On Sat, 15 Aug 2009 11:47:43 -0700, Smitty Two
wrote:

In article ,
albee wrote:

On Sat, 15 Aug 2009 07:37:19 -0700, Smitty Two
wrote:

In article ,
albee wrote:


Okay, replaced the upper thermostat. Still no reading between L1 and
L3; should there be? Still 120 from each pole to ground.
No reading between the upper element contact screws, so no power is
getting there. Another bad thermostat? I'm stumped (but that doesn't
take much).

You can't fix something until you understand it. The VOM is one of the
strangest tools ever invented, in that it gives people who don't
understand a circuit the idea that they can troubleshoot it. After all,
they have the tool.

Until you can draw and understand a schematic of the system, the VOM is
about as useful as a screen door on a submarine. You poke it around here
and there, and you think it's giving you information, but it isn't. It's
just giving you a useless number.

So step one, draw the circuit. A guy who already understands the system
can skip this step, and that's why you see an electrician just probing
here and there with a meter. But in his head, that circuit is either
clear as day, or becoming clear as he probes.

I appreciate your sentiments, and clearly, it would be VASTLY
advantageous to fully understand schematics. However, with the help of
knowledgeable (and patient) people, I think one can take the
appropriate measurements and diagnose a problem. Indeed, a lot harder
and one ends up going down some wrong paths (hence the patience
requirement on the helpers' parts), but I think it can be done. I
imagine it is frustrating for you and some with the requisite
knowledge, but I appreciate whatever help anyone can provide. I really
would like to understand electrical issues better, and perhaps
someday...

Those who are patiently leading you step by step through the maze are
not doing you a favor. They're enabling you to stay handicapped by your
ignorance. An electric circuit in a house is a fairly straightforward
thing. In the time you've spent thus far, fiddling around confused, you
could have learned all you needed to diagnose and repair the thing on
your own, and you would have equipped yourself with the greatest tool of
all - something you can use for the rest of your life - knowledge.

Well, first off, in hindsight, possibly. On the other hand, it
might've been the first thing I tried and I'd have been done. That's
happened in the past. And I've also discovered that, not using what I
do learn very often, I likely would forget some critical aspects,
anyway.
Secondly, I don't think that learning basic schematics would've been
a solution for me here, as it appears that the problem (and I could be
wrong here) isn't my lack of knowledge of schematics that I could've
learned in a few hours, but rather knowing where one wire is joined in
a junction box. I doubt that is contained in a book, at least a
beginning schematics one. And even knowing this only could've been
figured out after some diagnosing, anyway, to figure out that it
wasn't something else.
Knowing what it likely is, I still can't find where it is in the
attic, and hence will end up calling an electrician. But, it's been
informative nevertheless, and in hindsight, this would've been an
easier decision. But then, in hindsight they all are.
Despite my disagreement on that, I do appreciate your feedback and
suggestions.