Reviewed by Lukasz Zelezny for the Sesame Access Systems range. Sesame Access Systems platform lifts operate in UK public buildings, clinics, schools and adapted homes. This page is written for the person on reception or in the facilities office, splitting the safety-edge, gate-interlock and hold-to-run checks they can competently make from the mechanical and hydraulic Sesame Access Systems diagnoses that must be referred to an engineer.
Quick Diagnosis
Answer up to three questions. We'll point you at the most likely Sesame Access Systems fault on this page — full detail stays visible below either way.
Common Sesame Access Systems Faults
The sesame access systems lift problems reported most often to UK service desks — expanded in the order owners typically encounter them. Several are resolved by routine Sesame Access Systems maintenance rather than a call-out, and the rest are far quicker to fix when you can describe the symptom precisely to whoever handles your Sesame Access Systems repair.
Sesame Access Systems platform lift won't rise from the lower landing
Owner-safe checkThe Sesame Access Systems platform lift accepts a call but does not move upward.
Before you phone anyone about a Sesame Access Systems repair, work through the description below.
A Sesame Access Systems platform lift that responds to a call but does not travel is almost always a safety-circuit interlock issue: a gate not fully closed on the platform or a landing, a magnetic reed switch out of alignment, or the hold-to-run button being released mid-call.
Owners can visually confirm every gate on the Sesame Access Systems lift is fully latched. Check that the platform's own gate is closed and reads as closed on the controller display.
Confirm the operator is pressing the up arrow firmly and continuously.
Most UK platform lifts including many Sesame Access Systems models are hold-to-run in one or both directions and will stop the instant the button is released.
Anything beyond those visual checks belongs with a competent Sesame Access Systems engineer.
Where the checks do not settle it, describe the symptom in your own words when you ask for Sesame Access Systems repair. A plain description helps far more than a guessed diagnosis.
Sesame Access Systems platform lift safety edge triggered
Engineer onlyThe Sesame Access Systems platform has stopped mid-descent and reports a safety-edge fault.
This symptom accounts for a steady share of the Sesame Access Systems repair enquiries we see each month.
The safety edge along the underside of a Sesame Access Systems platform lift is a pressure-sensitive strip designed to stop the platform the instant anything is trapped as it descends.
When it triggers with a visible obstruction — a mop bucket, a cable, a stray leaflet — remove the obstruction, then use the constant-pressure lower control if fitted to complete the trip.
If the Sesame Access Systems safety edge triggers with nothing beneath the platform, the edge itself or its harness has failed and the platform must not be used until a Sesame Access Systems engineer has inspected it.
The safety edge is one of the safety-critical components of any UK platform lift, and no operator work-around is appropriate.
A short entry in the Sesame Access Systems maintenance log now avoids any later doubt about whether the fault was reported before the next Sesame Access Systems servicing visit.
Sesame Access Systems gate interlock will not clear
Owner-safe checkA landing gate on the Sesame Access Systems platform lift is reported as open even though it appears closed.
This is one of the most common reasons UK owners look up Sesame Access Systems troubleshooting in the first place.
Half-height landing gates on a Sesame Access Systems platform lift use magnetic reed switches to prove closure to the controller.
Dirt on the magnet face, a slightly bent gate frame following a knock, a loose reed cable, or an ageing switch will all report the gate as open.
On a Sesame Access Systems lift the fault display usually names the specific landing.
Owners can safely wipe the magnet face and the reed sensor with a soft cloth, close the gate again to make full contact, and try the call.
If the same landing repeatedly reports open with the gate visibly closed, the interlock needs adjustment or replacement — a Sesame Access Systems engineer task rather than a building operator one.
Whatever the outcome, note the date and the symptom in your Sesame Access Systems maintenance record. A clear history makes the next Sesame Access Systems servicing visit quicker.
Sesame Access Systems platform drifts down when parked
Engineer onlyYour hydraulic Sesame Access Systems platform lift descends slowly overnight from the upper landing.
Of every Sesame Access Systems troubleshooting question sent to us. This symptom is among the most frequent.
On hydraulic Sesame Access Systems platform lifts a small amount of overnight drift — a few millimetres per hour. Is normal ageing behaviour of the hydraulic seals. Anything visible over a working shift.
Especially if the platform is more than a step below the upper landing when a user calls it in the morning. Is a fault and needs an engineer.
Do not try to top up the Sesame Access Systems hydraulic reservoir yourself; the fluid grade.
The ram bleed sequence and the pressure setting on the Sesame Access Systems valve block are all specific and get set at start-up testing.
Continue to use the lift only if the drift is under a step. Otherwise take it out of service until a competent engineer has inspected. Write down what you saw and when.
Regular Sesame Access Systems servicing catches most of these early, and good Sesame Access Systems maintenance notes shorten the engineer's diagnosis.
Sesame Access Systems hold-to-run button sticks or intermittent
Engineer onlyThe pendant on the Sesame Access Systems platform lift feels spongy or the platform stops mid-travel.
Read this through before booking any Sesame Access Systems repair. The answer is often simpler than it looks.
Hold-to-run buttons on a Sesame Access Systems platform lift see a very high number of press cycles in public settings. Schools, clinics, community buildings — and eventually wear out.
If a button on the Sesame Access Systems pendant feels spongy, sticks pressed in, or the platform stops randomly mid-travel and restarts when you release-and-repress. The button assembly is reaching end of life.
This is a like-for-like part on most Sesame Access Systems models but is not a building-operator fit item: the wiring must be continuity-tested and the replacement must maintain the specific Sesame Access Systems switching characteristics for safety.
Log the fault, describe the pattern, and refer to a Sesame Access Systems engineer.
If it becomes a repeat event, treat it as a Sesame Access Systems servicing question rather than a one-off Sesame Access Systems repair; recurring symptoms usually trace back to a missed maintenance interval.
Sesame Access Systems platform lift has lost power entirely
Owner-safe checkThe Sesame Access Systems platform lift has gone dark and the isolator switch has tripped.
Most people arriving at Sesame Access Systems troubleshooting pages describe the problem in roughly these words.
A Sesame Access Systems platform lift that has gone completely dead has usually tripped its supply RCD or the local isolator.
Building operators can safely check whether the isolator to the Sesame Access Systems lift is off and whether the supply RCD in the distribution board has tripped, resetting a tripped RCD once.
If the RCD trips again at once, do not keep resetting: a repeat trip is telling you an insulation fault is present on the Sesame Access Systems lift and needs a competent engineer to fault-find.
Never remove any cover on the Sesame Access Systems controller or the pit. The fault-finding on a tripped supply always happens with the lift isolated at source.
Keep the Sesame Access Systems maintenance paperwork with the lift. Whoever attends the Sesame Access Systems repair will want to see when the last service was done.
Sesame Access Systems repair
A genuine Sesame Access Systems repair starts with an accurate description of the fault, not with a part number. Record the error shown on the display or keypad, when it appears, and whether the platform lift behaves differently on the way up than on the way down. Engineers quote far more accurately from that detail, and you avoid paying for a diagnostic visit that only repeats what you already know.
Anything behind a cover or panel, in the pit or shaft, or involving doors, gates and interlocks is engineer-only work. Your part of a Sesame Access Systems repair is to check and report: mains power on, isolator on, emergency stop out, nothing in the door threshold, and a written note of the fault code.
What Noise Is Your Sesame Access Systems Lift Making?
Lifts talk. Not eloquently — but a grind, a beep or an ominous silence each means something. Press play, compare, and pick the closest match.
Example sounds are synthesized approximations to help you compare — not recordings of Sesame Access Systems equipment.
Grinding — likely causes on a Sesame Access Systems lift
⚠️ Engineer only- Screw-drive nut worn and needing replacement
- Guide shoes worn against the rail
- Debris in the pit that has migrated onto the platform track
Grinding on a Sesame Access Systems platform lift is a stop-using-it symptom.
Bring the platform to the lower landing, turn the key switch off, and put the lift out of service until an engineer has been. Note the exact travel position where the grinding is loudest.
Bottom, top, mid-travel — and whether it happens going up, going down or both. Screw-driven Sesame Access Systems platform lifts and hydraulic platform lifts fail this way for very different reasons.
So that detail changes what the engineer brings. Do not remove any covers on the drive or motor housing.
What Light Is Your Sesame Access Systems Lift Showing?
Lifts also talk in light. Pick what you can see.
Steady red — on a Sesame Access Systems lift
✅ Owner-safe check- Emergency-stop button pressed on a landing or the platform
- Gate interlock reporting open on one landing
- Latched fault — commonly a safety-edge trip that needs a controller reset
On a Sesame Access Systems platform lift, a constant red light is a stop signal: something in the safety chain is open, or a fault has been recorded and latched.
Nine times in ten it is something in plain sight rather than a hidden electrical failure.
Start with the owner-safe checks — close both landing gates firmly against their frames, release any pressed emergency stop with a quarter-turn, and look along the platform edge for anything caught in the safety edge.
If the red clears, the lift is safe to use once it responds normally again.
If it does not, stop pressing the call button, leave the power on, and email your service company with the exact indicator state.
Is It Safe to Keep Using It?
Three questions. Ten seconds. Answer honestly.
When to Call an Engineer
Book an engineer for your Sesame Access Systems lift — or use the form below. If any of the following applies:
- The same fault returning within minutes of a reset.
- Burning odours, smoke, or damage visible on cables or controls.
- Water in the pit, machine space or car.
- A car travelling outside its usual range or stopping off-level.
- Doors, gates or interlocks showing intermittent behaviour.
Sesame Access Systems servicing
Ask any provider quoting for Sesame Access Systems servicing what is actually included: number of visits, whether the alarm and emergency lowering are tested each time, whether batteries and consumables are covered, and what the response time is when something fails between visits. Two quotes at the same price often describe very different contracts.
Keep every service sheet. A dated history of Sesame Access Systems servicing tells the next engineer which parts have already been changed, supports any warranty claim, and is the first thing a buyer's surveyor asks for when the property changes hands.
Sesame Access Systems at a glance
Quick reference: how Sesame Access Systems lifts are built, how they show faults, and where the official documentation lives.
- Segment
- Retracting stair lift
- HQ / market
- UK
- Key products
- Bespoke hidden wheelchair lifts
- How faults are shown
- Bespoke PLC diagnostics
- Coverage on this page
- System-level
- Platform / ownership
- Project-specific systems
- Official code source
- Sesame service contract
About Sesame Access Systems
Reviewed by Lukasz Zelezny for the Sesame Access Systems range. Sesame Access Systems platform lifts operate in UK public buildings, clinics, schools and adapted homes. This page is written for the person on reception or in the facilities office, splitting the safety-edge, gate-interlock and hold-to-run checks they can competently make from the mechanical and hydraulic Sesame Access Systems diagnoses that must be referred to an engineer.
Lift Troubleshooting is an independent resource and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Sesame Access Systems. See our full disclaimer.
Sesame Access Systems maintenance
The owner's share of Sesame Access Systems maintenance is observation. Listen for new sounds, watch for a landing stop that is drifting out of level, and note anything that has changed since last week. Reporting a small change early is what keeps it from becoming a call-out.
Nothing in owner-level Sesame Access Systems maintenance involves removing covers, entering the pit or shaft, or adjusting doors, gates or interlocks. If a check cannot be done from the landing with the equipment behaving normally, it belongs to a qualified engineer.
Frequently Asked Questions
What kind of equipment does Sesame Access Systems make?
Sesame Access Systems is a retracting stair lift manufacturer active in UK. The ranges most often met in the UK are Bespoke hidden wheelchair lifts.
The fault-finding below is written around the behaviour those Sesame Access Systems ranges share rather than around one model number.
So start here and then confirm your exact model from the rating plate before you quote anything to an engineer. One thing worth knowing: the reference note for Sesame Access Systems reads "Project-specific systems".
This can change whose manual actually applies to your machine.
What does the Sesame Access Systems display or indicator tell me?
On Sesame Access Systems equipment the sign is described as: Bespoke PLC diagnostics. Codes are not standardised between makers, or even between board generations within Sesame Access Systems, so photograph exactly what you see.
The characters, the lamp colour, the flash pattern — and report that with the model from the plate.
Read the sign; do not open the Sesame Access Systems controller or any panel to chase it.
What is the most common Sesame Access Systems fault?
The fault this page opens with is "Sesame Access Systems platform lift won't rise from the lower landing". The Sesame Access Systems platform lift accepts a call but does not move upward.
The next most reported Sesame Access Systems symptom is "Sesame Access Systems platform lift safety edge triggered".
Work through the safe checks listed against each one, note what you observe, and pass that to a competent lift engineer.
All on this page stops at check-and-report: nothing here asks the building operator to force a door, move a stalled car, remove a panel or enter a pit or shaft.
How do I get the Sesame Access Systems documentation for my machine?
The authoritative reference for this brand is the Sesame service contract. Sesame Access Systems publishes to its own channels and to registered trade accounts rather than openly.
So if you have no account, ask your maintenance contractor to supply the Sesame Access Systems document that covers your fitting.
Our own coverage of Sesame Access Systems is currently rated "System-level", so treat this page as an orientation and the manufacturer's document as the authority.
Can building staff reset a Sesame Access Systems platform lift?
Only the controls the Sesame Access Systems operator paperwork puts in the operator's hands, usually a key-switch or a documented reset on the panel face.
Removing covers to reach the Sesame Access Systems controller is engineer work. If a documented reset does not restore service, stop, put the platform out of use, and report the sign you saw.