La Gard electronic lock problems

[anti]

Hey guys, I have a First Alert safe that I bought from Costco several months ago with an electronic La Gard Basic lock on it. Lately it's been acting strange by not opening even with the right passcode; I'd have to enter it in more than once sometimes. Now it's not opening at all and I believe it's telling me my passcode is now incorrect because it keeps locking me out for 5 minutes. I even tried the default 1-2-3-4-5-6 passcode and nada. I also tried swapping out the battery and still nothing. I can't find the receipt from Costco so I'm SOL as far as warranty goes. I could have sworn I kept it just in case this kind of crap happened but I guess not. I knew I should have went with a dial lock but this safe seemed like a good buy at the time. Lesson learned!

I will keep fiddling with it and trying different batteries but if anybody who has experienced this kind of trouble could help I'd greatly appreciate it.

[anti]

Okay, applying some pressure to the handle towards the unlock direction got it to unlock so my passcode is still good. Perhaps it's a loose connection or something? I always had a feeling I'd regret going with an e-lock.

[anti]

Crap it's not working anymore.

[mopeddog]

Make sure you use alkaline batteries and not those heavy duty batteries. That's all I got.

[anti]

I just ran to Walgreen and bought some new Duracell Coppertops like everyone recommends and I'm still having problems.

[kalikid]

Is it a gun safe, or one of those small valuables safe? I was having issues with the electronic lock on my Winchester gun safe, so I swapped it out for a dial. Was pretty easy.

[12voltguy]

Okay, applying some pressure to the handle towards the unlock direction got it to unlock so my passcode is still good. Perhaps it's a loose connection or something? I always had a feeling I'd regret going with an e-lock.

Crap it's not working anymore.

well since you got it open
replace with a dial

[RandyD]

Costco has an excellent return policy. Its almost a no questions asked policy. You also do not need the receipt because they have your purchases recorded.

[anti]

Randy thanks for the heads up. I've learned my lesson and from now on will be using dial locks.

[JDay]

First Alert... That explains everything. I'd return that and at least move up to a Bighorn. The lock is not the issue. Lagard is a top quality lock.

[RuskieShooter]

Is it a gun safe, or one of those small valuables safe? I was having issues with the electronic lock on my Winchester gun safe, so I swapped it out for a dial. Was pretty easy.

Tell me more... I have passed good deals on safes because they were electronic locks. However, if there is a cost effective way to change it to a dial, that could save me some money.

-Ruskie

[anti]

It's the 23 gun First Alert from Costco. I bought it at the beginning of this past summer and it was working fine up until the past week or so. I'd say 80% of the time it won't recognize my combo as correct; so after a few "failed" attempts it'll lock me out for several minutes as if I'm trying to figure the combo out. This is why I believe it's the lock and not the safe itself.

I'd also be interested in a cost-effective way to switch over to a dial lock if such a thing exists.

If I can't get this sorted out without spending a ton of money then I'll return it and buy a Liberty or something of higher quality. I just dread having to move this damn thing around again.

[JDay]

There should be a, 1 year warranty on the lock.

[anti]

Yes but I cannot find my Costco purchase receipt for warranty service on the lock; I'm usually good about keeping important documents but not this time. I PM'd a member on the forum who said he was a locksmith for 30-some-odd years so hopefully he could help out if he ever gets back to me. If anything I'll just return it for a refund and buy a better safe. I called a local locksmithing company and they said it'd be a minimum of a couple hundred dollars to service or replace the lock and there's no way I'm spending that kind of money on a $500 safe from Costco.

[greensoup]

Hey guys, I have a First Alert safe that I bought from Costco several months ago with an electronic La Gard Basic lock on it. Lately it's been acting strange by not opening even with the right passcode; I'd have to enter it in more than once sometimes. Now it's not opening at all and I believe it's telling me my passcode is now incorrect because it keeps locking me out for 5 minutes. I even tried the default 1-2-3-4-5-6 passcode and nada. I also tried swapping out the battery and still nothing. I can't find the receipt from Costco so I'm SOL as far as warranty goes. I could have sworn I kept it just in case this kind of crap happened but I guess not. I knew I should have went with a dial lock but this safe seemed like a good buy at the time. Lesson learned!

I will keep fiddling with it and trying different batteries but if anybody who has experienced this kind of trouble could help I'd greatly appreciate it.

If you bought it from the store you can get a copy of your receipt of purchase by going to the returns or service counter. Easier if you know around when it was purchased. You can probably use this for online purchases as well.

Costco tracks all your purchases forever basically because the return policy is forever on most items.