Anyone who has a TSA lock probably takes good care of it. After all, not only must a lock survive a trip, but they can also be a little hard to replace when on the road. For this reason, wherever you are, if a lock jams or won’t open, it can cause real problems.
The good news is that if these situations do arise, all is not lost. Instead, going to Action Lock Doc can put you back on the road with minimal hassles. Otherwise, the steps outlined in this article will probably solve any lock jamming problem you might encounter. The steps outlined below are only accurate for American Tourister or Samsonite products. The methodology also works for all types of TSA locks, such as Travel More.
To Lock or Not to Lock
There comes a time in any traveler’s life when there is a problem with the lock on their luggage. Either it won’t open and is stuck or it’s jammed. If this has ever happened to you, there’s good news: it’s neither jammed nor stuck. The truth is that the combination has probably been nudged and changed when you didn’t realize it.
If somehow you can get the lock open, good for you. If this happens, change the combination, and you should be back in business. That will eliminate any immediate problems. Just a tip: after a lock has been opened, shoot one tiny squirt of powdered graphite into the hole where the shackle goes in. This will lubricate the lock. Do not use any liquid lubricant since this will probably cause rust.
Three Dial Combinations
If you have a TSA-approved lock, it probably has three dials. The combination on this type of lock can be changed by turning the shackle 90 degrees and pressing it down. If your lock is a TSA002 or TSA007, sometimes the code changing mechanism will get stuck and make it difficult to close. This usually means the lock is locked in the open position. If you try to turn the dials to the correct combination, but it’s still stuck, it’s usually because the dials have probably been nudged into the wrong position and caused the combination to change.
If this describes your situation, you might need to change the combination. This is easy to do.
Let’s say your combination is 999. Sometimes, a dial will get pushed accidentally to something like 998 or 990. You could also try other variations such as 909 or 989, 099 or 899. Try different variations of the code to see if that works.
The trick is to pull the shackle at the same time that you hit on the correct combination. This should release the lock. The good news in this is that this won’t take as long as you might think.
We Hate to Tell You This, But…
As disappointing as it might sound, locks are often used only to provide an illusion of security. Most luggage locks are not very well made, and they don’t usually keep your possessions very safe. Luggage locks will keep the honest guys out. A professional who is determined to get into your luggage will find a way to break or bypass a lock. The best your luggage lock will do is usually to slow them down.
By following the instructions in this article, your lock should be back to operating correctly. Happy travels!