Rev. A.4, 12/01
Page- i
APPENDIX A
TROUBLESHOOTING
PROBLEM
-- No magnetic attraction between magnet and strike plate.
To verify no magnetic attraction, attempt to put a steel object like a paperclip or screwdriver against the magnet
surface (covering at least two bars of the magnet body). It should adhere weakly. If it falls away with no
adherence, you have no magnetic field. To analyze the problem, first be sure the lock is being correctly powered
with DC voltage. This includes connecting the power wires with correct polarity. Positive must go to red and
negative to black. If the SAM is wired in reverse polarity, it will not be damaged, but it will not operate. If the unit
continues to appear dead, it must be electrically checked with an Ammeter. It must be powered with the correct
input voltage and checked to see if it draws the specified current. If the unit meters correctly, it is putting out the
correct magnetic field and the problem must lie with the mounting alignment in the door (see next paragraph).
PROBLEM
-- The lock does not engage even though magnetic attraction is present.
SAM’s operate by pulling the strike plate against the magnet face when the door closes thereby seating conical
buttons on the strike into corresponding machined holes at either end of the magnet body. If the buttons do not
seat, the lock will not hold and should be considered
not engaged
. There are three potential causes that can
produce a failure of the buttons to seat. First the mounting alignment between the strike and the magnet body can
be off such that the buttons don’t line up with the conical machined holes in the T brackets. To make this unlikely,
the diameter of the machined holes exceeds that of the buttons by 1/8” and this provides a margin for error in
mounting. A misalignment greater than this either along the long axis of the lock or in the door closing direction will
cause engagement failure. You can normally visually detect such an alignment problem. Watch the strike closely
as you very slowly close the door. You should see it “try” to move against the magnet body but note that the
buttons are acting as stand-offs because they are not lining up with the holes. In some cases, this problem can be
corrected by adjusting the door but re-mounting the unit properly is often required.
The second possible cause is that the gap between the magnet body and strike plate has widened to the point that
the magnet can no longer pull the strike plate in. This can happen, for example, when the lock is mounted at the
top of the door and the door sags downwards which increases the gap. Note that the gap is supposed to be 1/10”
or the point at which the tops of the buttons just graze the magnet surface. If the actual gap is significantly greater
than this, you have found the problem. It can be corrected by either readjusting the hanging position of the door or
readjusting the level of the strike (by turning the two strike mounting screws) so as to reduce the gap to the correct
dimension. The final possible cause is that the strike mounting hardware has somehow become frozen so that the
strike has lost its movement ability towards and away from the magnet body. You can check this by trying the
move the strike by hand with the door open. If it will not move, dismount it and clean and lubricate (or replace) the
mounting hardware.
PROBLEM
-- Reduced holding force.
This problem usually expresses itself in terms of being able to kick the door open or to open it with a shoulder. The
cause is usually a build-up of dirt or other material between the magnet body and strike. Check to see if anything is
interfering with a flat fit. Even a small air gap can greatly reduce the holding force. Another possibility is if you are
operating the lock on AC instead of DC or on half wave rectified DC (trans single diode). Half wave
rectified DC is unacceptable; you must, at a minimum employ full wave rectified DC (trans bridge).
PROBLEM
-- The Senstat output does not report secure.
Because of the simplicity of Securitron's patented Senstat design, this is almost always a case of the lock status
sensor doing its job. It is not reporting secure because a small obstruction or too stiffly mounted strike is causing
the Magnalock to hold at reduced force. The problem is corrected by cleaning the surfaces of the magnet. If this
doesn't work, you can verify function of the Senstat feature as follows. Note that there are 2 thin vertical lines on
the magnet face that can be said to separate the core into 3 sections from left to right. The Senstat output is
created by the strike establishing electrical contact between the leftmost and rightmost core segments. With the
lock powered, use a pair of scissors and press the points respectively into the leftmost and rightmost core