The problem
The gate would start normally, travel roughly half its length, then stall and reverse. It had been intermittent for weeks and had become constant.
How we diagnosed it
- Released the operator and moved the gate by hand. It moved freely for the first half of its travel and then became noticeably harder — exactly where it was stalling under power.
- The rollers on the leading edge had developed flats and the track had collected enough grit to bind them.
- The clutch was slipping precisely as designed. It was the safety feature doing its job, not a fault.
What we did
- Replaced the worn rollers, cleared and cleaned the full length of the track, and re-checked the gate by hand through complete travel.
- Reset the clutch to specification after the gate moved freely — not before, because setting a clutch against a binding gate simply hides the problem.
Watch this repair
No other gate repair company in Dallas–Fort Worth publishes video of their work.
The outcome
Gate returned to full travel with the clutch at its correct setting and its protection intact.
What you should take from this
Tightening the clutch would have "fixed" this in five minutes and removed the feature that stops the gate crushing an obstruction. Any technician who reaches for the clutch before checking the gate by hand is treating a symptom and disabling a safeguard.
