Hello Nicholas;
As I have taken apart my own machine apart several times, I have found that, if I have connected the wires to the heat ribbon on the wrong sides of the head, the machine will not heat. Just like a battery- the wires need to connect to the positive and the negative. So, try putting the wires on different sides of your machine's head. You might have to disassemble and reassemble the machine a couple of times. To prevent the waste of sugar, run your machine empty (but not too long!). If the heat knob is all the way up, and the heat starts to work, you should know within a minute or two if this is the case. Hopefully this simple solution is the case :)
-Nichole S.