Electric Gates

[Phil.cc]

Thanks, I've just messaged them.

 

[Phil.cc]

I've just had a reply from CAME:-

"Sorry to hear your having issues although you seem to have a solution. I’d fit your new motor and commission it and hopefully that’ll be an end to your problems.
If you confirm your motor and control panel I can sand you the quick start guide to help you commission it."

 

[daveg]

When I had a problem with my CAME automatic gates I phoned the technical advice - they were very good - got me to do some checks and diagnosed a faulty PCB. New one came next day. I found a fried slug on the back of the old PCB.

 

[Phil.cc]

I had that a few years ago with an electricuted fly, it blew a connection on the board but I soldered a wire across and all was well, nothing on the board this time though!

 

[Phil.cc]

Well....the new motor, the one that gate guy said had failed and the one that he disconnected the wire from the connector to supposably check is fitted, and no difference, I still can't reset the reset box, I'm waiting for CAME to get back to me?

 

[Andy™]

that little box is nothing to do with the motor, and the motor is almost certainly not the problem to start with

 

[Andy™]

Do you have a manual with a fault finding guide?

not such thing exists - you can get a manual for the controller & manuals for the motors, loop controller etc but but there isn't a manual for the complete gate as its fitted. you need to look at all different wiring from all different devices and how each connects and work back to what's causing the issue

they are all basically the same though, just different inputs into different terminals but for the best part they all work the same way between different manufacturers

 

[SPECIAL LOCATION]

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.

(1) I do NOT do electric gates..

(2) However I have re-terminated a pair of gate motor SWA's that were in a junction box full of soil, damp & slugs.. These were identified during a garage CU replacement with a very low IR reading on the outgoing SWA to the driveway gates..

(3) So, during my basic tests, I tried to check one gate at a time... (As the right hand gate had to open last and close first due to an overlap on the physical structure of the gate).... But because both gates had not completed their full operational cycles one gate on its own would NOT operate!

(4) So could your fault be a sensor related problem where the gates do not think they are closed, therefore will not re-open, unless you press reset to start the operational cycle ??

Just random guesswork?

 

[Richard-the-Ninth]

I understand that we all like to help , but It never achieves anything by guessing/changing random parts. Most things today require specialist knowledge/insight.

Like having a daylight sensor that will not switch on lights, "but it used to, and I have changed the lights and sensor, and it still does not work"
You or I look at it and see there is a contactor. To us, it would be easy, but not so to the untrained eye.

I suggest that Phil.cc calls another gate company, but asks first "are they familiar with XYZ ?" (List equipment on site) and get them to fix it. If they are "not sure" say thanks, and ask another company. Quicker and cheaper in the long run.
Just because it uses electricity does not mean it is a job for an electrician to fix it, what next, plumber to fix the washing machine

 

[Phil.cc]

What gets me is the established gate company's owner came to check out the fault, was here for 10 mins, told me that the right hand motor was at fault which it isn't and then wants to charge be £114 for the callout, then £1300 for the motor and instalation! I'm waiting for a reminder to pay!! I'm sure it would be of interest to Trading Standards.
I assumed that if the motor had failed then the board recognised this and stopped a reset, I also disconnected the motor connector thinking that by eliminating the motors the reset would work, but it didn't?

CAME suggested installing the new motor and everything would be ok?

I'm waiting for them to get back to me again but I believe it's another failed component like the PCB board?

 

[Richard-the-Ninth]

I understand your pain, but what you have to appreciate is most modern "devices" have "inbuilt quirks" (For want of a better word) and unless you know what they are you will assume "Part X" is at fault, when it isn't.

Example: You put clothes in a washing machine, close the door, switch it on, it fills as it should, after a while it stops, and just sits there, you wait, it does nothing, you pump it out, and you figure the motor is at fault, so you change it, same thing happens.
The motor stops because it is waiting to be told to run when the water is hot enough, but the heater has failed, so it will sit there for infinity.

My point being that unless you know where to look and what to look for, you really are wasting time and money. You may even make them worse or even lethal.
That is why I suggest you call another company, tell them what parts your gates have, and can they fix it for you. It needs a site visit by someone who knows what they are doing and what they are looking at, not just guessing.

As Andy™ has already told you

that little box is nothing to do with the motor, and the motor is almost certainly not the problem to start with

 

[Phil.cc]

I've just had a message from CAME, they want the PCB number and motor type, that said they would send a setup, if that didn't work, I could call them when by the control and I would need a multi meter.

 

[roys]

I've just had a message from CAME, they want the PCB number and motor type, that said they would send a setup, if that didn't work, I could call them when by the control and I would need a multi meter.

That all sounds like good customer support.
Don’t forget to update us please on how this all goes.

 

[Phil.cc]

I've had a quick look at the setup they sent and basically it's wiring Schematics, as the wiring hasn't changed, I think it's something else but I will re check that everything is where it's supposed to be just in case.

 

[Andy™]

What gets me is the established gate company's owner came to check out the fault, was here for 10 mins, told me that the right hand motor was at fault which it isn't and then wants to charge be £114 for the callout, then £1300 for the motor and instalation! I'm waiting for a reminder to pay!! I'm sure it would be of interest to Trading Standards.
I assumed that if the motor had failed then the board recognised this and stopped a reset, I also disconnected the motor connector thinking that by eliminating the motors the reset would work, but it didn't?

CAME suggested installing the new motor and everything would be ok?

I'm waiting for them to get back to me again but I believe it's another failed component like the PCB board?

£1300 for a motor change is excessive. only really ever gets to that if its an old motor and the foundation box also has to be changed. like a BFT sub with lack of grease on the bolts when installed. like most other stuff

in your case, those are usually reasonable easy to change

Came probably won't be much help. they are not the manufacturer - they make the control panel & operators, but the 'manufacturer' is those who designed / installed it as a complete machine. that loop controller is not made by came. its a generic loop controller. best advice came would give you is to bypass all safety inputs and try it. if it moves then its a safety device. like the loop controller that's wired into CX & 2, that is active and telling the gate to close / stay closed, because its got a fault, like a dodgy cable in the ground, hence it won't reset

or you could just keep replacing parts. like the PCB. which it isn't likely to be

 

[Phil.cc]

Excessive is the right word, I haven't changed a motor before but I put in the new one in around an hour, the guy charges £38 per hour, at that rate he has allowed himself, besides the cost of the motor, 24 hours to put it in.
I know the two sensors are working because a light flashes on the control board when a hand is waved in front of them, you mentioned the loop being connected to CX & 2, I can't find these on the control board. The trouble is, it's raining every day here so impossible to go and sort this but if I can disconnect that loop then that would eliminate if it's ok or not, whatever the problem, there's something stopping the board from being reset?

 

[Phil.cc]

The PCB board is ZA3, CAME just sent the setup.

 

[Phil.cc]

The wiring info CAME sent has all the connector blocks but doesn't show what wiring goes anywhere, also, my system has a seperate reset box, this is not shown at all? I've mentioned this to them, I also asked if there were connectors that I could check the voltages, no reply?

 

[Fleeting]

What I know about electric gates you could write on the back of a stamp but just from a visual perspective all of those unfixed components are surely not original. It looks a complete lash-up.

 

[Phil.cc]

Agreed, it's not the cleanest wiring job, I didn't put it in, but it has worked for nearly twenty years.