Guides · Gate motors
Gate not closing: why it opens but won't close, and what to do
A gate that opens but won't close is rarely a broken motor. More often the motor is doing what it was set up to do: holding back because a beam is blocked, backing off because it felt resistance, or staying open because someone told it to. Here's how to tell which from what the gate does, the safe checks, and what to do while it's stuck open.
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What exactly is the gate doing?
| What the gate does | Most likely |
|---|---|
| Stays wide open and ignores the remote | A blocked closing beam, or a stay-open setting |
| Starts closing, then opens again | The beam, or the motor feeling resistance |
| Beeps rapidly on every press, doesn't move (ET) | Party mode |
| Stays open longer than it should | The auto-close timer, or condominium mode |
| Closes, but stops short of the post | The limits, or positive close |
| Moves a little and gives up | The battery, or a stiff gate |
| Swing leaves don't meet | Wind, or the closing order |
| A boom stays up | The closing loop, or a power cut setting |
1. The closing beam is blocked or out of line
Start here. The closing beam is the pair of infrared sensors across the entrance that stops the gate closing on a person, a pet or a car. Centurion's fault-finder for the D5-Evo is blunt about it: while the closing beam's input is active, an open gate won't close. ET's Drive manuals add that auto-close only works with beams installed and working; without them, the gate opens but never closes again.
- Look along the line between them for a bin, a parked car's bumper, a plant or a branch that moves in the wind.
- Clean both lenses with a soft, dry cloth. Spider webs and dust are enough to break the beam.
- Look for one that's been knocked by a car or a mower. Leave it and tell us; forcing it back can crack the housing.
If the gate closes the moment the beam is clear, that was the fault. More on how beams work is on safety beams.
2. It starts closing, then opens again
If the beams are clear, a gate that turns back on its way closed has usually felt resistance, which the motor treats as a collision. Centurion's D5-Evo and D10 stop and reopen; ET's Drive runs back to fully open and waits; Gemini's sliders stop and open. They don't try forever: a D5-Evo shuts down after more than four collisions (the default) with four flashes of the status light, and a Gemini that meets an obstruction three times while closing stops about 200 mm short of it.
Centurion's list of causes of a false collision points at the gate far more than the motor: the rack pressing down on the motor's gear, bad rack joints, seized wheels, top guide rollers squeezing the gate, dirt or damage on the rail, and the gate hitting its end stopper. What you can safely do:
- Walk the rail and clear stones, sand and leaves, especially near the closed end.
- Feel how the gate runs by hand, with the motor released the way its manual shows. If it sticks or drags at one point, it needs a gate repair. Lock the release again afterwards.
If the gate runs freely by hand and still turns back, the collision settings need a technician. A gate that has come off its rail is covered in sliding gate off track.
3. It's been told to stay open
- A long press on a Centurion remote. On a D5-Evo or D10 with auto-close, holding the button for three seconds (the default) switches on Autoclose Override: the gate pauses briefly as it opens, then opens fully and stays open until the next press. Centurion also lists a receiver set to latch, or a trigger that lasts too long, among the causes of auto-close that works only some of the time.
- Party mode on an ET. Pressing the holiday lockout button while the gate is open, then a normal button while the buzzer sounds, keeps the gate open: every press after that just gets five rapid beeps. The same two presses switch it off.
- Condominium mode at a complex. Centurion and ET both offer it: only the auto-close timer closes the gate, and a press while it's open just keeps it open longer. Gemini's townhouse setting is similar. At a busy gate, it can stand open for long stretches with nothing wrong.
If none fit, auto-close may be off or set to a long delay, which we change at the controller.
4. It closes, but not all the way
A gate that stops a hand's width short every time has usually lost track of where "closed" is. Centurion's D5-Evo learns its limits from a magnet on the gate, the origin marker, read by a sensor in the motor. If that marker is knocked or slips, the gate stops in the wrong place or overruns, and the motor beeps as it runs when it can't find the marker at all.
The other cause is positive close, a setting on Centurion's D5-Evo, D10 and Vector2 and ET's Drive: in the last few millimetres, the motor pushes the gate firmly onto its post or stopper. It exists for gates with an electric lock or the electric fence's gate contact, which only connect when the gate is fully home, so a gate that now stops short can leave that contact open.
Check the closed end for a stopper, post or catch that has moved. Limits and positive close are set at the controller, by us.
5. Power and the battery
A motor short of power can start the gate and give up partway. Centurion lists a weak battery first for a gate that moves a short distance and stops, and puts power loss among the causes of unreliable auto-close. The signal is three flashes of the status light, or "Battery Low", on a D5-Evo or D10, and four flashes on an ET Drive 500 or 600.
Check the motor's plug point or isolator is on and the property has power, then give the battery a night on charge. If the warning stays, see gate motor batteries and gate motor beeping.
Swing gates: wind and the closing order
Wind. A swing leaf is a sail. Centurion's Vector2 manual lists the wind speeds in which its motors will still operate a gate: for a 2 m leaf, 1.8 m high, on the same mounting, 66 km/h when it's palisade and 33 km/h when it's fully clad. On a stormy afternoon, a solid gate may simply be losing to the wind.
The closing order. Overlapping leaves have to close one after the other. ET's Wingo has a delay mode in which gate 2 always closes first, and the Vector2 lets the installer delay either leaf. Leaves that close in the wrong order meet on the way and stop, and so does a sagging leaf that scrapes the ground. See swing gates.
Boom gates that won't come down
From Centurion's Sector II manual, a boom that stays up usually means one of three things:
- The closing loop still sees a car. The loop in the road lowers the boom once the vehicle has left it.
- It's counting. In complex mode, the memory input keeps the boom up until it has had as many closing signals as triggers, so two presses for one car leave it waiting for a second.
- The power is off, with "raise when mains fail" switched on: the boom stays up until the mains returns.
Loops and barrier settings are technician work; see boom gates.
While it's stuck open
A gate that won't close is a security problem the moment it gets dark. Close it by hand: release the motor the way its manual shows, slide or swing the gate shut, and lock the release again so the motor's gears hold it closed. How to open a gate manually shows the release on each make.
If it can't be closed at all, think about what's left outside. Bring the car into the garage if there is one. If it has to stand in an open driveway or the street overnight, it's worth knowing what protects it there: MiTrekker's page on vehicle tracking in Johannesburg sets out how cars are taken across the city, and the tracking companies and prices to compare.
When to stop and call us
Call us when the beams are clear but the gate still won't close, when it keeps turning back, stops short or overruns, or when it can't be closed by hand. Don't open the motor cover or the controller: the settings sit beside the battery and power connections.
A gate stuck open is exactly what the 24/7 emergency repairs across Gauteng are for, and every repair carries our six-month guarantee on our repairs. No call-out fee when we do the work. If no work is done, a R650 call-out fee applies. Typical costs are on gate motor repair cost.
Fault finder
Check why your gate turns back
Pick what you're seeing for the likely causes, the safe checks you can do yourself, and when to stop and book. Taken from the manufacturers' own manuals.
What's it doing?
Likely causes
Gate motor · it starts closing, then opens again
Most likely first
Something breaks the safety beams as the gate closes.
The motor feels resistance and treats it as a collision: something on the rail, a stiff wheel, or the gate running badly.
Safe checks you can do
When to stop and book
If the path is clear and it still reverses, the collision settings or the beams need a technician.
From the official manuals: Centurion D5-Evo installation manual, Centurion D5-Evo and D10 user guide.
Questions
Questions about gates that won't close
Why is my automatic gate not closing completely?
If it stops a little short every time, the motor has usually lost its closed limit, often because the marker on the gate has moved, or positive close isn't set. Both are reset at the controller. Read about gates that stop short.
Why does my electric gate open but won't close?
Auto-close needs working safety beams, so a blocked, dirty or knocked beam keeps the gate open. If the beams are fine, a long press on a Centurion remote or ET's party mode may be holding it open. Read about the beams.
How to fix a gate that won't close?
Clear and clean the beams, clear the rail, and check the gate runs freely by hand. If it still won't close, close it by hand, lock the release and call us. See what to check.
Why is my gate not closing all the way?
If it closes most of the way and then turns back, it's meeting resistance near the end, such as dirt on the rail, a stiff wheel or the end stopper, and reopening as if it hit something. Read about collisions.
Why would my garage door opener open the door but not close it?
Often the same reason as a gate: if it has safety beams, a blocked, dirty or knocked beam stops it closing. Garage doors have a few causes of their own. Read garage door won't close.
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