Hoist Refusing to Start? We'll Find the Fault and Get It Lifting Again in Birmingham
We work along the power path from the charger and battery through the handset and control box to the motor, so you know whether it is a simple consumable or a failed component.
Booking fee plus hourly labour — the price is confirmed before any work starts.
What this costs
| Booked 14+ days ahead | £25 booking fee £85 per hour |
|---|---|
| Booked within 48 hours | £100 booking fee £65 per hour |
| Same-day call-out | £220 booking fee £45 per hour |
The booking fee secures the visit. Labour is then charged by the hour, so you only pay for the time the job actually takes.
Booking fee £25–£220
£25 + £85/hr booked 14+ days ahead, £100 + £65/hr inside 48 hours, £220 + £45/hr same day. Agreed before we arrive.
Covered under Hoists & Lifting Equipment
Mobility & Accessibility › Hoists & Lifting Equipment — one of 22 documented jobs in this section.
Same-day hoist not working
Urgent jobs can often be booked for today. Ask when you book and we will confirm the slot before you pay anything.
15 service areas
Birmingham, Coventry, Dorridge and 12 more across the West Midlands.
A hoist that does nothing at all is a different problem from one that moves badly, and it is usually a more hopeful one. Working through it in the right order saves both time and money.
What a Total Failure Usually Means
No lights, no beep, no movement in any direction: the unit is almost certainly losing power somewhere before the motor. That path has several serviceable points — mains supply, charger, docking contacts, battery, isolation switch, emergency stop, handset, control box, then the motor and brake — and most of them cost far less than the lifting mechanism. The trick is to test along that path in sequence rather than replacing parts on a guess.
The Causes We See Most Often
- A battery that no longer holds charge. Batteries are a consumable, and a hoist left off its charger for weeks at a time will sulphate and fade early. A tired battery can still light the handset and then collapse the moment the motor asks for real current.
- Charger or docking station failure. The hoist is parked neatly but the contacts are corroded, misaligned or dirty, or the charger itself has failed. The unit looks charged and is not.
- Emergency stop left latched. The red mushroom button on the control box or handset can be pressed in by a sleeve or a bag and will hold the whole unit off.
- Key switch or isolator turned off. Some models have a key-operated isolator, and a missing key stops everything.
- Handset cable damage. On wired handsets the break is usually just inside the strain relief where the cable flexes most, so it fails invisibly.
- Internal fuse or control box fault. A blown fuse, water damage from steam, or a spilled drink can take out the control box.
- Motor or brake failure. Worn brushes, a seized brake or a failed winding. Less common, and the most expensive outcome.
How We Work Through It
We arrive with test equipment rather than a box of parts. We confirm the supply at the fused spur or socket the charger uses, measure the charger's output, then check the battery's voltage both at rest and under load, because a battery that reads healthy off load is often the culprit. We inspect the dock contacts and clean or replace them, confirm the emergency stop and isolator are released, and test the handset for continuity at both ends of its cable. Only when the power side is proven do we test the control box outputs to the motor, and on a mobile hoist the actuator and its manual lowering valve. Each step narrows the fault instead of guessing at it.
Repair, Replacement or a Part
Most of these faults are resolved with a manufacturer-approved battery, charger, handset or control box, fitted and then tested. If the motor, brake or gearbox has failed on an older unit, we will set out the cost of the repair against replacement honestly, including whether the track and fixings can be reused. We never promise a part is on the shelf until we have checked, and we will not quote a repair time before we know what has failed.
Keeping Everyone Safe in the Meantime
Please do not keep trying the hoist in the hope it clears. A unit that has failed once can fail again under load, and that is the moment you least want it to. Do not open the control box, motor or track fixings, and do not use a mobile hoist with a person in the sling if it is not lifting reliably. If someone is already suspended and the hoist will not move, keep them calm and comfortable, call 999 if they are in pain or distress, and use emergency lowering only strictly as the manufacturer's instructions describe.
After the Repair
Before anyone is lifted we run the unit empty through its full travel, check the brake holds a raised load, test the emergency stop and confirm the emergency lowering works. Then we show whoever provides care how to read the charge indicator, how often to charge, and what the machine's warning beeps mean, so a repeat is less likely.
When to Call Us
Book online or by phone and tell us the make and model if you can see it, whether the unit is ceiling-track, wall-mounted or mobile, what it does when you press the button, and how long it has been like this. That helps us arrive with the right test gear and the likely part. You pay a booking fee when you book, labour is hourly at a rate that depends on how soon you need us, and the full cost is quoted and approved before work starts.
How the price works
We charge a booking fee to hold your slot, then an hourly rate for the work itself. The fee changes with how soon you need us; the hourly rate changes with the slot you choose. You approve the price before we start, so there is no surprise on the invoice.
Booked 14+ days ahead
£25 booking fee
then £85 per hour of labour
Best value. Book the slot now, pay the smallest booking fee.
Booked within 48 hours
£100 booking fee
then £65 per hour of labour
For jobs that can wait a day or two but not a fortnight.
Same-day call-out
£220 booking fee
then £45 per hour of labour
Urgent problems: standing water, no heat, no power, leaks.
Book the slot
Choose the window that suits you and pay the booking fee. That holds your place in the diary.
We diagnose on site
The engineer confirms the cause and tells you what the job involves and how long it should take.
You approve, we work
Nothing goes ahead until you agree the price. Labour is then charged per hour at your slot rate.
When a hoist will not respond at all, the day's routine stops with it, and the worry is usually less about the machine than about the person waiting to be moved. Most total failures come from the power side: a battery that no longer holds charge, a charger that has quietly died, or a safety device that has latched itself on. We will establish which of those it is before anything is quoted, and tell you honestly if the unit has reached the end of its economic life.
What our customers say about our mobility & accessibility service
4.5 out of 5 from 8 reviews
Proper job, no upselling
Turned up in the window they promised, walked me through the options (turns out the old fitting was seized and needed careful removal), then cracked on. Everything was tested before they left. No mess, no drama, no surprise on the bill.
Job: Loose or Faulty Brakes
Fine in the end
The problem is fixed, which is the main thing, and the engineer clearly knew what they were doing. It took a fair bit longer than the estimate on the phone and I had to ask twice for a breakdown of the hours.
Job: Stair Lift Service
Would use again
What I appreciated was being told what was actually wrong before anyone started. Sorted in under 70 minutes and the invoice matched the quote to the penny.
Job: Control Panel Fault
Book Hoist Not Working
Tell us what is happening and choose a slot. If you are not sure this is the right job, use the diagnosis panel — it narrows the problem down before you book.
- Booking fee confirmed up front
- Hourly labour, agreed before work starts
- Same-day slots for urgent problems
Questions people ask about hoist not working
Straight answers to the things customers ask most often before booking.
Is there anything I can safely check myself before you arrive?
Yes, and three checks solve a surprising number of calls: confirm the hoist is sitting properly on its charger or dock, confirm the emergency stop button is not pressed in, and confirm any key isolator is turned on. Beyond that, charging and cleaning contacts is the limit. Please do not open the control box or motor, or dismantle any load-bearing part — those need a competent engineer.
What will you actually check during the visit?
We test the supply to the charger, the charger's output, the battery under load, the dock contacts, the emergency stop and isolator, the handset and its cable, and then the control box outputs to the motor. That sequence tells us which item has failed rather than which item is easiest to blame, and we explain what we found before quoting.
What if someone is in the sling and the hoist has died?
Keep them calm, comfortable and accompanied, and call 999 if they are in pain, distressed or in an awkward position. Emergency lowering or manual release should only be used exactly as the manufacturer's instructions describe, and only by someone confident they can do it safely from a stable footing. Never climb under a suspended hoist, push it, shake it or force the mechanism.
Can you tell me over the phone whether it is the battery?
Sometimes, if you can tell me the age of the battery, whether the charge light behaves normally and whether the unit has been left off charge for long periods. A battery can still read fine at rest and collapse under load, though, so the only reliable answer comes from testing it under current. I would rather check than have you buy a battery you did not need.
What will it cost?
You pay a booking fee when you book, and the hourly labour rate depends on how soon you need the visit. The full cost of the work is quoted and approved before we start, and any parts are quoted separately so you can see exactly what each item adds.
Need hoist not working sorted in Birmingham?
Book a slot in the diary and pay only the booking fee up front. We confirm the rest before we start.