Mighty Mule Lock not working

zene55 · Jun 29, 2012

I have had a mighty mule 350 for a couple of years with no issues. The automatic lock is not unlocking. Any ideas on how to troubleshoot the problem. I was thinking of taking it off and trying to operate it with a 12v battery in the shop.

jinman · Jun 29, 2012

Is that the solenoid type latch? We had trouble with ours because the changing moisture levels in the ground would change the gate geometry just enough between wet/dry seasons to cause the latch to bind. When that happened, I'd just adjust the gate so the latch was in the middle of the slot and not rubbing. That and keeping the latch lubed was all we needed. You might check both issues on your latch.

zene55 · Jun 29, 2012

Seems the latch isn't trying to unlock. No click or anything like before, might just go buy a new one and try that.

tglass · Jun 29, 2012

zene55 said:
Seems the latch isn't trying to unlock. No click or anything like before, might just go buy a new one and try that.

sounds like a power problem to the latch. have you checked for volatge to it when you hit it? might be a loose or brocken connection or wire between them, usually at the hinge. solonoid might have went out, but unlikely. i would pull the wire off just before the lock and check for power as the first thing. also do you have a full power supply(battery or source) with full power or amperage? solonoids take quite a bit when activated and have you checked the time delay upon startup?

Soundguy · Jun 29, 2012

yep.. sort out wire issues and make sure hte solenoid is getting signal. if so.. then look for a binding / lube issue

jinman · Jun 30, 2012

Soundguy said:
yep.. sort out wire issues and make sure hte solenoid is getting signal.

Yessir! Before replacing the lock/solenoid, I'd jumper power from an external battery to check its operation. Replacing a solenoid that's not bad because of a broken wire is no fun at all.

Soundguy · Jun 30, 2012

yep..that's the ibm field tech way to fix things. start repalcing parts starting with most expensive till the machine works!

tglass · Jun 30, 2012

Soundguy said:
yep..that's the ibm field tech way to fix things. start repalcing parts starting with most expensive till the machine works!

What are you talking about? I don't see anyone here saying to replace parts till it works but only trying to help with a problem.

Soundguy · Jun 30, 2012

tglass said:
What are you talking about? I don't see anyone here saying to replace parts till it works but only trying to help with a problem.

that comment to jim was actually part of a very old 2 part joke about service techs... the 2nd part is about changing a car tire.. starting on one sid eand going around till you find the flat one (sic) like an imb service tech. IE.. no trouble shooting.. just parts changing

but since you asked. post #3 CLEARLY states in no uncertain terms that the OP is thinking about :

buy a new one and try that.

I'll guess you missed that part.

jinman · Jul 1, 2012

There's no doubt we are over-analyzing this. (That's what we do on TBN.

) In the first post, Zene55 mentioned taking the solenoid off and testing it with a battery, but in his next post, he seemed to infer that he would just replace it with a new one. I think both Chris and I were suggesting he stick with his original plan, but we could have said it in a lot fewer words.