Can You Repair Electric Gates?

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More and more people are choosing to add a gate motor or gate operator to their sliding or swing gates. They do this for added security, convenience, privacy and many other reasons.

However, while electric gates are great when they’re working, they quickly become a problem when they aren’t! If you’re wondering if you can repair electric gates, read this.

Repairing Electric Gates with Vehicular Damage

One of the most common ways that electric gates stop working is simply because they are struck by a vehicle.

If your electric gates have been hit by a car, van or even motorcycle, they could have suffered quite a lot of damage. Not only could the gate itself be damaged or bent, but the gate operator or gate motor might have suffered some damage.

Depending on how bad this damage is, it might be more economical to simply replace the gate and the gate motor – and fortunately, this kind of damage is usually covered by vehicle or even home insurance, so you will probably be covered for repairs or replacement.

Repairing Electric Gates with Power Supply Problems

Unless you are running your electric gate motor or gate operator from a solar panel, you probably have power cables installed in a trench or in above-ground conduit that go from your gate motor to a power supply.

Unfortunately, sometimes things go wrong with this cable, and that stops your gate motor from getting power. Without power, the gate operator won’t be able to work.

If you have a power supply problem to your gate, you probably need an electrician before your gate automation technician can make sure everything is working properly, and if there’s a problem with the cabling, they might need to replace those wires too.

Repairing Electric Gates with Circuit Board Problems

Electric gate operators are not only electrical. They also contain complex electronics that act as the “brain” of the gate motor. These are made up of various circuit boards, and different equipment and peripherals connect to these circuit boards to do all the things you need to do to have a functioning electric gate.

Sometimes, however, things can go wrong on a circuit board. Sometimes this is due to a power surge, water damage or some external issue, but it could also be a manufacturer’s fault on the board.

If you have an electronics problem with your gate motor, you will need to have a gate technician come out and test the gate motor to find out where the problem is most likely to be.

Very often, instead of repairing faulty gate motor circuit boards, manufacturers will simply send a replacement board that your gate technician can swap for the faulty one.

Repairing Electric Gates with Receiver and Remote Problems

Sometimes, it’s not the gate motor that is the problem at all. Instead, it’s the receiver that triggers the motor when you use your remotes or faulty remotes.

In many cases, gate motor receivers are add-on components in your gate motor, so if this is the problem, they’re fairly easy to replace.

Remotes could simply need a new battery, or if they are very old, they might just need to be replaced.

Who Can Repair Electric Gates?

If you have an electric gate that is not working properly, you definitely want to contact a company that specializes in gate automation.

While gate motors aren’t exactly very complex electronic systems like computers, there are many components and parts that could be faulty, and successfully diagnosing and fixing a problem takes skill and, sometimes, special tools.

You should also ask your gate automation technician if they are trained and certified to work on that type of gate operator. Some gate automation manufacturers require their service technicians to take special training courses, and having someone who is not qualified to work on your gate could invalidate any warranty you might have.

Electric Gate Repair Diagnostics and Process

If you have an electric gate that is not working or not working properly, there will be a process involved in diagnosing and repairing the problem.

If your gate automation equipment is still under warranty, the manufacturer might be able to refer a local repair technician who can make the initial visit to your site to inspect the equipment. However, always remember that warranties only cover the manufacturer’s faults, and there might still be call-out fees involved if the technician is not from the manufacturer’s own company.

While they’re there, the technician will test the equipment, look for physical damage, and try to find the most likely cause of the problem.

If there is no cost involved in the repair, or if it’s going to be done under the manufacturer’s and installers’ warranties, you might still have to wait for replacement parts to arrive.

If there are costs associated with the repair, you will be given a quote for the electric gate repair first, and you’ll have to decide if you want to repair or replace the gate and gate automation equipment.

Generally, you can expect any electric gate repair to take anything from a few days to several weeks, depending on what is wrong.

Buy Well Known Brands

We know it’s tempting when you see a cheap imported gate motor, and we all want to save a buck, but when you run into problems, you’ll understand the value of buying well-known brands when it comes to your gate operators and gate automation equipment.

You don’t have to buy the most expensive model on the market by any means but look for a company that has good local after-sales support, and that has local distributors of spares and replacement parts.

Any money you save on a cheap imported gate motor might very well be spent trying to find a way to fix it when things go wrong!