Gate won't close.
Your property is open until it does.

A gate that will not close is a bigger problem than one that will not open. Anyone can drive in. Most of the time the cause is a safety device, the photo-eye or loop detector, that thinks something is in the way. Sometimes the device is right and there really is something there. Sometimes it has failed and is holding the gate open for nothing.

This page walks through the causes in the order we check them. If your gate is stuck open right now, call (346) 872-8671 and we will get someone out today.

Safety devices holding the gate open

By design, an automatic gate will not close on anything. Every one of these can hold it open.

• ✓Photo-eye blocked or misaligned: a leaf, spider web, dirt, or a bumped bracket breaks the beam. Wipe the lenses and check alignment.
• ✓Photo-eye failed: water gets into the housing, especially on older units, and the eye reports blocked permanently.
• ✓Loop detector stuck: a cracked driveway loop, a wet detector, or a sensitivity setting that is too high makes the operator think a car is sitting on the loop.
• ✓Safety edge tripped: a damaged rubber edge on a slide gate shorts and reports contact.
• ✓Exit sensor false trigger: a free-exit probe or motion sensor pointed at a road picks up passing traffic and reopens the gate.

Operator and control causes

• ✓Hold-open mode or timer: an app schedule, a hold-open switch, or a timer-to-close set to zero keeps the gate open on purpose.
• ✓Auto-close disabled: some operators ship with auto-close off. If nobody presses close, it stays open.
• ✓Limit or encoder fault: the operator cannot find its close position and stops short or reverses.
• ✓Obstruction sensitivity too high: the gate hits a spot of resistance, a sagging hinge or a dip in the slide track, and reverses because it reads it as a person.
• ✓Control board or relay failure: the close output never fires.

Mechanical causes

A gate that closes partway and reverses, or closes but will not latch, is usually the gate itself. Hinges sag, slide tracks fill with dirt, posts lean in wet clay, and the gate drags at the last two feet. The operator reverses to protect whatever it thinks it hit. Adjusting sensitivity to force it through is dangerous and we will not do it. We fix the drag.

What we do on the service call

We check every safety device, the loop and detector, the operator's close logic and limits, and the gate hardware. You get a written quote, and most gate-open repairs are done the same visit with parts from the truck. The $89 service call is credited to the repair if you approve it.

Frequently Asked Questions

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