Is it the gate or the motor?
Electric gate repairs split into two kinds: the gate itself, meaning its wheels, track, hinges and posts, and the opener that drives it. The NeoSlider manual sets the test for the first kind. A gate should be in good working order and move by hand with no more than 15kg of force, and a faulty gate has to be repaired before the opener can do its job.
If the gate has dropped on its hinges, jumped its track or started to drag, a motor will only struggle against it. Fixing the gate first often clears the fault.
Safe checks first
- Clear stones, leaves and toys out of the track or the swing path
- Try the remote and the keypad, and put a fresh battery in the remote
- Check the power is on at the house, and that nothing has tripped
- Look for anything sitting across the safety beams
- Note whether the fault began after a power cut or a storm
A gate that stops or goes back
Stopping and reversing are often the safety system at work. Something across the beams, or a beam knocked out of line, can hold an automatic gate open. Merlin's openers rely on monitored safety infrared beams for app control, so a beam fault can also cut off the app.
A gate that shuts by itself is usually doing what it was set to do. Dominator lists an auto close function on its gate openers, so ask the door specialist to check the setting before anyone treats it as a fault.
After a power cut, or on a solar gate
A gate with battery backup should keep working in a power cut, but a battery that has run flat won't. If a solar gate has slowed down or stopped, check whether something is shading the panel, then send the job and say how old the battery is.
Leave the electrics alone
Don't open up the motor or the outlet. The NeoSlider manual says a qualified electrician must do the installation wherever 240V power is used. Anything new in the fixed wiring is for a registered and licensed electrical worker, who issues a Certificate of Compliance.
Repair the motor or replace it?
Check the warranty before you decide. Merlin says its gate openers carry a 3 year warranty, and the door specialist can tell you what applies to the model you have. If the motor is rated too low for the gate, replacing it with one sized to the gate can make more sense than repairing it again.
What you can do, and what to leave
You can
- Keep the track and beams clear
- Change the remote battery
- Note the opener's brand and model
- Write down what the gate does and when
Leave to a door specialist
- Straightening gates and replacing wheels or hinges
- Faults inside the motor or control box
- Realigning safety beams and their cabling
- Any new wiring, by a licensed electrician
What we would do
Write down exactly what the gate does before you send the job: how far it travels, which direction it stops in, and whether the fault is the same from the remote and the keypad. Those three details tell the door specialist whether to look at the beams, the motor or the gate first.