Connect the multimeter pin ends on point 1 2 as shown in the picture below.
Test upper thermostat electric water heater.
However they do go bad and testing water heater thermostats is still required.
Before you proceed further with the process of testing the heater thermostat take a screwdriver and the multimeter.
The upper thermostat has two functions.
If the water is cold the multimeter will point near zero.
The structure of an electric water heater is pretty simple.
This is important especially as open and grounded heating elements result in inaccurate tests.
And when it comes to thermostats the device uses two of them generally.
Before handling anything on the thermostat use a multimeter to confirm the power is off to the water heater.
If you want to test a thermostat on an electric water heater you will also need to check the heating element.
Touch one probe of the multimeter to each terminal on the lower thermostat.
If you have a voltage stick you can use that as well.
Test the water heater thermostat.
Check the power supply of the thermostat.
To look at the faults in the upper thermostat you need to turn off the lower one.
Your water heater usually has two elements and two thermostats.
One should be sitting on the top of unit 1.
Leave the upper thermostat in the lowest setting and test the lower thermostat.
If you get the reading of 240v on terminal 1 and terminal 3 then the power is on but if you get no readings then the power is off.
Testing the water heater thermostat involves the checking of the heating element also.
To look for faults you will need to use a screwdriver.
In this case also check the current at the high limit switch.
While the other is found right on the bottom.
If the water is hot enough at appointed temperature the meter won t show reading.
The meter should read 0.
Use the screwdriver to set the lower thermostat to the highest setting.
First it allows the upper element to heat the water in the top of the tank.
Start by checking the thermostat terminals for the supply of power.
The reading on the multimeter should be zero.
If the opposite thing happens that means your thermostat has defected.
You will also need to check the water heater thermostat with digital multimeter tools.