Automatic Gate Opener Not Working

My Mighty Mule gate opener quit working two days after installing. It worked intermittently then quit all together.
Update 2017: After I shot this video, I ended up replacing the board under warranty and it has worked well for years.

[@sharonsharley]

See if it still under warranty....Mine is over 5 years old and no problems until today.....on the coldest day of the year..it blew a fuse .....I forgot it had a fuse until I saw yours......Thanks for posting farmboy....very helpful and good luck fixing your...

[@farmboy30117]

It was under warranty. I got the circuit board replaced and now it works great! Thanks for watching!

[@johntoe6127]

A common problem with MM gate actuators. They can get water, or debris inside. Inside, the slotted wheel passes through a black sensor on the circuit board. The main control circuit board uses these pulses to verify the gate is moving, and to count them and tell how far to move it. The small slit in the sensor is only about as wide as a sheet of paper. If any debris, or most likely, water gets in this tiny slit, the sensor produces erratic readings. The control board misinterprets this, and will stall, or reverse, or report error. Gate often opens part way, stops, etc. or moves a inch, and then stops and beeps. Solution is to open up actuator, and blow out the small black sensor on the board with air. This is a simple fix to try, and cost is zero. On dual gate, either actuator could be causing the problem. Check both.

[@farmboy30117]

Thanks for the info!

[@leonrodriguez1714]

Where is the sensor actuator located?

[@johntoe6127]

@@leonrodriguez1714 The Sensor is located inside the gate arm. You'll have to have a torx bit to open the gate arm up. Inside you'll find a linear actuator, which is a fancy term for a long screw with a threaded nut (in this case a tube) that runs on it. It's turned by the motor/gearbox, and the slotted wheel is mounted on it. The sensor is on a small circuit board mounted alongside. Note that I'm describing the MM560 gate arm, but most MM arms should be similar.

[@leonrodriguez1714]

@@johntoe6127 ok thanks for time

[@sambone1762]

My gate is fixed! Great video and great voice. You need to narrate a home improvement show. Thanks

[@MR-nz5pg]

My 23 yr. old Apollo 633/634 board may have finally given up the ghost. Heavy rain arrived yesterday and it won't open. Once it stops pouring, I'll check the fuses. For now, I have simply pulled the arm off the gate and open/close manually.

[@Neprican999]

Thank for posting the video. First thing, you have installed your gate opener upside down - all the screws in the housing should be facing down. Your gate opener system working intermittently possibly due to loose connection at the battery terminals or on the main on/off switch. Sometimes the power switch itself may be defective.

[@farmboy30117]

Good catch! I finally figured that out about a month after installing it! Turns out in this case the circuit board was bad. Power to the board was good. Thanks!

[@scottyboy2400]

farmboy30117 Hey man, I have the exact same control box/board on my FM502 double gate system. Please let me know how long you had it before the board went out? I have only had mine a little past 2 yrs. Anyway mine is working sporadically. It will stop just shy of all the way open then start beeping one beep-followed by pause then two beeps. I can then turn it off and back on then hit remote to finish opening all the way then let it sit until the auto close activates and the gate shuts. Then when leaving the driveway and crossing the in-ground metal detector it opens all the way then sometimes closes and sometimes won't. Anyway I called them and they said if there is no short present(and theres not because nothing has been messed with and no signs at all of a short) that the board is PROBABLY bad. So what happened to tech support getting on the phone with you and have you go to the gate and walk you through a bunch of troubleshooting /testing BEFORE just telling you it's PROBABLY a bad $250.00 freakin board??? L@@KS like this MM FM502 is going to be another freakin headache just like the fm352 I had before this one. During the 5 yrs I had that system I had to buy 5 refurbished arms at $200 each and a arm rev.counter! So on a system that cost about $500-$600 i ended up spending probably around $1500.00!!!!!!!! -GENUINE POS! Anyway please let me know the age of yours WHEN BOARD FAILED ? If you have had the single beep followed by double beep problem yet? If the board is bad wouldn't there be some kind of physical sign of damage such as burnt solder joint, swelled diode or something?( Because mine looks brand new!) Do you happen to know what the little black round cylinder shaped thing stamped with the year 2015 on it that site right behind the on/off switch? Could it go bad? Sorry for all the questions. I am just desperate considering tech support has gone to the dogs at the" NOT SO MIGHTY MULE STORE! " :-) Thx!

[@vicbehan6773]

good video, thanks. My problem was due to the receiver with the antenna on it, go wet. I had installed in upside down allowing rain water to accumulate. I took it apart, drained the water out, dried it and it now works fine. Just trying to add my solution. So many things can go wrong.

[@joemiddleman2339]

Funny how garage door operators last forever with remotes however, this system always breaks down mine did it twice already it works great, but always a glitch. Be prepared to deal with it.

[@chiefatk458]

I have the same problem but on a sometimes does and sometimes doesn't basis. Mine worked fine for several months but then quit working. I tried several remotes, including those paired with my truck, and none worked. My battery voltage was below 12 V so I switched to a different battery. At first, it wouldn't open but after a few minutes, it started to open and then closed automatically. My neighbor has the same opener as mine and he had the exact same problem. He found out that the solar panel was not maintaining a proper battery charge. I wont know about that fix until I get a new solar charger. I had a older MM opener and it quit after 10 years but it was the small DC motor that probably burnt out from years of usage. I plan to repair that opener in case I have these problems again. The older unit was much better than this new one with the upgrades. I could open that gate opener from 200 feet away but with this newer one, I'm lucky to operate it from 20 feet away. If I find out any usable information on the opener I will be sure to drop you a quick note. Good luck with yours.

[@koaasst]

i have a receiver about 1500 feet from the kitchen window so remote doesnt reach, so got a module that reaches 2000ft that hooks up to it with remotes that have little extendable antennas on them. i hope that the original remotes still work along with the new ones, as i keep the original remotes in the car and just need the long distance remote in the house.

[@chiefatk458]

I replaced my battery with one that was on a trickle charger and everything is working fine now, hopefully it will last. Farmboy, I hope your problem gets solved as easy as mine was, good luck.

[@farmboy30117]

Thanks George. I've had a handful of issues over the years, but the battery going bad has been the cause of most of them. In this case, the board was bad.

[@juliebarnett9812]

Sounds like what's going on with mine.It was working grear, then suddenly stopped. The controllers do nothing and there is no beeping.

[@empreendendocomsolar]

These things happen, stop working from scratch and then come back! Very cool your video.

[@farmboy30117]

+Canal Mais Automotivo Thanks, it turned out to be a bad circuit board. No issues since I replaced the board.

[@andyjagger3542]

I have been installing Mighty Mule for years....i can tell you that water (rain) got in to your an antenna shorting it out then and it just dried out. check that it is up right and i see you fitted the arm upside down it has holes in it to let the water out.....

[@gallounocuatro2746]

Hy sir im having problems with serkit board i turnd it off and on and thers no beeping all lights are on inside the box charging light is blinking is that normal

[@anthonieneveling9334]

hi, tony here. battling with this centurianD3. one day it operates okay, then it opens to about 90% closes properly. today no go. i can hear the relays, but no go.

[@dennisdawson4774]

Anthonie Neveling I

[@jstrunck]

Maybe a cold solder joint on the power portion of the controller board. Big temp variation will make it act up again. Kinda cheezy of Mighty Mule not to ship a new replacement controller board. Hang in there! John

[@farmboy30117]

It was definitely colder outside in the end of the video where it started working.

[@livingaboard]

I've had my sl2000 for 15 years and had to replace a control board that melted. I'm on my 3rd receiver and decided to just screw the shit receiver and use the 850lm, get the compatible remote and wire that in so that it bypasses on the green and white wires on the board. This should give me massive range increase.

[@alnthevalley1]

That is just hilarious, just went through the same thing- I wish I new what happened, their obviously is a short or loose wire-I will have to figure it out- things don't magically, repair themselves-

[@glengood7551]

Why does d control board not charging d battery

[@geeder9086]

I'd bet it was a low battery because it sat for months before you plugged it in. Then a few days later -- the battery charged. They run off the battery -- not the 18 VAC.

[@farmboy30117]

I'm pretty sure it was a defective board. I've had to replace the battery a couple times since then but the original lasted almost 2 years.

[@garyfoster5657]

I recently purchased a MM 660. I had the exact same problem. After following directions exactly, with the last step of turning the on/off switch on, there were no yellow status or receiver lights and no audible tones. The red (battery charging) light was blinking rapidly (two blinks very quickly). The green power light was on. I rechecked all of my wire connections and fuses. I also used a voltmeter to check the power all over the board. Turns out the circuit board was bad. I ordered a new one and it now works as advertised.

[@farmboy30117]

Yep, that's what happened to me. The replacement circuit board as so far worked great.

[@joaquincruz8597]

Slacer machine berkel

[@KhanhPham-jg4sv]

Late to the game, but I am running into this issue and can not for the life of me figure out why I can't clear the ERD Overload. The gate just sits in the open position.

[@marceloabila9468]

my has 7 years no problem only one when i leave it open for the snow I have to reset only one in seven years pushing big heavy gates. is good when something happen so we have the opoetunity to learn how to fix it.

[@artjag1]

what a technician !

[@farmboy30117]

No, I don't work on this crap.

[@soonloytompack2061]

Every time electricity goes the gate will not open, unless I disconnect the fuse and put it back on

[@jazzyntony]

some of these openers wont work if the battery is dead even when plugged to electrical outlet. when you left it for two days it charged up the battery and started working.

[@farmboy30117]

You're absolutely correct. I've found that out a few times over the years ;)

[@22pandher]

Mine started working very slowly, changed the battery its now working fine.

[@aalazem4561]

Hi Please need help. I've got (BTF) MOTOR GATE SYSTEM. ONE DAY GATE OPEN NOT CLOSING,GIVES ON DIGITAL SCREEN ( PHOTO), SO I WIRED 21 TO 24 SO PHOTOCELL BEEN CANCEELED FROM SYSTEM, WORKING FINE OFCOURSE WITHOUT PHOTOCELL. I BOUGHT NEW ONE TODAY INSTALLE IT, TESTED SAME PROBLEM WITH SAME (PHOTO) SIGN. ANY ADVICE PLEASE Thanks

[@iyamuremyephilemon3638]

our gate working none stopping , down limit and up limit doesn't work the boom bar still go down and up continuously ,what happens ???/

[@alansheedy3956]

It's a Mighty Mule. That's why it stopped working. I'm throwing mine away.

[@farmboy30117]

Haha, that may be true!

[@marceloabila9468]

send it to me

[@PoboyDaniel]

im having a problem with my mule 350 it started to beep non stop i was told it was the battery going dead so i bought a new one and now its not opening the beeping has stopped. it will only beep once upon turning the power on and off but im not getting and motion any advice would be greatly appreciated thank you

[@farmboy30117]

+Daniel stahl Apparently the circuit boards they use are junk! My only suggestion (if you really want to keep the mighty mule) is to replace the board.

[@luisramos9125]

What was the issue!

[@PoboyDaniel]

@@luisramos9125 it turned out to be the remote receiver, ants had gotten inside and shorted out the board. I bought a new one and it worked fine.

[@fredyearian4968]

Just repaired neighbor's M500. If the status light blinks once per second, this may be due to a failure of the limit switch in the arm. Neighbors switch had got moisture and the switch was wide open... not making any contact. The logic board verifies it can sense the switch being in one condition or the other. If it doesn't see this it will continuously beep and opener will not function.

[@thato_mohlabi]

my gate sometimes does not respond when i open/close it remotely. when i press the remote it just takes out a beeping sound without activating the motor... how do i fix that?

[@farmboy30117]

Mine did the same thing and I ended up replacing the arm to fix it.

[@Nole39368]

Same here. Mm 360,less than a year old. Been working fine, but yesterday morning my wife was going to work, hit the opener, and beep, beep , beep......beep, beep, beep, until you turn the arm switch off. When you turn the switch back on it beeps once. If you hit the opener button again , it beeps...,...,... all over again. She tried it when she got home in the evening, and lo and behold, it worked. This morning, on our way to church, guess what! Problem was back.....SMH.... any advice please

[@carlosmejia5175]

Buenas tardes amigos tengo un motor brazo migthy mule modelo mm502 cuando lo pongo a trabajar solo el brazo maestro me trabaja pero desconectado el escavo y cuando conecto los dos solo medio arranca el esclavo y se detiene y dispara la alarma trate de resolver con unos jumper que le faltaban al control pero el problema persiste conectados los dos brazos a la tarjeta control solo medio arranca el motor esclavo y despues se detiene no he podido resolver ese problema no se si es configuracion o no se necesito la ayuda del experto...

[@mdtausir5321]

Very nice Topics

[@cbcbass]

What I noticed is the operator is upside down.

[@farmboy30117]

Good catch, it took me a few weeks before I noticed it. It's on correctly now.

[@Bass.Player]

@@farmboy30117 Yeah it won't last long upside down. Good luck...

[@farmboy30117]

@@Bass.Player Yep, it lasted about a year before I had to replace the arm.

[@Bass.Player]

@@farmboy30117 It would not last past the first rain if it was a 350 like mine with the control board in the arm

[@farmboy30117]

@@Bass.Player Good thing it's a 500 then ;0

[@scottyboy2400]

Does anyone happen to know what the little black round cylinder shaped thing stamped with the year 2015 on it that sits right behind the on/off switch? Could it go bad? What does it do? My FM502 is doing the ONE BEEP-PAUSE-TWO BEEPS. It will stop just shy of all the way open then start beeping one beep-followed by pause then two beeps. I can then turn it off and back on then hit remote to finish opening all the way then let it sit until the auto close activates and the gate shuts. Then when leaving the driveway and crossing the in-ground metal detector it opens all the way then sometimes closes and sometimes won't. If any of you guys have a clue here, PLEASE let me know. Thx!

[@Neprican999]

One beep, pause then followed by two beeps at activation, normally means master motor terminal is shorted in the Mighty Mule blue control board which may be repairable.

[@Aintright1965]

Mine is doing the same thing board is not powering up. Mighty Mule sent me a new board but like the first it isn't doing anything. What are the chances of having 2 bad boards? If this is the case I'm going to purchase some lottery tickets. Any suggestions?

[@farmboy30117]

I'm not an expert on these openers but in my experience if the battery is weak or bad, it won't work. Did you check to make sure you had a good power supply coming in? I believe it is low voltage AC and there is a rectifier on the board to convert to DC. Check battery connections and voltage. Also, check the switch to make sure it works. If everything looks good, then I would say the board is bad.

[@clayschaefer2804]

What size gate? I have a 16ft gate and got a mighty mule 350. Very easy install. I dont know much about these openers but maybe a bigger battery? I have a marine battery on mine and it works like a champ. At walmart it was about 62 bucks i believe.

[@farmboy30117]

It's a 16' tube gate. It works fine when it's working. I suspect a loose connection for the power supply because the battery is fully charged and the power from the AC adapter is working fine. Still talking to Mighty Mule tech support, and I'll be sending it back to them when I get authorization number.

[@farmboy30117]

Update 11/18/14 - not working again!

[@mfbarnes52]

farmboy30117 First thing you do is get rid of the the Mighty Mule Battery if you are using one and buy yourself a decent Marine Deep Cycle battery. also if you are using solar power to charge your system, get a minimum of a ten watt solar panel. Most 10 watt solar panels are 12" x 12" minimum. It appears you are having source power issues.

[@farmboy30117]

The battery wasn't the problem, it had a defective circuit board. Since I have ac power run to it, I don't really use the battery anyway.

[@mattraab6182]

farmboy30117 Just as an FYI in the future, on Mighty Mules you are always using the battery. The incoming AC is just trickle charging the battery, the gate opener cannot run off the AC at all. So down the road (2-4 years) that battery will die of old age and need to be replaced and your opener will not be able to run because of it.

[@farmboy30117]

Ok, thanks for the heads up.

[@mitchellquinn22]

My ghost gate will not set to open

[@williamerwin6819]

My gto slide gate 2000 will close but after 2minutes it opens by itself

[@SILENTKILLA972]

You have the limit set backwards on the dip switch

[@mlguy8376]

I am having a very similar issue of intermittent failure and then a complete failure - I pulled the lid off and saw err 3 for the dea board. Did you get any error codes?

[@farmboy30117]

No I don’t think I got any error codes. You can go online to GTO website and pull up the owners manual to see what the code is. I had my board replaced under warranty and didn’t have any more issues until my battery got weak. When I have issues now I replace the battery and it solves the problem.

[@mlguy8376]

@@farmboy30117 cheers for getting back to me. I did that - safety error and or photocell issue, checked the sensors and not clear issues so getting a chap round to resolve it.

[@luisfigueroa545]

Got to ask my boss

[@linnypsimpson5111]

6:52 WTH? I shouldn't have been playing the audio on my stereo with the volume up. I think I peed myself...

[@mossman381]

Maybe moisture in a connection or on the board? Did you have a big temp change when it happened? I love that dually.

[@farmboy30117]

It had warmed up a little when it quit working and it was nearly freezing when it started back. There is no seal on the control box cover but it hadn't rained either.

[@louisdubuisson9647]

It seems to be a pattern. I am having the same problem today. We recently had about four days of below freezing temperature. This may not be true for everyone, but I noticed farmboy30117 stated in his video it had been pretty cool out. A couple of others also mention the cold weather. Maybe the board is slightly changing shape in the cold and causing solder joints to break or loosen. When I finally solve my problem I plan on using Dynamat to line my box to help temperature changes just in case. Thanks for the video farmboy30117. My GTO...similar to Mighty Mule...is 9 years old with no problems to speak of.

[@seer7327]

Any status update? I just purchased the same unit (newer, of course- Red board V2.0) and it's doing EXACTLY what you documented here. No audible upon switching the power to the control board. Was working first couple of days and then I went to install an exit sensor/wand and nothing: I had first been trying to program a keypad and that wasn't working- I didn't inspect, so perhaps it had crapped out by that time. Green light ON; Red light ON/blinking (charging). I have 12.86v @ battery/batteries; solar panel inputing (at the time) 14.49v; I'm getting 12.0v at the rocker switch (input side and, when switched, output side). Based on what I've read about their tech support I'm really not anxious to call them.

[@farmboy30117]

I ended up having to replace the board, under warranty, and haven't had any issues since. Still works fine as of today :)

[@seer7327]

Great to hear (and thanks for the quick reply!). What is the revision on the replacement board (is it Red)? I'm assuming you pop the board off those plastic stands (and that it's not a bugger).

[@farmboy30117]

No, it was the same exact green board as it came with. It was pretty easy to swap.

[@seer7327]

What was the original doing when you finally gave up on it (same thing)?

[@christophershepard301]

Mark Nagel the voltage of 12.86 on the battery is a bit low. All batteries should run between 13-14 volts dc. Incoming power should not drop below 18 volts even under a load as it cant charge like it is designed. May not be getting enough power

[@MrRahim-jt8up]

You from

[@GrandCanyonMountainMan]

Probably best to know that there are hundreds of different gate operators and that the boards have relays. Should learn how tow use a multimeter and read a circuit

[@farmboy30117]

I don't work on circuit boards but I know how to use a test meter. Fortunately the opener was still under warranty.

[@kanlayaneedansiri6235]

Awesome

[@blakethesnake1555]

So I watch the whole video. And we don't know what happened or why? ??

[@farmboy30117]

Bad board. They finally sent me a new one and it has worked fine ever since.

[@blakethesnake1555]

+farmboy30117 thanks. How long have u had it now? I've had mine 5 years. It just started acting up. Only closes a short distance then beeps once and stops. Like it's running out of juice. I'm gona try changing batteries It's solar powered. I've been happy with it up until now

[@farmboy30117]

I've had it for a couple years I guess. I would say 5 years on these batteries is very good. Time for a replacement. Have you tried to reset the close position limit? I had to do that to my mother's gate and it wasn't that old either.

[@willhall7684]

Ain't got no gas eenit

[@kevinkorpol5780]

The arm is upside down. Water will get in it!!! turn it over

[@farmboy30117]

good catch! Took me about 3 days to realize it ;)

[@PoboyDaniel]

ok thanks

[@congtudongvukhanh]

👍👍👍

[@lisaogrady1733]

How did anyone find this helpful??

[@farmboy30117]

Sorry this wasn''t really a how-to video

[@kevinhamby2064]

is this a mighty mule

[@farmboy30117]

Yes

[@andreaschristodoulou4274]

Suprise...!! ouhh, hillbillies have automatic gates for their own....ouhh have them repair too !!!

[@coreyharrelson4914]

Mighty Mule is junk save your money and buy a better unit.

[@Squarehead45]

Crap, I thought this was going to have a PRO,,,all we see here is some mush mouth THINKING he knows what he's doing...sad

[@farmboy30117]

I never said I was a pro. I am a DIY'er and video what I think might be interesting.