New Element...not heating any at all now?!?

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^^^^I put a small piece of blue tape on one of the black braided wires on the circuit board and the other black braided wire is not  taped.


^^^^Unplugged both the wires on the circuit board


^^^^On the heating element end, I labeled one black braided line with a large piece of blue tape and the other with a small. ON both terminals of my heating element, it does have continuity and ohms measuring 12.3 just like my old heating element.


^^^^Here I tested the big tape braided line on the element side to the tape braided line on the circuit board side. No sound, no measurement.


^^^^I tested the small blue tape braided line on the element side to the taped braided line on the circuit board side. I had continuity with the audible beep and measuring no resistance.

NOW, I did test both braided lines on element side to the non taped braided line on the circuit board side and there was no continuity at all.

TEST PICS BELOW are when I left both braided lines plugged into the heating element terminals. I did not get pics when I did the same thing to the NON taped braided line on the circuit board side because there was no continuity. 


 
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^^^^I tested the small blue tape braided line on the element side to the taped braided line on the circuit board side. I had continuity with the audible beep and measuring no resistance.

NOW, I did test both braided lines on element side to the non taped braided line on the circuit board side and there was no continuity at all.
Great info, details, and pics!

I only included info and images from your last post in the quote above that may pertain to what I mention now.

So what I pulled from your tests is the following:

  • NO Continuity  -small taped element -> no tape board

  • YES Continuity -small tape element -> taped board

     

  • NO Continuity -big tape element -> taped board

  • NO Continuity -big tape element -> no tape board
[EDIT: correcting info that was erroneous so others only have correct info to follow]

Having just rewired my MES Gen1 (that looks just like your images) last week I believe that you have continuity on the neutral side of your wiring but not on the hot side.  In the image below you can see my neutral power plug wire going to the braided wire that goes up (which is the same as your non tapped circuit board braided wire that goes up).  As long as I didn't get my wires crossed then I think your neutral side is probably good for continuity :)



Be sure to double check that your wire nut is splicing properly and is not the issue on that one wire that is not showing continuity.

You can undo the splice and check both unspliced wires for continuity to get more info like: both wires apart show continuity but not spliced.  This would be an easy fix to use a different nut or a butt connector. 

Alternatively you may find one of the two spliced wires is bad and go from there and maybe actually get a chance to use properly colored wires to identify hot vs neutral from the circuit board to the element :)

Other simple checks are to see that your spade connectors are actually crimped wire to connector metal and no wire insulation is getting in the way of the connector crimp.

How does this sound? :)
 
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Are you referring to the wire nut big tape element side? And do I need to do the same thing on your first pic with the neutral power plug wire into non tape circuit side?
 

Tested the big tape element side and got continuity without any resistance. 

All the spade connectors are good and some I had to use needle nose pliers to get them off
 
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Are you referring to the wire nut big tape element side? And do I need to do the same thing on your first pic with the neutral power plug wire into non tape circuit side?
Yeah the wire nut on the big tape element side.  I should have been more specific on that :)

I would hold off on doing what I have done in my pic.   What I did in my pic was to rewire my MES to bypass all of the MES controller and electronics so I could use a PID controller instead.   I don't believe you are trying to rewire to eliminate the MES controller. 

My understanding is you are simply trying to fix your MES so it heats/works again :)
 

Tested the big tape element side and got continuity without any resistance. 

All the spade connectors are good and some I had to use needle nose pliers to get them off
Ok so the little wire you spliced in is good.

Did you check from the splice point (where your red probe is) back to the disconnected non taped braided wires at the circuit board?

If you do that last check I mentioned and you get no continuity then that portion of the wire is the problem :)
 

So I tested the spliced end of big tape element side to non tape circuit side and no continuity. And yes, just trying to fix my MES to heat again. So if the wire was good, it's exactly one wire which in my pics is the big tape element side to non tape circuit side? Guessing I will have to take off the back panel then.

So the big tape element side doesn't actually lead up to the thermostat part(top right of back panel) does it?
 
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So I tested the spliced end of big tape element side to non tape circuit side and no continuity. And yes, just trying to fix my MES to heat again. So if the wire was good, it's exactly one wire which in my pics is the big tape element side to non tape circuit side? Guessing I will have to take off the back panel then.

So the big tape element side doesn't actually lead up to the thermostat part(top right of back panel) does it?
According to the info and pics you provided, it seems the big tape element side to the non tape circuit side wire has a continuity issue.

[EDIT: changing erroneous info so it's not out there for others to try and utilize :) ]

Chances are you need to pull the back off your smoker because you want to be 100% certain of the wire and it would be nice to know why/where it failed.

Pulling the back off is the safest and surest way to go and would be what I would suggest to ensure you figure out everything else you need to know. 

You can also visually confirm your continuity checks as well which is always nice :)
 
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Think I will give it a shot sometime then. Going to relax for the rest of the day. Thanks for all the help and assistance. I will update my post once I get going again.
 
 
Think I will give it a shot sometime then. Going to relax for the rest of the day. Thanks for all the help and assistance. I will update my post once I get going again.
No problem I'm glad to help.  It will be very rewarding when you fix things and you will know a TON about your smoker should it ever die on you and you want to rewire for PID controller.  The physical construction of the MES is great.  The controller and electronics less so :)
 

Found the problem. The spade connector to the thermostat is broken off. You can see the other end of the wire on the ground is the spliced end of the big tape element side. So where could I get a new thermostat? Direct from Masterbuilt or other source? I will have to get some hi temp spade connectors too.
 

Found the problem. The spade connector to the thermostat is broken off. You can see the other end of the wire on the ground is the spliced end of the big tape element side. So where could I get a new thermostat? Direct from Masterbuilt or other source? I will have to get some hi temp spade connectors too.
 
I think what you have there is the over-temp snap switch....   Keeps the smoker from going over 275....    and burning up the electronics... 

Below are a couple I found that might work..  Make sure they auto reset..   The lower number "may" be where they come on at...  That's why my MES will not start in cold weather...   Limits on both ends of the snap switch...   


 
Says they are 6x6x6 inches, which I doubt it. So maybe the L270/40 will work.
 
Maybe that's the size of the bag or they come on a card... 

There are other snaps you can look at...   The MES snaps are probably designated in Celcius... 

The 270 - 40 probably means you will have to heat it up if the smoker is below 40 F...  I have to do that at 30 F. with my smoker..
 

Found the problem. The spade connector to the thermostat is broken off. You can see the other end of the wire on the ground is the spliced end of the big tape element side. So where could I get a new thermostat? Direct from Masterbuilt or other source? I will have to get some hi temp spade connectors too.
I just found that my light wasn't working in my gen 1 40. Which is trivial because you have to clean the glass lense covering the light bulb like the window to see the light. It's good at night. After I set my multimeter to any Ohm setting I found continuity testing the bulb so it was good. I unplugged the Mes, removed the two bulb socket housing screws and found both wire screw terminals to the socket loose, which I tightened that fixed the problem. Next time I'll strip and terminate but not much lead/space to work with. The manual says the Mes handles 15-25 watt bulbs but MB puts in 15. This is my second fix, including the high temp heating element connectors. The damn light bulb lasts longer than the wire terminals. My smoker just turned 2 years old and has been outdoors 100% of the time, covered out of direct rain. Heating and cooling, inferior crimped termials vs. Solder, oxidizing terminals in the outdoor elements is certain failure. I haven't heard of wire insulation failure just the joint where it's terminated.
-Kurt
 
Maybe that's the size of the bag or they come on a card... 

There are other snaps you can look at...   The MES snaps are probably designated in Celcius... 

The 270 - 40 probably means you will have to heat it up if the smoker is below 40 F...  I have to do that at 30 F. with my smoker..
The Mes snap disc says 150*C so 302*F. Do stock Mes snap discs auto reset after cooling down for 10 minutes or so like other overheated appliances or have to be repaced. I never got a reply on that over the years.
-Kurt
 
That reminds me I do need to change the light bulb in mine. Have you ever changed out your snap disc Kurt on your MES?
 
 

Found the problem. The spade connector to the thermostat is broken off. You can see the other end of the wire on the ground is the spliced end of the big tape element side. So where could I get a new thermostat? Direct from Masterbuilt or other source? I will have to get some hi temp spade connectors too.
As Dave pointed out what you have in your hand is the safety rollout limit switch.  As Dave mentions it is there to trip should your smoker reach the switch temp limit and cut power to the heating element.  This way if something fails you don't heat until you burn down your smoker.

I am 100% positive that the "Goodman Amana B1370154 Flame Rollout Switch 350° OEM" will fit and work for you, I use them and they run anywhere from $7-$10. Ebay has them cheaper than amazon

I have a feeling that the MES one is a 1 time trip and replace switch because those are super cheap and would keep manufacturing costs down.

In my two rewire jobs I replaced the stock MES rollout switch with the one above because I wanted a resetable switch should it ever trip.  Also I wanted a higher limit (350F) so when I ran my PID autotuning feature there would be some temperature room for it to do it's thing without tripping the switch at 302F.  Finally, I wanted to be able to push a little over 300F just for chicken smokes so I could get edible skin 
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Some high temp spade connectors on a new rollout switch and you are back in business.

Also if you have a dremel with a cutting wheel and a little piece of aluminum or sheet steel I would suggest you cut a hole and make a panel so you can access that switch again should it trip and you need to reset it without taking the whole back off.  Here is my homemade panel for the rollout switch


I don't have a picture of it but I even cut out a square on the rollout switch cover so I could pull the rubber sheet out and access the rollout switch without having to unscrew it as well lol.

Finally, i am going to double check my wiring to double check that my neutral and hot plug wires are going to the proper braided wires.  Your experience proves that being 100% certain is worth the effort of me looking again before i test this weekend lol
 
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That reminds me I do need to change the light bulb in mine. Have you ever changed out your snap disc Kurt on your MES?
Mine hasnt failed so it's the original snap disc. If anyone has had one trip I'd like to know if it reset itself or needed to be replaced. If it does fail I'll solder on new high temp flag quick disconnects to the wires when installing the new snap disc. If the controller fails and I go with a PID I believe I'll go with 14 guage wires from the snap disc to the element on the outside of the smoker along the back. Those high temp quick disconnects are tight and holding the snap disc in your hand and pushing them on is easier than the tight space it's mounted in. Then shrink tube the two wires together from the snap disc down to the heating element access and fasten the wires to the back of the smoker. Cut the power cord off the smoker and terminate the new wiring with solder and shink tubing at the heating element access. Now all wiring is more substantial and all troubleshooting in the future is at a glance after the covers are removed. I like the clean look TallBM gets with using the Mes wires and just making a snap disc access but after all the failed connectors and frayed wires that comes in the Mes I want a heavier guage wire and I have 16 high temp T1113 Supco quick disconnects to use on 16-14 guage wire. The pic on Amazon where I bought these shows a fold tab instead of the barrels they sent in the pic below. I wanted to crimp and solder but the barrels are not crimpable. The black one is the one I replaced before it failed. The one that failed disintegrated.

-Kurt
 
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