Do you find first thing in the morning that your gate doesn't work but starts working as the day goes on?
If this is you, then try replacing the main battery inside the unit. When a battery is dying or on its way out, you will find that it can't hold its charge over night and will fail first thing in the morning. Then as the sun hits the solar panel during the day it starts to charge up again and will work later in the day for you. When the sun moves off the solar panel, the battery will start to deplete and not hold its charge over night (as a battery should). The next morning you will find that your gate will not work again.
Either try a new battery or use another one you may have on hand.
We don't recommend using anything less than a 12v 9ah battery on a solar system and if you are located in the southern states then we highly recommend a 12v 12ah battery.
If you have an electric gate (not solar) and you found it started to go slow over a few days and has now stopped working, then your kit for some reason is not getting mains power.
A few things for you to check over:
- Check the fuse on main board - the bottom fuse is for mains, the top fuse is for battery. If you don't have a spare fuse to try, use the battery fuse.
- Check your powerpoint that the transformer is plugged into. Make sure no one has switched it off. Try another appliance in the socket.
- If you have a multimeter, check to see if your transformer is putting out 16volts (make sure to set your multimeter to AC when taking this reading). Check this reading at the control board. If you are not getting the 16volts and you know you have extra cable attached to the transformer, then go back to the transformer itself and take a reading at the 2mtr end piece of the transformer cable.
Once you have corrected the issue, make sure to charge your backup battery with a battery charger as the main control board will not charge a flat battery back to full.
Run the actuator arm direct from a 12v battery. To extend the arm, place the red cable to the positive and the blue cable to the negative on the battery. To retract the arm, place the red cable to the negative and the blue cable to the positive on the battery.
If your actuator worked direct from the battery go onto step 2.
If your actuator didn't work direct from the battery, then locate the end of the 1mtr of cable attached to the rear of the arm and run it direct from the battery. If the actuator works, then this tells us that your cable across the driveway is damaged and needs replacing. If the actuator still doesn't work then you may require either a new motor or complete new actuator arm.
Step 2.Your slave arm will be wired into MTB on the main control board. To test if the issue is with the control board or the actuator arm, swap the MTB and MTA cables around on the board (see image below). Does the issue stay with the slave arm or is the arm closest to the control box now not working?
If the issue has now shifted to the arm closest to the control box then you will require a new control board. If the issue stays with the slave arm and you are confident that the cable across the driveway is in good condition, then you will require a new actuator arm.
Please call our office if you need further assistance on 07 3205 3002 and press 2 to speak with one of our technicians.
If you have a single gate setup and you are concerned that MTA on the control board has failed, you can change the arm over to MTB.
Before doing this you should have determined that the arm is in good condition and works directly off a 12volt battery. You have checked the arm cable over and can visibly see no kinks or breaks.
If you have a gate lock setup, this option will not work for you. You can try disconnecting the gate lock and run this test, however you won't be able to set the gate lock back up if you decide to run the gate from MTB for now.
If you require futher assitance after this video, please call our office on 07 3205 3002 and press 1 for sales or 2 for further assistance.
If you have a solar unit, the battery power will travel throught the D14 Diode (top left corner of control board) and feeds power to the main control board. To check if the diode has failed, create a bridge (as shown in the image below) from one side of the diode to the other. Making sure that you have a good connection, try activating the gate with either a remote or visitor accessory. Does the gate operate?
If yes, great! Secure that piece of cable in place and run the unit as is for a few weeks. If everything is still operational after this time, then you can go ahead and replace the diode with either a 6amp or 10amp.
Please call our office if you need further assistance on 07 3205 3002 and press 2 to speak with one of our technicians.
Things to check:
- Do you have metal on metal hinges (not ideal) try applying grease to them. If the hinges are creating too much friction then the actuator arm will not work correctly
- Check that the gate is level and plumb with the post in the exact position it keeps stopping
- Make sure the gate is not grabbing on the ground