My stairlift isn’t working
Imagine you sat down in your lift ready to pop downstairs for your morning coffee.
Then… nothing, you push the control lever again… nothing, now what? An expensive bill? A long wait for an engineer to turn up?
Well hopefully not.
At Anglian Lifts we know it can be frustrating when a piece of technology lets you down. So we we’ve put together this helpful check list to hopefully get your stairlift working again without the need for a call out.
Below are 5 things that we come across quite regularly at Anglian Lifts. They may get you back on the move again without needing us.
Of course, if they don’t then we’re always on call to help out.
Is your stairlift just switched off?
We get many calls from people that have done exactly this, stairlifts come with both key switches and main power switches (they can be in various locations depending on your particular lift).
A lot of people have simply knocked the key switch a tiny bit so that the stairlifts not working and thinks it is switched off, turn the key to off, remove it, put it back in, turn it to ‘on’ and try again, you will be amazed how many times this has been the issue.
Same applies for the main switch (if applicable), turn it off, count to fifteen and turn it back on again.
Does your stairlift have an obstruction?
All stairlifts have a safety feature that stops them travelling in a certain direction if it meets an obstruction, these are called ‘safe-edges’, they are positioned around the footrest around the exposed parts of the lift main carriage unit.
Check for actual physical items in the way, if you find one then remove it and try again. If you don’t see anything then physically press the safety switches to make sure they haven’t just been knocked and are stuck, give them a wiggle!
Have you checked optional equipment?
If you have a hinged track or a powered swivel seat (or even just a manual seat can do the same), make sure that those items are in the correct position that allows the lift to travel, all ancillary’s have electronic interlocks to prevent the lift operating if it’s not safe to do so. Ensure the hinge is lowered, make sure the seat has swivelled all the way to the travel position and then try again.
My stairlift is beeping and flashing.
This is usually an indication that there is a possible main power supply failure to the lift, check the plug is in the wall (or the fused spur is switched on), if these are, then check your main house consumer unit RCD switches to ensure one hasn’t tripped out, again this is something we come across an awful lot
A simple beep could be your smoke alarm and not the stairlift, I have come across this literally 100’s of times.
Flashing lights and/or displays are sometimes usual, but sometime means your stairlifts not working properly, check in your user guide if you have any concern or simply give us a call and we will advise you free of charge, we know quite a lot about domestic lifts and stairlift repairs!!
The stairlift is showing an error code
Firstly check in your stairlift user guide that it’s actually an error code, some lifts display codes just to show the user the current status, such as charging level, direction of travel, seat positions etc. If you have a genuine error code then usually these are shown in your user guide and it could be something as simple as the stuck safe edge (as mentioned above) and can be sorted yourself simply, for anything more sinister please call us and we will advise over the phone for free.
My stairlift still doesn’t work, now what do I do?
We will make a stairlift repair engineer of you yet, if you have tried all of the above and your stairlift is not working still, that’s where a reputable, fully trained stairlift or home lift engineer may be required.
Any stairlift company you call should try and assist you over the phone and try all of the potential scenarios in a structured manner in order to get you going again, without the need to send an engineer, its only when these checks don’t prove fruitful that you may need a home visit to get it put right. Anglian Lifts offer this service if you require it and we can be contacted on 01733 971975 or visit our emergency repair page on our website: – Emergency Stairlift Repairs
Our industry is here to keep you mobile and safe, we also have a group of like minded companies we work with and recommend if you are out of our coverage area.
To find a list of companies that are a members of the BHTA (British Healthcare Trades Association) click HERE
If this article was helpful, please let us know in the comments below!
