Maintain your gate with these maintenance guidelines:

These guidelines for you gate's maintenance are meant to be general in nature and specific needs will vary based on your environment.

Getting Started:

• Adjust the gate hinges to make sure the electric driveway gate swings level, plumb and freely throughout the full opening and closing range of motion. Level is horizontal and plumb vertical. Plumb refers to something being straight up and down.

• The gate post(s) needs to be plumb and hinges need to be aligned vertically. When a gate/post is not plumb it may surge/hesitate in a particular direction of its travel and possibly not function.

• Clean your gate with a mild cleaner, a rag, a soft brush, and a water hose to remove dirt and dust.

• Do any rust removal and touch up painting, that you might deem necessary.

The Gate:

Keeping your gates swinging easily and freely with maintenance is very important so that your remote gate opener system continues to work correctly. If your ball-bearing/bearing type gate hinges are binding, out of grease, or have become difficult to move, your single or dual gate opener system may treat this as an obstruction. If it seems to be associated in some way with the temperature the problem can likely be resolved by lubricating your gate hinges.

If the hinges are worn or damaged replace them. We suggest removing the pin from the front of the operator and working the grease into the driveway single swing gate hinges as much as possible. Use a grease suited for the temperature range in your location. Lithium-based grease tends to work well in many applications. Don’t forget to put the front clevis pin back into the front of the operator when you have finished greasing the hinges.

Lubricate the Operator Arm

Using a silicone spray, you can maintain/clean the silver aluminum push-pull tube (with the operator arm extended and the system turned off) , spray a clean cloth with the silicone and wipe the extended push-pull of the operator arm. Cleaning this part of the arm helps remove any dirt and debris that has accumulated over time and can help reduce premature wear and noise on the internal parts of the operator arm.

Check the System Batteries

As a battery ages its ability to work becomes reduced. A good rule of thumb would be to inspect the battery(s) each fall.

• Clean any corrosion from the battery terminals and connectors. A wire brush the size of a toothbrush is a handy tool for this job. Brush it lightly until any corrosion is removed. Most automotive part stores also have some type of anti-corrosion product that can be added to your system for additional protection.
• Check all battery and battery harness connections to ensure none of the connections are loose.

• The batteries can be loaded and tested as well:
• Disconnect the charging source. (solar panel or transformer connections)
• Measure battery voltage. If you have two batteries, check them individually.
• If the voltage(s) is above 12 Vdc, proceed with the load test. If the voltage(s) is below 12 Vdc, charge the batteries at no greater than 2 amps externally before proceeding.
• The load test will only be conducted on one battery at a time. Measure the voltage prior to operation. Activate the unit while continuing to monitor the voltage. The voltage should drop less than .5 volt during the cycle.
• Repeat for 4 more half cycles (open or close) pausing for approximately 10 seconds in between activations. The voltage should drop less than .5 volt during these movements.
• If the voltage drops are greater than .5 a volt the battery/batteries should be replaced.

Replace Batteries In Wireless Accessories

Change out the batteries in your wireless keypads, remote transmitters, and wireless vehicle sensor every year to ensure trouble-free operation.

Maintenance for Solar Installations

• Use glass cleaner: Clean the glass on your solar panel to remove any algae, mold, mildew, or dirt that may have accumulated throughout the year. Keeping your solar panel glass clean helps to maximize the potential charging ability of the panel which is more important during the winter months as the number of hours of unobstructed sunlight hitting the panel decreases. Move/relocate panel if needed.
• Using the screwdriver provided with your kit, tighten any of the wiring terminal connections that are loose.

Use the options below to download or print this PDF of our maintenance guidelines!

Looking to learn more about Ghost Controls® solar gate openers and gate opener accessories? 

Ghost Controls offers a wide array of reliable driveway swing gate openers, including chain link gate openers. For years, customers have asked for an alternative for slow, unreliable, and noisy operators. At Ghost Controls we have worked hard with innovations in Noise Reduction, Speed, and Reliability on our heavy duty electric gate openers. Additionally, we provide all of our customers with the opportunity to share our love of solar powered renewable energy by converting their systems into a solar automatic gate opener. Using a solar operator is a great way to go off the grid and provide your swing gate operator system with endless clean energy for your remote gate opener.

Speed, and Reliability:

• Quiet – motor noise is accurately correlated to quality in the mechanical and electronic design. All our openers have a maintenance free gear box and motor. They were designed for smooth, quiet operation regardless of the age and cycles of the battery powered gate opener.
• Fast – Our mechanical design and new radio frequency offer superior range offering a greater level of convenience for customers.
• Invincible (Limited Life-Time Warranty) – The motor is one of the most critical components to ensure reliability and longevity. We back our proprietary gear motors with a limited lifetime warranty. No other product in the market can make this claim.

GHOST CONTROLS® single and double swing gate openers are designed and manufactured with pride, delivering the highest quality product and customer support in the industry. We believe in our products with our limited lifetime warranty on each solar compatible dual or single gate opener*. Our corporate philosophy is; steadfast commitment to our customers, culture, products, and people.

*Limited lifetime warranty on motor and gear assembly.