Automatic Door Not Opening or Closing? Stafford Business Guide

Start with the simple checks

A good share of the call-outs we attend around Stafford turn out to be something minor. Before you assume the worst, spend five minutes on the basics. None of these involve opening the operator cover, which should be left to an engineer.

If the door comes back to life after one of these checks but the fault returns within a few days, something is wearing out and needs a proper look.

• Check the mode switch or key switch. Doors are often left on 'locked', 'exit only' or 'hold open' by cleaners or the last person out.
• Look at the fused spur and the breaker. A power cut or tripped circuit can leave the door dead or stuck in a fail-safe open position.
• Wipe the sensor lenses above the door with a soft dry cloth. Cobwebs, dust and condensation are common culprits.
• Clear the floor track on sliding doors. Grit, leaves and small stones are enough to stop a door that weighs 60 to 100kg per leaf.
• Move anything new out of the sensor's view, such as A-boards, plants, posters or door mats that have curled up.
• Check that the emergency stop or break-out has not been triggered. Doors pushed outwards in a panic need resetting properly.

What the symptoms usually point to

The way a door misbehaves tells you a lot. A door that will not open at all, with power on, usually points to a failed activation sensor, a faulty push pad or a problem with the electric lock not releasing. If you can hear the motor trying but the door does not move, the lock or a snapped drive belt is the likely cause.

A door that will not close, or keeps reopening, is nearly always the safety sensors seeing something they should not. That might be a misaligned sensor, a failed presence detector or a reflective floor after mopping. Exposed entrances see this more in windy weather, when gusts move the leaves and the door reads it as an obstruction. Units on open estates such as Tollgate and Beaconside are typical examples.

Slow, juddering or noisy movement is mechanical. On sliding doors it tends to be worn carriage wheels, a stretched belt or a damaged floor guide. On swing doors it is commonly a worn arm, loose fixings or a door that has dropped on its pivots and is catching the frame. Doors that stop halfway and reverse are often detecting extra resistance from exactly this sort of wear.

When to stop and call an engineer

Take the door out of automatic use and get it looked at if it is closing on people, slamming, not reversing when it meets an obstruction, or if the glass or frame is damaged. Powered pedestrian doors are expected to meet BS EN 16005, and the safety sensors are what stop a heavy door striking someone. Bypassing or taping over a sensor to keep a door running is never worth the risk.

If the door is on a fire escape route, or tied into your fire alarm or access control, treat any fault as urgent. A door that fails locked on an escape route is a serious matter for whoever is responsible for the premises.

We are based in Stone, about seven miles up the A34, so Stafford town centre, the technology park and the surrounding estates are all local to us.

What a repair is likely to cost

It depends on the make, the age of the operator and whether parts are still available. As a rough guide for the Stafford area, a call-out with diagnosis and adjustment often falls somewhere between £80 and £150. Replacing a sensor typically comes to £150 to £400 fitted, and belts, wheels and guides sit in a similar bracket. A new operator is a bigger job, usually running from around £1,000 into several thousand for a full sliding entrance.

Regular servicing is the cheapest way to avoid all of this. Once a year is the usual minimum, and twice a year suits busy entrances such as shops, surgeries and care homes. A service includes force and speed testing, sensor checks and a written record, which is what an insurer or inspector will ask to see.