Was very surprised when I tried to open my safe yesterday, with no previous problems.   It is a Remington-branded Liberty safe, with a LaGard Basic electronic lock.

First, no response from the keypad.    I changed the battery about a month ago, so didn't think that could be the problem, but changed it again anyway.    No luck, at first, but after hitting a couple of keys, they did start working.    However, it would not accept my PIN.   Found the original documentation with the original PIN number - dunno if it would have reverted back to that, but no dice either.

Continued to try my PIN, kept going into lockout mode (5 minute wait after a couple of bad combos).    However, after the 5 minute wait, the keypad always stops responding.     If I remove and reattach the battery, it will usually start responding immediately, but sometimes not.  

After about the third or forth lockout period, it actually did accept my PIN.    Of course, I was bit stupid, and closed it thereafter.    Haven't been able to get it open since.    This morning when I tried it, was getting similar behavior, except one time when I tried the code and only got a very faint beeping and LED lighting when pressing the keys.

So... at the least, it looks like the keypad went tits up.    Found a replacement keypad online for pretty cheap - about $30.   Assuming I can get it open again, is this something a reasonably handy person can replace themselves, or will a locksmith need to do it?    Are LaGard locks just junk, and should I replace it with something else (S&G seems to be a big name...)?

On hold w/Liberty right now, for the past 30 minutes, but there is only a 2 year warranty on the lock, and I've had it about 4 years, so I don't expect much help, beyond perhaps advice, from them...

Thanks.

If I were you I would ask for help from the guys over at Lockpicking101.com.

They know their stuff.

Here is the website.

Good luck.

So much for electronic locks.  This convinces me, I'll never get one.

Get a torch, cut the damn thing open and buy another safe.

Quoted: So much for electronic locks.  This convinces me, I'll never get one.

I can't see needing to get into the safe to retrieve something in an emergency and having to wait 5 minutes between attempts.

I don't remember what brand safe I have.  Next to the keypad is a plastic panel that pops off, and underneath is a 7 pin tubular that also opens the safe.  

cut an extension cord into and plug it in, hold to lock until open.

Quoted: Quoted: So much for electronic locks.  This convinces me, I'll never get one. I can't see needing to get into the safe to retrieve something in an emergency and having to wait 5 minutes between attempts.

It only goes into lockout mode after three invalid attempts in a row.   Then, until the valid combination is entered, it will go into lockout mode after two attempts.

Anywho, Liberty is sending me a new keypad, free of charge.    The customer service/tech person thought that something in the keypad was shorting out, and the lock itself was OK.     The keypad can actually be replaced when the safe is closed.

The keypad itself is actually very, very cheap looking.   The nice housing on the door is mainly for looks, only.   The keypad itself is actually only a PCB on a sticker, pry up the sticker and there are screws that allow you to remove the cover, and get at a second PCB.   The actual lock, is completely internal, of course, as is the bit that stores the combination.   So, a busted keypad can be replaced with a functional one, and the old combo, etc. should still work.

While I was doing this, it actually started working for a while - could open and close it 5-6 times.    Put it all back, and came back it a 1/2 hour, and it was working all fruity again.    

I must admit, this turned me off to electronic locks as well, although to be fair, this one seems really, really low end - at least based on what I've seen of the keypad.    I actually found it on sale, when I was looking for replacements for like $60.      The S&G locks all seem to be $150+.    BTW, Liberty no longer used LaGard locks (only S&G now), which may not be coincidence..... I was lucky in that they still had 4 more keypads left in stock, and weren't getting any more.

had a similiar proble with my amsec. Found out that some of the electronic keypads had a short in them causing me to burn through 2 9v batteries a week. Ended up buying a brand new keypad for it on ebay for $10 (lists for like $110) had it about 3 months now and I'm still on the initial batteries.