Turnigy Sk8 ESC - pulls voltage to zero

Hi all,

I was recently gifted a longboard skateboard that had been turned into a E-skate. It used to run and then got shelved, and parts removed and replaced. 

Anyways I am trying to get it going, the previous owner told me it was not responding well, and felt underpowered, and suggested I try reprogramming the ESC and checking to see if it was setup correctly.

Unfortunately the Turnigy Sk8 40A - ESC does not power on anymore - I tested with my multimeter, and it seems there is a direct short somewhere. when I put alligator clips on the multimeter prongs and test connecting to the ESC the voltages gets pulled down to ZERO. 

I am not very familiar with the electronics behind the ESC's, and thought before I go digging around, if there were any common faults or suggestions where I may start diagnosing and hopefully be able to replace the faulty components. 

I had a quick look at the board and I don't see, any obvious signs of any magic smoke escaping....

Anyhelp in this regard would be much appreciated!! 

Thanks

-Mike