Electric Baseboard heater not working

[vikasintl]

We have a 6 feet king brand baseboard heater not working....no heat at all..

I remember earlier it would turn on for a while and than trip the circuit breaker..and now it does not turn on at all..
I used thermostat from this heater with another heater...and that heater and thermostat works well so I don't think it was a thermostat problem.

I checked the voltage at supply wires using a digital multi meter and it shows 246 Volts...so I think supply is ok...

how do I check the heater itself if something is wrong ...and how do I fix it?

Thermostat is brand new so nothing wrong with it...and wiring I made sure it correct....

Before buying a new heater...want to confirm that heater is bad and if by chance we can fix it....

[HayZee518]

heater

shut off the power to it. disconnect the wire nuts on both ends that go to the element. use your digital on RX2 one probe on a wire either end and the heater metal shell. see where the resistance goes. if it reads zero you got a element to shell short. if you get some resistance value on RX2 then its safe to assume the element is ok. next at the bottom or top you'll see a long copper tube connected to a disk with two spade terminals. this is your overload. it should read continuous as it is normally closed. if its open its shot.

[vikasintl]

I checked as per your instructions..

shut off the power to it. disconnect the wire nuts on both ends that go to the element. use your digital on RX2 one probe on a wire either end and the heater metal shell. see where the resistance goes. if it reads zero you got a element to shell short. if you get some resistance value on RX2 then its safe to assume the element is ok. next at the bottom or top you'll see a long copper tube connected to a disk with two spade terminals. this is your overload. it should read continuous as it is normally closed. if its open its shot.

When I checked overload(safety limiter) the ohmmeter beep (it showed continuity) but when I touched one probe on element wire and other probe to metal shell.....it did not change anything on multimeter screen .....neither it beep this time....just showed 1. on both the ends..I checked at 200 ohms, 2k ohms and 20k ohms no ...change just showing 1 blank space and dot...does it mean...there is no resistance and there is short...

Just making sure I should touch one probe....to element wire and not the other white wire that run from one end to other in wireway correct?

Also, just making sure ...on the left side of heater.....what should be connection...of wires....overload one wire connects to element wire and its locked ...we are not opening it to make connection with supply wires correct?

[HayZee518]

baseboard heater

ok, on one side or the other is a panel that is removable. one side may have the integral thermostat on the plate. it is normal here to have the incoming supply either from the back or bottom. your 240 volts incoming may be a two wire [black & white] with a bare ground, or a [black, red, white] plus a bare ground. if the case is a three wire, the white should be taped off [no connection] In the panelbox, do you know which breaker controls the heater? It should be a two pole with a tie-bar or a common trip [ one handle for two breakers riveted together. with your meter set to measure AC volts at the 1000 volt range, what do you read with the breaker ON? Both probe tips on the two screws. If 240 or a range near there, the breaker is ok.
Back to the heater. Wires on the thermostat [red-black] X 2?] connection to the thermostat is a black or red to the element. [ go to other end of heater] element wire to one side of the overload limiter. One wire from the overload to a wire going back to the thermostat side panel. From the overload to the black on the same side as the red wire. Opposite side of the thermostat [red-black] to your supply wires. stick the probe tips into the wirenuts that come off the thermostat [red-black] going to the limiter and element. See what you read there. With power on and the "stat" calling for heat you should have 240 volts. if not, one side of the "stat" is bad.

[HayZee518]

heater diagram

check the diagram when you troubleshoot

[vikasintl]

still confused....

ok, on one side or the other is a panel that is removable. one side may have the integral thermostat on the plate. it is normal here to have the incoming supply either from the back or bottom. your 240 volts incoming may be a two wire [black & white] with a bare ground, or a [black, red, white] plus a bare ground. if the case is a three wire, the white should be taped off [no connection] In the panelbox, do you know which breaker controls the heater? It should be a two pole with a tie-bar or a common trip [ one handle for two breakers riveted together. with your meter set to measure AC volts at the 1000 volt range, what do you read with the breaker ON? Both probe tips on the two screws. If 240 or a range near there, the breaker is ok.
Back to the heater. Wires on the thermostat [red-black] X 2?] connection to the thermostat is a black or red to the element. [ go to other end of heater] element wire to one side of the overload limiter. One wire from the overload to a wire going back to the thermostat side panel. From the overload to the black on the same side as the red wire. Opposite side of the thermostat [red-black] to your supply wires. stick the probe tips into the wirenuts that come off the thermostat [red-black] going to the limiter and element. See what you read there. With power on and the "stat" calling for heat you should have 240 volts. if not, one side of the "stat" is bad.

Ok, in my case...supply wires is at left side so overload limiter is on left side...so as thermostat...I don't know if I can wire double pole thermostat on other side without supply wires....please explain how ....if we can.

Next...on the left side....one wire from safety limiter should connect to element wire and other wire from safety limiter should connect to the other wire from heater correct? (wire in driveway)

And my main concern is..without connecting thermostat or supply wires..how can I just check the heater if its working... you mentioned to check for short between element and heater metal part...and that is where I am confused...when I checked resistance between metal part of heater and element wire on either side ..it shows 1 on multimeter....what does that mean...does that mean....element to shell short ????

[HayZee518]

heater

ok shut off the breaker. disconnect supply wires from thermostat input. connect the supply directly to the heater wires bypassing the thermostat. one wire on the element wire, other wire to one limiter wire. turn on the breaker. if the circuit trips, shut off breaker. leave the one wire connected to the element. remove the wirenut that connects the limiter to the heater element. connect your other incoming supply wire directly to the heater element. turn breaker on. if it now trips, the element is bad.

[vikasintl]

we have only one element wire

ok shut off the breaker. disconnect supply wires from thermostat input. connect the supply directly to the heater wires bypassing the thermostat. one wire on the element wire, other wire to one limiter wire. turn on the breaker. if the circuit trips, shut off breaker. leave the one wire connected to the element. remove the wirenut that connects the limiter to the heater element. connect your other incoming supply wire directly to the heater element. turn breaker on. if it now trips, the element is bad.

you said if it trips....leave one wire connected to element ...and remove wirenut that connects limiter to element....and connect your incoming supply wire directly to heater element...

so are you saying ...if it trips ...I should connect both incoming supply wire to one element wire?
and if yes ...on the right side should I keep both wires connected ( one element wire and other wire in wireway)

[vikasintl]

How do I connect double thermostat on right side...withtout supply wires

On right side there are not supply wires in my case...

so...one element wire and one wire from heater wireway...only two wires....right now they both are connected with wirenut....

so if I want to install double pole thermostat on right side..I connected 2 red thermostat wires to heater element wire and 2 black wires to that other wire coming from wireway? and ground wire of thermostat to that small green heater ground wire ?

[HayZee518]

heater

I can't make my responses any clearer than I have. I even drew you a picture. What is so difficult in following what I said? I want you to connect your supply wires DIRECTLY to the heater element, NOT the thermostat, NOT the heat limiter! If the element trips the breaker the element is no good. if it doesn't trip but starts to heat, you are going to have to back track and see what IS tripping the breaker. there are only three items that may be contributing to the trip problem. 1) the thermostat 2) the heat limiter, 3) the wire coming back in the bottom trough.

[HayZee518]

heater

if you want a thermostat on the right side, your incoming power must be there. there is insufficient room in the bottom wireway to pull in any cable. besides, when you begin to pull wires in there, a certain temperature rated wire or cable must be used. Man you are sooo confused. Call an electrician. I've tried but you just don't understand or cant follow instructions.