Water heater guide

Bad electric water heater element: how to tell and what to do

Electric water heaters have no pilot to blow out. When they fail, it's most often a heating element or thermostat. Here's how to tell which, and how a plumber tests them.

Updated October 21, 2026 · 6 min read · By the Heater Doctor team

Technician testing an electric water heater heating element with a multimeter

Short answer

An electric water heater usually has two elements. If you get no hot water at all, suspect the upper element or the reset switch. If you get some hot water that runs out quickly, suspect the lower element. With the power off and the wires removed, a good element reads between 5 and 25 ohms on a multimeter, according to A. O. Smith. Outside that range, replace it.

How an electric water heater heats

A standard electric tank has an upper and a lower element, each with its own thermostat. The upper one heats the top of the tank first, then hands off to the lower one. A. O. Smith notes that the lower thermostat does most of the work, which is why it tends to fail before the upper one.

Symptoms

No hot water at all: check the breaker and the reset button first (see how to reset a water heater). If those are fine, A. O. Smith's guide points to the upper element, then the upper thermostat.
Some hot water, but it runs out fast: A. O. Smith's guide points to the lower element, then the lower thermostat. It also notes that cold incoming water in winter, a faulty shower valve or an undersized heater can cause the same complaint.
Breaker or reset keeps tripping: a shorted element is a common cause.

How to test an element

This is A. O. Smith's procedure. Electric water heaters run on 240 volts, so if you're not comfortable with a meter, leave it to a pro.

Turn the water heater's breaker off.
Remove the access panel and confirm there's no voltage at the thermostat terminals with a meter. A. O. Smith warns that working on an energized circuit can cause severe injury or death.
Disconnect the two wires from the element.
Set the meter to resistance, 200 ohms or lower.
Measure across the element's two screw terminals. A good element reads 5 to 25 ohms, about 12.5 typical. Outside that range, it's bad.
Check for a short: set the meter to its highest resistance range and measure from each terminal to the metal tank. It should read OL (open). Any lower reading means the element is grounded and must be replaced.

If both elements test good, A. O. Smith's guide says the thermostat is the next suspect.

Replacing an element

The tank has to be drained below the element first. A. O. Smith says elements come out with an element wrench or a 1-1/2 inch deep socket. Refill the tank completely before turning the power back on. A. O. Smith notes that on a new heater, a burned-out upper element is almost always caused by turning the power on before the tank was full, which is called a dry fire.

HomeGuide puts professional element replacement at $100 to $350 (see water heater repair costs).

All-electric towns

If your home is all-electric, as many are in places like Post Falls, Idaho (about 37% of homes heat with electricity), Englewood, Colorado (about 34%) and Middletown, Pennsylvania (about half), these are the parts most likely to fail.