by Raymond » 19 Mar 2026 14:28
I have often thought about that problem but have never acted on the idea. Many of the older LaGard locks used a separate battery box stuck to the wall inside of the safe. This kept all damage isolated outside of the lock and outside of the keypad. The 39E had two contacts on the face of the keypad where a 9-v battery could be held in place to enter the combo, then access the battery box and change the batteries.
So, with this in mind, add a set of through the door contacts where a battery can be pushed onto to open the safe. You may have to run a new set of wires from the current keypad into the safe, to a battery box and to the pass through outside of the door. This will get all batteries out of the keypad and lock, and still add an emergency method to bypass the failed battery box.
This may still run into the problem where the corrosion lowers the voltage below that required to open the lock. When the additional battery is put into the circuit, I don't know if the failing batteries will create a short circuit or add resistance. Just a thought.
But, best answer: change to a mechanical lock.
Nothing is foolproof to a talented fool. Wisdom is not just in determining how to do something, but also includes determining whether it should be done at all.
