📖 Glossary, Measurement
What is a continuity?
Whether electricity can flow through a component, the single most useful measurement in appliance repair.
A continuity test checks for an unbroken electrical path. With power off, a healthy heating element, fuse, switch or solenoid shows continuity (a low resistance reading). A failed one reads open, meaning infinite resistance and no path. The opposite fault, a short, is an unintended path, often to ground, which trips breakers. Most appliance diagnosis is a sequence of continuity checks walking the power path from plug to load.
Where you’ll meet it
Repairs that involve continuity
Related terms
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