Test a water heater element by turning off the circuit breaker and removing the access panel. Disconnect one wire from the element. Set your multimeter to resistance and touch probes to both terminals. A good element reads 10 to 16 ohms. Infinite resistance means the element is burned out. Test for grounding by touching one probe to a terminal and one to the tank. Any reading indicates a grounded element needing replacement. Always verify power is off before testing.