Remote Control Operated Gate Opener

[Somtham]

We have a Juno brand gate opener and the motherboard fails annually. It's starting to get pretty tiresome and expensive to replace. Does anybody know of a shop that sells another brand they've had success with and approximate cost of the unit?

Thanks

[Crossy]

Sorry can't help directly with the problem, although constant failure could be related to poor grounding, any indication as to what is actually going pop?

A mate in KL had a unique solution to the gate opener. He simply had the remote push for a wireless doorbell in the car, upon approaching the house he pressed the button whereupon the maid came running out in the rain and opened the gate. Very low cost, somewhat unreliable.

[Somtham]

Sorry can't help directly with the problem, although constant failure could be related to poor grounding, any indication as to what is actually going pop?

A mate in KL had a unique solution to the gate opener. He simply had the remote push for a wireless doorbell in the car, upon approaching the house he pressed the button whereupon the maid came running out in the rain and opened the gate. Very low cost, somewhat unreliable.

Thanks Crossy. My wife and I had a good laugh over your mates solution but....she didn't go for it!!

Attached is a picture of the board and the unit. The local sales guy calls the shop in BKK to try and troubleshoot it over the phone and after a series of tests each time he says one of the small transformers is bad. I kind of doubt that because when the gate is open it closes no problem but when it's closed or partially closed and moves in the open direction a relay opens and the motor stops after about a 1 meter movement. Reclick the remote and it closes all the way.

Anybody know of shops in BKK that sell these openers?

rgds

[Crossy]

That's a neat little control unit, quite intelligent too with the PIC16C64 micro-controller, if it's doing anything at all it can't be that busted.

I don't see any motor over-current protection other than the fuse so it's probably not a stiff gate.

I'd be putting money on the limit switches myself, maybe a bit of damp in there. They're set up to be Normally Open so a bit of dampness may be tricking the controller into thinking it's closed 'sometimes'. Borrowing the Missus' hairdryer whilst she's out could effect a cure

Do the LEDs do anything 'interesting' when it stops?

May be worth re-wiring the limits to be normally-closed (bet they're regular 3 terminal micro-switches) and moving that link to the NC position. It's actually safer that way too, as an open-circuit in the limit wiring will prevent the gate moving.

Edited December 18, 2008 by Crossy

[longball53098]

Crossy may be on to something and I would say that one of those control relays may have burned contacts from arcing voltage. Are those relays mounted in a plug in base? Could try removing them and cleaning the contacts if not the covers look like they may pop off. I'm betting the relays are switching the 230 volts for the open and closing direction of the motor and there is some arcing burning the contacts.

Disconnect power if you plan to fool around in there

Don't ya love wild guesses?

[Somtham]

Crossy may be on to something and I would say that one of those control relays may have burned contacts from arcing voltage. Are those relays mounted in a plug in base? Could try removing them and cleaning the contacts if not the covers look like they may pop off. I'm betting the relays are switching the 230 volts for the open and closing direction of the motor and there is some arcing burning the contacts.

Disconnect power if you plan to fool around in there

Don't ya love wild guesses?

I have to admit that I opened this thread with the absolute wrong attitude which was 'F' the Juno and find another brand. Crossy and Longball, thanks to your replies I actually engaged my brain today and dug into trying to find out wht was wrong with the thing.

So, first the ground question. The installer pick up the 220V right at the meter which isn't far away from the gate (photo attached for your pleasure!). It's just a line and neutral, no ground. I also notice that there is a ground terminal to the right of the 24 VAC connections on the main board. What should be grounded, to what, and how?

When the motor is disengaged the gate moves easily with one hand so I don't think it is a "stiff gate" issue.

The top relay in the photo would close and stay closed regardless of what was going on. Unfortunately the relays are soldered in place. I unsoledered that top one and popped open the cover and looked at the contacts under a microscope and they looked like new. No burn marks or pitting what so ever. Replaced the relay and reinstalled the board.

Ahh, the LED's. What do they do? The top green one (L1G) comes on when the gate is opening and turns off when the gate reaches the limit at which time the bottom left green limit LED (L3G) comes on. The top red one (L5R) comes on when the gate is closing and goes off when the close limit is reached at which time the bottom left red limit one (L6R) comes on. OK, while checking this I noticed that the bottom left green 'limit' LED never turned off so I removed the limit switch cover plate to have a look. The limit switches are magnetic reed switches and the one in question was covered in ant dung and corroded. With an ohm meter and magnet the switch would close but only sometimes open when the magnet was removed. Wemt off to town to get a new reed switch with little hopes of finding one out here in the boonies but sure enough the electronics shop had one at B20.

Checked the orientation of the switch, soldered it in and replaced the switch board. Wholla, everything worked as it was supposed to.

Now, what about those grounds and I also noticed a "light" terminal next to the mains connections. I'll have to try and hook up the front lights to that and see how it works.

So, thank you very much Crossy and Longball. I appreciate your time in replying and getting me to actually check it out. You saved me B5,480!! I owe you guys one.

rgds

[longball53098]

Crossy may be on to something and I would say that one of those control relays may have burned contacts from arcing voltage. Are those relays mounted in a plug in base? Could try removing them and cleaning the contacts if not the covers look like they may pop off. I'm betting the relays are switching the 230 volts for the open and closing direction of the motor and there is some arcing burning the contacts.

Disconnect power if you plan to fool around in there

Don't ya love wild guesses?

I have to admit that I opened this thread with the absolute wrong attitude which was 'F' the Juno and find another brand. Crossy and Longball, thanks to your replies I actually engaged my brain today and dug into trying to find out wht was wrong with the thing.

So, first the ground question. The installer pick up the 220V right at the meter which isn't far away from the gate (photo attached for your pleasure!). It's just a line and neutral, no ground. I also notice that there is a ground terminal to the right of the 24 VAC connections on the main board. What should be grounded, to what, and how?

When the motor is disengaged the gate moves easily with one hand so I don't think it is a "stiff gate" issue.

The top relay in the photo would close and stay closed regardless of what was going on. Unfortunately the relays are soldered in place. I unsoledered that top one and popped open the cover and looked at the contacts under a microscope and they looked like new. No burn marks or pitting what so ever. Replaced the relay and reinstalled the board.

Ahh, the LED's. What do they do? The top green one (L1G) comes on when the gate is opening and turns off when the gate reaches the limit at which time the bottom left green limit LED (L3G) comes on. The top red one (L5R) comes on when the gate is closing and goes off when the close limit is reached at which time the bottom left red limit one (L6R) comes on. OK, while checking this I noticed that the bottom left green 'limit' LED never turned off so I removed the limit switch cover plate to have a look. The limit switches are magnetic reed switches and the one in question was covered in ant dung and corroded. With an ohm meter and magnet the switch would close but only sometimes open when the magnet was removed. Wemt off to town to get a new reed switch with little hopes of finding one out here in the boonies but sure enough the electronics shop had one at B20.

Checked the orientation of the switch, soldered it in and replaced the switch board. Wholla, everything worked as it was supposed to.

Now, what about those grounds and I also noticed a "light" terminal next to the mains connections. I'll have to try and hook up the front lights to that and see how it works.

So, thank you very much Crossy and Longball. I appreciate your time in replying and getting me to actually check it out. You saved me B5,480!! I owe you guys one.

rgds

"I love it when a plan comes together"!!

Great effort on the fix and it sounds like Crossy pegged it!

I am worried about that source of AC to power this thing. No fused supply? Direct from the meter cables? Wow! These installers were really lazy that day. The least they could do was install one of those small circuit breaker switches you see commonly on aircons and such. There is a board mounted fuse but thats to protect the board not the incoming circuit. If the circuit from the meter gets shorted or short to ground you will have a big deal. Really poor workmanship and needs to be fixed.

First things I would be looking to change is to find a circuit from the panel in the house that is fused/breakered or install the type of breaker I mention above. If you can find an outdoor outlet circuit you can tap off that and run some proper outdoor cable to it. With a proper ground would be nice.

As for the circuit boards, the main controller and the one with the reed switch. Not very weatherproof or bug proof. Maybe a light coating of silicone sealant over the reed switch will help protect it from the environment in lieu of factory coatings. A quick look on the net finds this product. Waterproofing

Don't know where you live but the local Amorn shop may have something also.

Good luck and happy gate openings

[Somtham]

"I love it when a plan comes together"!!

Great effort on the fix and it sounds like Crossy pegged it!

I am worried about that source of AC to power this thing. No fused supply? Direct from the meter cables? Wow! These installers were really lazy that day. The least they could do was install one of those small circuit breaker switches you see commonly on aircons and such. There is a board mounted fuse but thats to protect the board not the incoming circuit. If the circuit from the meter gets shorted or short to ground you will have a big deal. Really poor workmanship and needs to be fixed.

First things I would be looking to change is to find a circuit from the panel in the house that is fused/breakered or install the type of breaker I mention above. If you can find an outdoor outlet circuit you can tap off that and run some proper outdoor cable to it. With a proper ground would be nice.

As for the circuit boards, the main controller and the one with the reed switch. Not very weatherproof or bug proof. Maybe a light coating of silicone sealant over the reed switch will help protect it from the environment in lieu of factory coatings. A quick look on the net finds this product. Waterproofing

Don't know where you live but the local Amorn shop may have something also.

Good luck and happy gate openings

Sorry to have to misled you. There is a 15a breaker they installed between where they tapped into the mains and the motor controller and remote sensor box. The house is ~25 years old and there is no ground connected on that phase wiht the exception of the water heater. Any advice on how to ground this control unit?

I'll look into silicon coating the whole works as this is not the first time ants have called that place home.

Again, thanks for your help.

rgds

[Crossy]

So, thank you very much Crossy and Longball. I appreciate your time in replying and getting me to actually check it out. You saved me B5,480!! I owe you guys one.

We aim to please

It's nice to get some feedback that your advice actually fixed a problem.

As to your ground, that connection is more likely to be there to protect the electronics rather than provide electrical safety. One of the cheap, short ground rods bashed in nearby and connected to the earth terminal should do the trick, look in your local electrical emporium