Storm door lock not working

I recently locked the deadbolt on my storm door and came down the next morning and it won’t unlock. The latch turns but the deadbolt will not slide back to unlock the door, so I cannot open it at all. Is there a way fix this without getting a locksmith involved? The door is an Anderson 3000 series.

 

Problem is the screws to remove the lock mechanism are on the edge. Taking the handles and the plates off may or may not help. You may be able to slip a tool in to retract the bolt, but I don't think so. The door has a pretty small area to access the lock cartridge.

Unfortunately, the hinge rails are held on by screws that are not visible when the door is closed. You may be able to remove the plastic screw cover on the latch side, remove the screws and then swing the door open to allow access to the lock cartridge screws.

The latch is warranted for life to the original customer purchaser who owns the home...or 5 years otherwise. They will only do one replacement for mechanical or finish problems. Even if you are not the original owner, they used to be pretty lenient about shipping a new one unless the door was very old. You need the serial number, which, IIRC, is on a tag affixed to the edge of the door. You won't see it til you get the door open.

Again, IIRC, a common failure point was a spring inside the latch. I used to repair them for people who couldn't get new ones and didn't want to pay. That was near 15 yrs ago though.

 

If you've not locked it in a while, the door may have shifted, and the bolt may be binding...Try the key on the outside as well as the inside thumbturn. Use a pry bar or similar to flex the door in the frame, (under threshold to pry up, on edge to pry back etc) all the while keeping pressure (torque) on the key or thumbturn; the movement may allow the bolt to "walk" back.

 

Our Anderson storm door deadbolt lock stuck in the locked position and the door could not be opened. Nothing was broken, just jammed. To fix it, I drilled into the deadbolt housing with a 3/16" drill at a point which measured 17 mm directly above the lock cylinder. Luckily, the door frame has an opening allowing the drill to reach just this high. This exposes the portion of the mechanism which the lock cylinder moves up and down when moving the deadbolt. With a small screwdriver, plus the interior knob, I was able to push it up enough to release the deadbolt. Added Lockease graphite in that area helped release whatever was jamming the mechanism. It all works normally now. Put the covers, handles and screws back and clean up the spilled lubricant. This storm door is one of their "clear view" models, I think 3000 series. That sounds familiar but a quick search failed to find the paperwork so I cannot be certain. It has lever handles and was installed in 2006.

 

Sounds like Anderson anticipated this problem and provided a drill hole for you...