Tips for troubleshooting a faulty electric swing gate.
A guide with some helpful tips for troubleshooting a faulty electric swing door installation. Hope this guide helps you if you are having trouble with your power gates. Their goal is to help you find the source of the problem and hopefully help you fix it, or provide an accurate explanation of the problem to your friendly door repairman.
- Check the power supply. Yes, I know it sounds obvious, but some people don’t check it. Because the electricity is on in the house, they assume it is on at the door. Check the circuit breakers. Look at any other equipment, such as the intercom or keypad, to see if the lights are on. Press the buttons on the keyboards to see if there is a corresponding beep or sound. All of this will give you an indication of whether there is power at the gates or not. If the circuit breaker keeps tripping, call the technician. If you have electricity in the control box, check the remote controls.
- Check the transmitter. There is usually a light on the transmitter (remote control) that indicates it is working when you press the buttons. This can be misleading, as sometimes the light works, but the signal is not strong enough to reach the receiver. Replace the battery just to be safe. Check with another transmitter if you have one, or use another form of access control, i.e. digital keypad, intercom, keyswitch, etc. If the remote controls work, check the photocells if they are installed.
- Check the safety devices. Sometimes a short in a photocell can cause the system to stop working. Wave one hand (it’s easier to use one of yours) in front of the photocell and you should be able to hear a very quiet click. If you can hear this click, you know you have power in the control box.
If your doors still don’t work after verifying that the power supply is present and the peripheral equipment is working properly, follow these steps:
If your doors are stuck in the open position and won’t close, try waving your hand in front of one of the photocells (as shown above) and you should hear a soft click. This can only be heard from one of your photocells, so you may need to test both. If you can’t hear that clicking sound, there may be a problem with your safety beam / photocells, or with the power that powers them. It may be that the safety beam has failed because it is broken or it may be full of insects blocking the beam, or it has no power.
It is quite easy to remove the photocell cap. Check that the joists are clear. Usually there is a little light inside the box if you have the correct voltage connected.
You may have the reflective type of photocell, check the alignment as this is a very common cause of them not working. If the photocells appear to be aligned, but are not working, you should contact a professional. This type of photocell is normally a sealed unit, with no serviceable parts.
If the doors failed in the closed position, using the manual release, move the doors approximately halfway, if they are on a ram arm system, re-lock the arms. If they are in an underground system, leave the doors swinging freely (as you can see the motor spinning), now activate the doors with a transmitter (if you are sure it is working) and observe any movement of the doors. If none of the motors are running and you know you have the correct power source, there is likely a problem with the electronics on the control board. If one motor runs, the other motor has probably failed. If both motors are working, this has not provided you with a solution to the problem. It may be a mechanical problem, the doors could be stuck on something.
If the doors work again, we recommend that you continue to use them. Only until a time when a professional can provide a service at your doorstep.
Please – Remember.
Electricity is very dangerous, do not touch any exposed wire or circuit board. Turn on the power OFF before opening the control box.
Call an expert if you have any questions.