Expert: Terry V Andreasen (Andy) - 9/13/2009

Question
My wife opened our old Diebold floor safe and did something, or something went wrong, and I am unable to get it to work now.  There are three cylinders on the safe and they are partially exposed so the door can not shut.  Usually the dial spins freely, but now it seems to be tighter.  I  tried to go through the combination, but I could not get it to catch and retract the pins.  I tried to figure out how to use the key (which is an allen shaped brass key which has about a 45 degree movement range from the backside (inside) safe door.  As I may have made some change in my attempts I would greatly appreciate a detailed instruction on how to use the key to reset a new combination.  I might ask if there is a deeper problem,, as I could not get the old combination to work in it's opened position and it was a little more restricted in turning it than what is normal.  The outside information on the safe is Diebold relocking device No 623296.  Inside the door information is Y35524,  Spec B1, SMNA Group 4.  The safe uses 3 numbers in the combination.  Contents space is small, someting like a cubic foot.  Would appreciate any information you could supply or it is just going to become a very heavy paperweight.  Thanks for your help.   Dennis

Answer
Dennis,

Based on the information that you have provided, you may have a mechanical problem with the door, lock and/or bolt work.  Changing the combination will not take care of this problem, and it may exaserbate it.  Mechanical items do not just "quit" working for no reason, and ignoring it will not make it go away.

If the transmission on your car is causing a problem, having the engine tuned up will not take care of the problem.

I never recommend anyone changing the combination that does not understand how the lock works, just trying to change the combination can increase the problem.

You are very lucky that your wife was not sucessfull in locking the door after the initial problem as the cost to open and repair the safe would have been substantial.  You also have not indicated when the last time this safe was serviced?

My recommendation is for you to either have a trained safe technician inspect, service and repair your safe.  If you can take the door to the safe company it will safe you the cost of a service call.  

You will notice that I did not mention using a locksmith or locksmith company.  Generally they do not have the proper training for this type of work.  Because they don't have the correct training, they may charge you extra fees while "learning" on your safe.  Save yourself time, money and headaches by having a trained safe tech check the safe door out.

Andy