That emergency stop reset trick that saved me 3 hours on a stuck Otis

Last Tuesday I had a 2001 Otis elevator stuck on an intermediate floor with no response to the reset. I'd tried cycling power and checking the main board lights three times with no luck. Someone on another forum suggested holding the emergency stop button down for a full 20 seconds while hitting the reset sequence. It kicked back to life immediately and I was out in 10 minutes. Anyone else run into this weird reset timing on older models?

3 comments

3 Comments

taylor_fox1mo ago

Hold the stop button for 20 seconds while hitting reset? That's a new one on me. I usually just cycle the main breaker and wait a full minute before trying again. But I've had a few Otis units from that era that needed a real specific sequence to wake up again. This trick is getting saved to my phone for sure. Good find.

the_riley1mo ago

Did you try holding the door limit switch too? That's the only way one woke up for me.

ericschmidt1mo ago

Ha! Yeah because who doesn't love guessing the secret handshake to get an elevator to wake up. Might as well add a blood sacrifice and a full moon while we're at it. These old Otis units are like stubborn mules - you gotta know exactly which buttons to push and in what order just to get them to blink. I swear the guys who designed these things must have been making it up as they went. I'm half expecting the next fix to involve a prayer and a 30 minute wait while the elevator considers its life choices. What's the weirdest combo you've had to do to get one to cooperate?