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Automatic gate repair
An automatic gate is three systems pretending to be one: a steel structure, a motor and control system, and a set of safety devices. When a gate stops working, the failure is usually in a different system than the one showing symptoms — which is why parts-swapping is such an expensive way to fix a gate.
Diagnosis
Symptom to cause
If you can tell us which of these matches your gate when you call, we arrive with a much better idea of what we're walking into.
| Symptom | Usual suspects |
|---|---|
| Nothing happens at all | Tripped breaker, dead transformer, failed control board, or a battery backup that has quietly been running the gate for weeks and is now flat. |
| Gate opens but won't close | Almost always a safety device. A photo eye blocked by a web, a leaf, or sun glare will hold a gate open by design — that is the system working. |
| Starts, then reverses | Obstruction sensing triggered by a gate that is binding, dragging, or fighting a bad hinge. Find the obstruction; do not raise the force setting. |
| Stops partway, different spot each time | Failing limit switch, worn drive components, or intermittent power. On solar systems, a discharged battery. |
| Stops at the same spot every time | Something physical. Debris in a slide track, a flat-spotted roller, a high point in the swing path, or a chain jumping a sprocket. |
| Grinding or squealing | Bearings, rollers, or hinges past service life. Cheap to address now, expensive after it takes the operator with it. |
| Gate closes on vehicles | Stop using automatic mode. Failed loop detector, misaligned photo eye, or a close timer set too short. This is a safety fault, not an inconvenience. |
| Keypad or remote intermittent | Receiver antenna position, transmitter batteries, radio interference, or water intrusion in an outdoor enclosure. |
| Gate sags or scrapes | Hinge wear, a racked frame, or a post that has moved — and which of those it is depends heavily on your soil. |
Soil is a gate component
Alignment problems in DFW are frequently ground problems. Sandy Cross Timbers soil in Argyle and Flower Mound holds a post differently than the clay-rich soils of the Mid-Cities, and Fort Worth's shallow limestone is different again. Our city pages cover the specific condition where you are.
Our approach
We test the system, not the part
A gate that reverses can be a bad photo eye, a binding hinge, a post that moved, or a control board reading a fault. Four different repairs at four different prices. Guessing gets expensive fast, and guessing is what produces the customer who has bought three operators in five years.
On a service call we check the structure, the drive components, supply voltage under load, the control system, and every safety device — then tell you what we found and what it will take.
- Gate structure, hinges, rollers, and track
- Operator condition, drivetrain, and mounting
- Voltage at the operator under load, not at rest
- Control board, limit switches, and settings
- Photo eyes, edge sensors, and inherent force sensing
- Loop detectors and vehicle detection
- Emergency and manual release provisions
Brands we service
Including gates we didn't install
Most of our repair work is on systems put in by someone else, often a decade or more ago. We service LiftMaster, DoorKing, All-O-Matic, Viking, FAAC, Elite, Ramset, Apollo, and others.
When a manufacturer has discontinued a control board with no equivalent available, we say so rather than ordering a part that does not exist. Then we price the retrofit that keeps as much of your existing installation — posts, conduit, power, and the gate itself — as we reasonably can.
UL 325 gets tested every visit
Automatic gate operators are required to have at least two independent means of entrapment protection. We verify yours works before we leave. If we find a safety device that has been bypassed rather than repaired, we will tell you plainly what that means.
Repair questions
What people ask
Is it worth repairing an old gate operator?
Three things decide it: whether replacement parts are still manufactured, whether the failure is a wear item or the core drivetrain, and whether the unit was ever the right class for your gate in the first place. A four-year-old operator with a burned limit switch is a repair. A fifteen-year-old unit with a discontinued board is a replacement, and putting money into it delays the same decision at a higher total cost.
Can I fix a dragging gate myself?
You can safely clear debris from a slide track, clean a photo eye lens, and check whether a breaker has tripped — those are worth trying before you call anyone. What we would not recommend is adjusting hinges or operator force settings on a gate that binds. A gate leaf weighs hundreds of pounds and stores real energy, and force settings exist to stop the gate when it hits a person.
How quickly can someone come out?
It depends on where you are and what is happening. Call 682-345-7446 with the gate type, the symptom, and the address, and we will give you a real service window. If a gate has failed in a state that leaves a property unsecured or a resident unable to get out, say so when you call.
Do you repair the gate itself, not just the opener?
Yes, and this is the part most gate service companies subcontract. We run a fabrication shop, so bent frames, cracked welds, corroded posts, and racked leaves get cut out and rebuilt rather than written off as needing a whole new gate.
Gate not working?
Residential, HOA, commercial, and industrial gate repair across DFW.