Continuity and resistance checks can answer many questions with the appliance unplugged.
Start Here
Prove the meter works before and after testing.
Disconnect at least one side of a component when needed.
Use continuity for simple closed/open paths.
Use resistance only when you know what reading is plausible.
The fastest way to get lost is to remove parts before you know which function failed. Continuity and resistance checks can answer many questions with the appliance unplugged. For using a multimeter safely, concentrate on the diagnostic process itself. Use every working function as evidence: if one stage still behaves normally, that fact eliminates causes that would have stopped the appliance earlier in the sequence.
Observe the timing before touching anything. Note what happens immediately after Start, what changes just before the fault, and what remains normal afterward. Lights, relay clicks, water movement, motor or fan sounds, heat, vibration and error codes are useful only when tied to a point in the cycle. A fault that appears instantly is a different problem from one that appears only after the machine warms up or reaches a later stage.
Begin with the cheapest conditions to verify: prove the meter works before and after testing, then disconnect at least one side of a component when needed. Do not merely glance at them. Compare the actual condition with the manual, correct anything obviously wrong, and retest before moving deeper. Simple installation, maintenance and user-setting problems regularly imitate failed electrical parts.
If those checks pass, move to use continuity for simple closed/open paths. Then decide whether use resistance only when you know what reading is plausible can be evaluated safely with power isolated. Choose one test that answers one question: blocked or clear, open or closed, free or jammed, intact or electrically open. If a test result would not change your next decision, the test is probably not worth doing.
Avoid measuring resistance on an energized circuit, placing the lead in the current jack by accident, and letting probe tips slip across terminals. All three skip evidence and can turn a minor fault into an expensive one. After a correction, reassemble guards and connectors, restore normal settings, and reproduce the original operating conditions. A single successful start is not proof; the original symptom must stay gone through the stage that used to fail.
A Safe Step-by-Step Check
Document the exact symptom and pay special attention to prove the meter works before and after testing.
Remove external causes first; specifically verify disconnect at least one side of a component when needed.
With power isolated where required, inspect use continuity for simple closed/open paths and then evaluate use resistance only when you know what reading is plausible only if it can be done safely.
Reassemble fully and run a controlled test under the conditions that previously caused the fault.
Common Beginner Mistakes
Measuring resistance on an energized circuit.
Placing the lead in the current jack by accident.
Letting probe tips slip across terminals.
STOP AND GET HELP: If the next useful test requires exposed live mains, defeating a safety interlock, opening a sealed refrigeration circuit, disturbing gas controls, or entering a microwave high-voltage section, the diagnosis has reached the professional-service boundary.