Night latch cylinder turns but doesn't unlock

[kazanjig]

First, let me thank everyone who has contributed to these forums. Your posts have been a great help and extremely educational. I just recently got interested in picking locks (you never know when it will come in handy) and was so pleased to find this site. Now on to the business...

I've been very successful so far with pretty much every lock I've tried in my "training." However, my apartment front door lock is being tricky. I believe the proper term for it is "night latch" (flush, deadbolt-looking cylinder on the outside, knob on the inside, springloaded).

I can pick it so that the cylinder turns, but the latch does not. [url=http://www.lockpicking101.com/viewtopic.php?t=28]This[/url] is the closest thread I was able to find by searching, but I'm not sure if they're talking about a deadbolt or a lock-in-knob.

Anyway, the cylinder is mounted with the pins at the top and will turn 270 degrees counterclockwise or 90 degrees clockwise, and in neither direction will the lock open.

Any suggestions?

[TOWCH]

Picking is supposed to work the lock like a key. Does the key turn x degrees and then need additional force? What direction does the key work the lock? If the bolt resists movement it might take a screwdriver to turn it.

[EvoRed]

As TOWCH says, once resistance is felt, a screwdriver ususally applies the force needed to open it...

[meat-bix]

Just a tip, remember to use quotation marks in the url if you are using url tags...

[url="http://www.google.com"

;0)

Good luck with the lock.

[fugi]

yea you're not gonna turn it with your torque wrench, pull the door and take the 1/4" play out of it and turn with screwdriver. I keep one in my set, phillips/'flathead on either end, and it has 2 90 degree bends on the end, so you can use it just like a torque.

[kazanjig]

See, that's the strangest thing though... Because the cylinder is pretty difficult to turn (moreso than when I use a key) as soon as all the pins set and the cylinder starts to turn I immediately pull both the tension wrench and pick out and use the back end of the pick (hacksaw blade) to turn the cylinder.

At about 180 degrees (half turn) I feel the cylinder click into some sort of position and then as I continue to turn for another 90 degrees (for a 3/4 turn) I feeel something in the lock want to engage that sounds like the latch wanting to retract, but it doesn't. Could there be something within the latch mechanism that isn't being engaged?

Once I reach that 270 degree (3/4 turn) mark, I can turn as hard as I want and absolutely nothing happens.

By the way, not that I think it really matters, but the cylinder says "ilco" on it. It's a pretty new cylinder in a relatively old latch.

[EvoRed]

I doubt the back of the pick allows you to apply enough tension to open the latch either. Try a screwdriver and see what happens...

[kazanjig]

Thanks everyone for helping to keep me from getting discouraged. I tried the screwdriver yesterday and IT WORKED! Thank you so much. So far I'm 5/5 with only using my torque home-made torque wrench, home-made hook pick and my swiss army knife screwdriver. Awesome.