Thinking outside the box here. A lot of time circuit boards will crap out when the solder of one of the connections breaks. An old trick is to heat up the circuit board (hot) until the solder touches again. I currently do this with a laptop. I have to stick it in a blanket and let it run for about an hour. After an hour, it's red hot to the touch. I can then get the monitor to come on.

I would first try compressed air through the hole. Maybe that will shake something up in there. Next, try a hair dryer in the hole. Let it run for about 15 minutes until the door is hot. Maybe that will heat something up enough to get things going.

Have you tried taking the pressure off the handle? Maybe there is too much pressure on the solenoid. You said you almost broke the handle turning so hard. It may be possible that you bent the solenoid, and now the solenoid pin is jammed.

have you tried new batteries yet? i used to sell winchesters on here. they are picky on batteries. has to be a duracell... period. no other batteries worked. i had the same issue as you. bought an energizer, didn't work. freaked out. bought a duracell, still didn't work. bought another duracell with a better expiration date and BAM works every time.

How many batteries and what type? Again thinking outside the box, I say screw the AA's or what ever you're using and just hook an external DC power supply with the correct voltage, or one just slightly higher, directly to the circuit board.

I'm making an assumption on how that mechanism works, but I would think that when the correct combination is entered on the keypad, voltage would be either placed or removed (most likely placed) on the wires/connector going into the safe, and then a verifying signal is sent back to the keypad. That's why you have 4 wires - two for the output and two more for the return/verify/exciter or whatever they call it. Put a volt meter on the back of the keypad, probably on the red/black pair, and see if you detect a change in the voltage when you enter the combo. If not, I would suspect the keypad of being bad. If you are getting an output from the keypad, then the problem is most likely inside the safe.

thats why ya dont by sentry safes lol...especially electric lol

Put a screw driver in the same hole as the wire and tap the back with a hammer and see if it will wake up the internal lock, customer service told me that one time before I told them my orginal problem be careful not to crush the wire.

I tried that last night quite a few times, it didn't help.

when you say didn't work, what do you mean? Was the keypad doing anything or was it beeping when you punch in a number?

Most defaults are 123456#. Worth a try!

Be sure to let us know when and how you get it open. We might need the knowledge one of these days.

Does your`s have a set screw in the handle?..sometimes when mine gets loose the handle just keeps turning....

Yikes, I just bought a Winchester safe today. After reading this I guess I will spring the extra 75 bucks for an additional 9 years worth of warranty on the lock.

It seems to be that the electrical components are working in so far as to say it recognizes your code and attempts to do its job. I read through this and remember you saying you tried to hit it with a rubber mallet. Right now, its nothing but a paper weight so my thinking is to beat the hell out of it at the bind point, which should be where the pins go into the frame right. Obviously, with your stuff in there it could be tricky not rattling them too much but I would try that or putting a 2X4 on there and beating it with a maul or sledge to really rattle the pins. Then try the security code after each pounding. Or try tilting it on the sides and trying the code to see if even just a little pressure one way or the other will relieve enough bind to let it pull the retraction back.

Beating the hell out of a safe trying to break in sure does sound like fun...

Try this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZNbU8qcOVU

The infomercial on at 2 o'clock in the morning showed them cutting through a safe.

Wow, this issue is still going on?

I would be flipping my $***

Ever get this resolved Coot?

? I'm curious, did you get it open?

Sorry guys I haven't been on here in a while, the safe is still not open. I have talked to several locksmiths that have opened them and as of right now I just don't have the extra money to have it opened. One Gentleman said the last one he drilled he spent $100 just on drill bits, that's not counting labor and other fees. I try the lock daily thinking its just a bad dream, I changed the password on it the other day, and it will let you it just won't open.

That sucks. Can you get the thing to a welding shop and let them either saw or cut the hinges off with a torch?

If not, I believe I would wage a public relations war with Winchester until they agreed to pay to have your safe opened. Start a facebook page or something to alert potential buyers not to buy a safe from Winchester, I am sure that type of information would be of great importance to potential buyers.

Winchester should stand behind their products. Have you tried contacting upper management?

I just talked to a locksmith in Spring, Tx. he said he does warranty work for Winchester, he told me to get a Lithium Ion Battery and try it. He said that a new Duracell or Energizer won't always have enough juice to get the swing bolt open. I've tried several batteries but haven't tried one of these. I'll give it a try this evening and go from there.

well if thats the case, they make those batt connectors that hold 10 AA and have a 9V lead on them. it is a 9V right?

Hope that works

I don't know what type of floor the safe is sitting on but if the floor has shifted and not the safe isn't sitting level that may cause the pins to bind... Just a thought

It is a 9 volt.

It's sits on a tile floor, since this has happened I've layed it back, sideways and even on the ground trying to open it.