I disassembled the smoker this morning and found two possible culprits....grease buildup where heating element passes through smoker wall, and heavily rusted wood chip shroud making contact with heating element. After unpluging the element from the power wires I plugged in the smoker. It did not trip the power outlet and the electronic control seemed to work properly, proving to me the problem is related to the heating element. I think it may be back working soon!