Electric Gates

My Came electric gates started to trip out every few days, resetting was ok but then they wouldn't reset. I checked the sensors and they are ok. A gate guy came to look at them and with a callout charge, he said one of the motors had gone. Is price was around £1,300 for the motor and instalation, the motor, a Came Frog-A is readily available for £259 including VAT so he's charging £1000 for the instalation!
I've disconnected the motor and the control board still doesn't reset, any ideas would be greatly appreciated !

No idea of make, etc, but I have a friend with electric gates which have a recurring problem with slugs getting into the control box and damaging the control board.

Phil.cc said:

My Came electric gates started to trip out every few days, resetting was ok but then they wouldn't reset.

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What is tripping is it an RCD / RCBO or MCB and does this trip only occur when the gate is operated

Phil.cc said:

I checked the sensors and they are ok. A gate guy came to look at them and with a callout charge, he said one of the motors had gone. Is price was around £1,300 for the motor and instalation, the motor, a Came Frog-A is readily available for £259 including VAT so he's charging £1000 for the instalation!

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What tests did the gate guy do to decide a motor had failed

Phil.cc said:

I've disconnected the motor and the control board still doesn't reset, any ideas would be greatly appreciated !

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If the gate equipment has been disconnected from the supply at the gate end then that would suggest that the fault is in the supply cable.

There;s a small box attached to the main board, it has power and outlet LED's, the red is on when it's tripped, when pressing the reset button, the green light flashed, then goes off, it stays on when reset.
After the gates are closed, or open, the trip happens when trying to open or close them, the trip never happened half way between open and closed.
I don't know what test the guy did but when he left, the power (brown) wire to one of the motors was disconnected.
There is 240v going to the main board.
I've ordered a new motor but I don't know if that guy was just saying it was the motor to make himself more money!!!
I questioned him about the loose blue wire in pic 1, he said it was to do with an open circuit???

its possible its the motor, there in the ground. they get wet and do fail

and looking at the wiring in the control board, id say you gate is also non compliant with standards and shouldn't be put back into service. no safety edges connected and can pretty much guarantee it will fail a force test

"Safety edges" ? looking on the net, this is to reverse the gates when in contact with something...I have sensors right by the gates and an underground one also?

ground loop forget about it. can't detect people only vehicles. photocell on its own is non compliant. it needssafety edges. and i would also take a guess that the hinges are offset and the gap will get smaller during opening. another failure

Lets just get the gates working

Phil.cc said:

Lets just get the gates working

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working doesn't mean safe. but hey, as long as its not you that's get injured / killed by them who cares

As said before, try slugs on the back of the pcb

Thanks but I tried that first, clean as a wistle

What exactly is it that is "Tripping"?

The box in my hand in pic 2, when working correctly has a green constant LED, when it trips the red one is on, when the reset button on the bottom is pressed the green light flashes then it should stay on, it doesn't?

thats a loop controller. it wont cause your RCD to trip. once reset / powerered on the green light should not stay on. if it is, then youve got other issues too

I know nowt about gate loop controllers, how and what does it do Andy? Please excuse my ignorance.

Andy™ said:

thats a loop controller. it wont cause your RCD to trip. once reset / powerered on the green light should not stay on. if it is, then youve got other issues too

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roys said:

I know nowt about gate loop controllers, how and what does it do Andy? Please excuse my ignorance.

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basically a loop of wire in the ground, detects vehicles. you see them at traffic lights etc, that square cut in the tarmax

in this case, they are used to detect vehicles in the gates opening / closing area and to stop movement. can also be used on barriers to open automatically etc

Phil.cc said:

The box in my hand in pic 2, when working correctly has a green constant LED, when it trips the red one is on, when the reset button on the bottom is pressed the green light flashes then it should stay on, it doesn't?

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To clarify: It is only the "controls" that are (as you say) tripping? No RCD, MCB or RCBO trips at all?

Phil.cc said:

The box in my hand in pic 2, when working correctly has a green constant LED, when it trips the red one is on, when the reset button on the bottom is pressed the green light flashes then it should stay on, it doesn't?

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so its registering a fault of some sort, not tripping as such. Do you have a manual with a fault finding guide?

Thanks for the replies, maybe i'm using the wrong term? The gates fail to work, what I usually do is open the box and press the reset button a green LED flashes and then stays on, there,s also a green LED on the PCB board that does the same.
The gates are fifteen years old now, I didn't install them, the guy that did is no longer in business and I don't have a CAME manual?

The guy that came to look at them said it was a failed motor, when he left, I notice he had disconnected a brown wire from a motor, is it possible to check out the motor by doing this somehow?

One thing I think I should mention, the motors were never sluggish when opening and closing the gates, and they never cut out mid travel, it was always after they were closed that they failed to work again.

I have a new motor coming today, is it the motor that's failed is the question? As at resort, what about disconnecting the so called faulty motor and connecting it to 240v to see if it turns?

I just looked on the CAME website and there appear to be downloadable manuals.
Have you any test gear?
If it were my system, I would firstly be looking very closely for water ingress damage, then testing for earth leakage from all wiring or sensors.
Motors; Having two, (three soon), gives you the opportunity to compare winding continuity and resistance. Mechanical problems aside those checks would reveal most motor issues.
I would NOT go connecting a motor to supply, certainly without wiring details.
The website also says they offer technical advice. Have you tried them?