Ghost Controls Gate Motor Replacement Nationwide

Ghost Controls Gate Motor Replacement: The North Hollywood Owner’s Guide

We stock and install Ghost Controls-compatible gate motor replacements throughout North Hollywood, with most swaps priced between $450 and $900 installed depending on your model and arm configuration. Same-day service is available when we have your motor on the truck, which we usually do for the common Ghost Controls models. The failure almost always announces itself the same way: the gate starts moving slower than it used to, then one afternoon it hums without opening at all, or it opens halfway and stops like it’s forgotten what it was doing.

Call (925) 693-7978

If you’re standing in your driveway in North Hollywood right now reading this on your phone while your gate sits dead, skip to the phone number at the bottom. If you’re planning ahead because the gate has been sluggish for a month, keep reading. This page covers everything we’ve learned about Ghost Controls motors in over four decades of gate work across the Valley.

Which Ghost Controls Models This Applies To

Ghost Controls builds three main lines you’ll find on North Hollywood driveways: the TDS series for light-duty swing gates, the TSS series for single-swing arms, and the TDS2/TSS2 updated versions with the quieter DC motors. The part you need depends on which one you have, and the easiest way to identify it is to look at the silver tag on the side of the motor housing. The model number starts with either TDS or TSS, followed by a series of digits. If that tag is sun-faded or missing, measure the arm’s throw distance: the TDS series pulls roughly 18 to 24 inches, while the TSS arms run 24 to 36 inches.

Here’s the compatibility gotcha most owners never hear about: the TDS and TSS series use different control boards, and the arm motor itself is not interchangeable between them even though the housings look nearly identical from ten feet away. We’ve had more than one North Hollywood homeowner buy a motor online that “looked right” and arrived a week later only to discover it wouldn’t pair with their existing board. When we quote a Ghost Controls motor replacement, we confirm your exact model against the tag before we order or pull anything from the truck. We carry new OEM Ghost Controls motors and, where it makes genuine sense, quality aftermarket equivalents that match the original torque and voltage specs. We’ll tell you plainly which one we recommend and why.

Ironworks Gate Co. is an independent gate service company and not affiliated with Ghost Controls. We service their equipment because it’s common on Valley driveways, and because we’ve been through enough of them to know what fails and what doesn’t.

Signs Your Ghost Controls Gate Motor Replacement Is Failing

Motors rarely die without warning. Here’s what we hear on the phone from North Hollywood callers, and what each symptom actually means:

• The gate moves noticeably slower than it did six months ago. The arm motor’s windings are degrading, or the internal gearing is binding from worn bushings. Both are terminal conditions. A motor that’s slowing down is a motor on the way out.
• The gate hums but doesn’t move. Electrical current is reaching the motor but the arm isn’t engaging. This is either a stripped internal gear or a failed capacitor. On Ghost Controls units with over seven or eight years of North Hollywood sun and heat on them, it’s usually the motor itself.
• The gate opens halfway and reverses, or stops dead mid-cycle. The motor’s torque reserve is exhausted. It can still start the gate moving but can’t finish the swing under load. Left alone, this gets worse until the gate won’t budge from the open or closed position.
• You hear grinding or clicking from inside the arm housing. The gear teeth inside the actuator are chipped or worn. A few Ghost Controls arms can be re-geared, but most are sealed units, and a replacement motor is the honest fix.
• The gate opens fine but won’t close, or vice versa. Sometimes this is a limit switch issue, which we can repair. But if you’ve also noticed slower operation, the motor is likely failing in one direction and compensating in the other. We’ll test both directions before we recommend anything.

One of these symptoms alone might be a control board or a limit switch. Two or more together, and it’s the motor. Victor Salinas has been doing this long enough that he can usually tell from your description over the phone which it is, and he’ll tell you straight before we ever roll a truck.

Replacement Cost & What’s Included

In North Hollywood, a Ghost Controls gate motor replacement typically runs $450 to $900 installed. The range comes down to three things: which series motor you have, whether we’re replacing just the arm or the arm and the control board together, and whether your gate is a swing arm or a heavier slide configuration.

Here’s how a typical quote breaks down:

• Ghost Controls replacement motor (OEM or matched aftermarket): $250 to $500 depending on series and torque rating
• Labor and on-site calibration: $175 to $350, including travel within North Hollywood
• Control board replacement (only if needed): $150 to $300 additional

Every quote we give is a complete price, parts and labor, agreed to before we touch a single bolt. You’ll never get a call halfway through telling you the price went up. The work is covered by our written 90-Day Done Right Promise: if it’s not right, we come back and make it right, no paperwork, no arguing.

DIY or Call Us?

Here’s our honest split. You can safely check a few things yourself: confirm the breaker hasn’t tripped, make sure the key in the manual release isn’t engaged, and check that the gate itself isn’t jammed on a rock or a warped hinge. Those are free and take five minutes.

What you shouldn’t do is open the motor housing. Ghost Controls arms carry live voltage even when the system is off if the battery backup is wired in, and the internal gearing holds residual tension. We’ve seen owners try to “just clean the gears” and end up with stripped parts and a gate that’s worse than when they started. The motor swap itself is straightforward for a technician who’s done hundreds of them, and dangerous for someone who hasn’t. Call (925) 693-7978 and we’ll give you a straight answer on what you’re dealing with, even if that answer is “your motor is fine and you don’t need to spend a dime.”

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