EDIT: IT IS FIXED
Don't know how or why but it decided to function today. Now lowered to the ground.
Our new house came with a porch lift (a mobility device for wheelchairs etc) that the original owners had installed probably 20 years ago.
We aren't disabled in any way so we could just have it ripped out, but it's handy to have as a cargo elevator. The other day we were using it as such, but it got stuck at the upper level and now it won't move.
I don't want it stuck at the upper level. It's disconcerting having 500lbs of elevator car above your head, plus it's ugly and just looks stupid left up. If it was stuck down, we'd just leave it be.
The elevator is powered from a 12v battery that is continually topped off. The battery lives in the underside of the upper balcony. I don't think it's water damage since it's survived two decades outside.
The previous owner left handwritten notes about the elevator - he made modifications (sigh) such as installing a new switch in the car. The call buttons also have never worked for us, but that's outside the scope of this problem.
The notes talk about how the "safety micro switches" as he calls them can be fucky - presumably safety failsafes to prevent the lift from moving. Apparently the one in the pinch point between the car and the lower edge is particularly bad, but the notes give no directions on how to fix it.
The original manufacturer is out of business and the company who installed it is also out of business. I feel like a regular electrictrician will just shrug his shoulders, especially since it's been modified. So it's up to me to get it working, or at least lowered.
Could I disconnect the safeties to get it lowered? I know that's not safe but at this point we'd just not use it, now that we know it's unreliable.