Mortis lock, locks but wont give me back the key!! Help

[vitarajay]

Hi

Im new on here and i have a big problem
My front door is a mortis lock, when you lift the handle all the locks come out fine..
try to lock the door with the key and it seems ok, you can hear and feel all the mechanics moving into the lock position but just as the key is about to get the the upright position to be taken out of the door it stops. Meaning i cant lock the door and take my key out.
I cant go out because i cant lock the door behind me. I can stay in with it locked as long as i leave my key in but thats it. The key DOES comes out when its is unlocked.!
I have taken the whole thing out to check nothing is broken and the mortis cylinder turns fine with the key, the handle and middle bar are all fine and nothing seems to "not fit" or anything.
I don't understand, yesterday it worked, today it doesn't!
Do i need a whole new locking stystem? i know its not just a case of buying a new cylinder because this works fine...Anyone know whats going on with it??

 

[climber101]

try locking the door with the door open and tell me if you an take the key out. If so i suspect someting out of place in the receiving catch not allowing the lock to travel fully

 

[vitarajay]

no.
It wont lock and release the key when the door is open either..

 

[climber101]

is it a new mortice lock or the one you have always had? when you had it out of the door before did you ever remember being able to lock it and take the key out.

if old i can think of a few things that can go/get worn but before giving up on it I would be giving it a hefty dose of WD40. (I have opened them up before but wouldn't recommend doing so unless you have a replacement and time at hand because they can be very difficult to get back together when they spring apart)

 

[vitarajay]

Its pretty new, the house is only a year old! and im presuming they used a new door and lock when they built the house.

when i took the mechanics out of the actual door to look at i had the same problem, the barel turned to lock the door but got to a certain point then wouldnt turn any more and therefor wouldnt let me have the key back. Going to try wd40 as we have had alot of snow and rain recently and maybe something has got stuck but i just dont understand why it has suddenly stopped working....

 

[JohnD]

you say mortice lock but you are describing a cylinder lock.

it it on a PVC door with multiple latches?

a photo may help

 

[vitarajay]

its not a upvc door but its the same sort of lock i think

It has several latches that come out of the door into the frame to lock. they are not obstructed in any way, i checked that first.

 

[JohnD]

did you take the cylinder out?

will it turn enough to remove they key, when it is out of the door?

will it turn enough when the door is open?

 

[vitarajay]

ok
this is the same as my lock..

This spins and spins and spins when it is out of the door lock...so im presuming the problem is with the section of the lock that is inside my door.

i have taken this other section out but cant see inside as it is covered by a metal box that has no access. the lock is inside this i guess.

 

[vitarajay]

Here are some pictures if it helps.

This is the side view of the door and the lock so you can see what type it is

This is what position the key gets to when i try to lock it and take the key out. It is slightly off centre, but even that fraction of a turn is stoppping the key from coming out

is there a way to fix it without buying a whole new door fitting.

[/img]

 

[HandyHands]

remove the cylinder, take out the key, and take a picture of the the cam (the black middle section that rotates). It sounds like the cam has slipped out of position, preventing the key removal - even though locked. If you have a spare cylinder (another door), you can prove this by swapping the cylinders over. If correct, then you'll need a new cylinder.

 

[vitarajay]

the cylinder look identical to the picture in the previous post when its out. i have several doors with cylinders on around my house so i will try and take one of them out and swap it see if it fixes it...is that what you mean.

 

[HandyHands]

Yes, try another cylinder in the door. It probably won't be the same size, but if it locks OK, then you'll know that a replacement is needed.

I know the picture above is the same as your cylinder, but I wanted a pic of your cylinder to check the position of the rotating cam with the key out. If it's not at 5 o'clock or 7 o'clock (depending on which way you look at it), then its likely to have slipped.

 

[vitarajay]

ahhhh give me 10 mins and il have the picture up for you...i didnt know it would be in a cerain position...

 

[vitarajay]

This is how the cylinder sits when out of the door and with the key out.