correct me if i'm mistaken, but i'm pretty sure that's just to find out the resistance of the pot. some common symptoms of an overheated pot are ground problems or the pot ceases to function at all. i dont think theres a good way to check for a dead pot, besides using substitution (in this case, get a new pot, try it, they're only $5, very cheap) and if that doesnt work, look for problems elsewere