuity test between the two elements and a continuity test between one element and a metal part of the water heater.

There is one more continuity test as well as a resistance test, and we will explain these further. If there is no continuity, then the heater element is bad and needs to be replaced. Use a continuity tester to check the continuity between the two elements. Turn off power to the water heater, remove the metal cover over the heater elements, and also remove the plastic or fiberglass insulation. How To Test Water Heater Element Without Multimeter To test a water heater element without a multimeter, you would need The third symptom mentioned above is a sign that the top heating element works but the bottom element is faulty. There are usually two elements in a water heater one placed high at the top of the heater and another placed at the bottom of the heater. These include lukewarm water instead of hot water due to poor heating, the water heater circuit breaker tripping at the electric breaker box, or the hot water in your home running out faster than usual. The symptoms that point to a faulty heating element are the same as those that point to a faulty water heater. How To Tell If Water Heater Element Is Bad Using A Ohmmeter To Test Resistance Within Heater Element.How To Test Water Heater Element Without Multimeter.How To Tell If Water Heater Element Is Bad.
