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LiftMaster operatorsFree on-site gate assessment - hinges, posts, and your LiftMaster or Nice gate operator checked before anything is quoted
The assessment is free and the quote is the invoice.
Get your free estimateTrusted Electric Gate Repair for San Jose Homeowners
A gate that won’t open or won’t close isn’t a small annoyance, it’s a security problem parked in your driveway. In San Jose, where gates take a beating from wet winters and the constant dust of the Diablo Range, a dead opener usually traces back to one of four things: a blown capacitor on the motor, a snapped drive belt, misaligned safety sensors, or a limit switch that has lost its calibration. Calder Gate Repair San Jose fixes all of it, usually in a single visit. Our technicians are factory-trained on FAAC, BFT, Linear, and Viking systems, arrive background-checked and in uniform, and hand you a written price before any work begins. We’ve been part of the Relay Home Co. family since 2009, and Nico Alvarez runs our San Jose crew. Call (669) 666-6859 and a live person answers, day or night.
Key Takeaways:
- Most gate opener repairs in San Jose run $165 to $385 before parts; full motor replacements start around $650.
- We answer calls with a live person 24/7, not a voicemail.
- Every job gets a written price, a written guarantee, and the 365-Day Done Right Promise: if the repair fails within a year, we return free.
- Trackable arrival time, not a four-hour window. You’ll know exactly when we pull up.
Automatic Gate Repair
Automatic Gate Repair is what we do when the gate no longer opens, closes, or behaves the way it did last week. In San Jose, the three most common failures we see are a power surge that fried the control board, a chain or belt that slipped off its sprocket, and a safety sensor knocked out of alignment by a trash bin or a delivery truck. For San Jose Electric Gate Repair, we diagnose the exact failure, fix the mechanical and electrical side in the same trip, then run the gate through ten full cycles to confirm it stops and reverses under load. Calder Gate Repair San Jose diagnoses the exact failure, fixes the mechanical and electrical side in the same trip, then runs the gate through ten full cycles to confirm it stops and reverses under load. A typical automatic gate repair in San Jose runs $165 to $385 before parts, depending on whether we’re replacing a capacitor, a sensor, or a full control board.
Opener Motor Failures
Brushless motors fail gradually, which is why a gate starts moving slower in the weeks before it stops entirely. If you’re hearing a loud hum but the gate doesn’t move, the motor has power but the capacitor or the gearing is shot. We replace both in one visit.
Safety Sensor Misalignment
When a photo eye shifts even a quarter inch, the gate thinks there’s an obstacle and refuses to close, or worse, starts closing on a car. Calder realigns the sensors, cleans the lenses, and tests the reverse function under actual traffic conditions.
Styles & brands we work with





Electric Gate Motor
An Electric Gate Motor is the workhorse that moves the gate leaf or arm, and when it fails, the gate becomes dead weight. In San Jose, motors get pushed hard: salty air drifting up from the bay corrodes terminals, and summer heat cycles stress the capacitor. We tell homeowners to listen for a clicking sound, watch for a gate that starts and stops mid-cycle, or a motor that’s too hot to touch after normal use. Calder Gate Repair San Jose replaces motors on every major brand, including FAAC and Viking, and a motor replacement in San Jose typically falls between $650 and $1,400 installed, depending on horsepower and whether it’s a slide or swing drive.
Starter Capacitor Diagnosis
A failing start capacitor is the number one reason a motor hums without moving. We test capacitance at the panel before recommending anything, so you’re never sold a motor when a $30 part would fix the hum. Written diagnosis price before any repair starts.
Full Motor Replacement
When the motor is seized or the drive shaft is bent, replacement is the honest answer. We source the correct torque spec for your gate’s weight and length, install the new motor, and calibrate the stops so the gate doesn’t slam. Every motor replacement includes a written 365-Day Done Right Promise.
Gate Access Control
Gate Access Control covers everything that tells your gate who can come in and who stays out: keypads, card readers, intercoms, telephone entry systems, and the loop detectors buried in the concrete. For San Jose homes in the Cambrian and Almaden Valley neighborhoods, we commonly see keypad membrane buttons worn through from years of daily codes, or an intercom that works at the house but not at the gate. Calder Gate Repair San Jose handles the full access control stack, from replacing a worn keypad face to wiring a new phone-based entry system that lets you buzz someone in from your cell phone. Access control repairs in San Jose run $140 to $320 for most keypad and reader fixes, while a full telephone entry system install starts around $1,100.
Keypads and Card Readers
Worn silicone buttons, corroded wire terminals, a card reader that flashes but won’t read. We replace failed components, re-punch the code memory, and test every code and card before we leave. No “works for me” hand-waving.
Loop Detector and Vehicle Sensing
If your gate starts closing on your car, the loop detector under the concrete has likely failed. We test loop frequency, re-tune the detector, or cut and re-seal a new loop when the old wire is too far gone. This is the fix that prevents a lawsuit waiting to happen.
Commercial Gate Operator
A Commercial Gate Operator is the heavy-duty cousin of a residential opener, built to cycle hundreds of times a day at apartment complexes, storage facilities, and office parks across San Jose. These units fail from pure fatigue: run-time wear, thermal trips, and contactor burnout from constant use. When a commercial operator trips offline, you need a technician who understands duty cycles, traffic flow, and the safety entrapment standards that keep you compliant. Calder Gate Repair San Jose services BFT and Linear commercial operators, and our commercial repairs in San Jose typically run $285 to $750 depending on whether we’re rebuilding a drive mechanism, replacing a master arm, or swapping a burned contactor. We also handle planned maintenance contracts for property managers who don’t want surprise failures at the front gate.
Contactor and Relay Replacement
Every time a commercial gate opens, an electrical contactor flips. Those contacts arc and pit over years, and when they weld shut, the gate runs continuously until something breaks. We swap contactors and relays, then test under full load for fifty cycles.
Gate Arm and Drive Mechanism Repair
Bent gate arms, stripped drive gears, and sheared keyways are all symptoms of a gate that’s been hit by a car or run past its stop point too many times. We straighten or replace the arm, re-cut the keyway, and re-set the open and close limits so the operator isn’t fighting itself.
Brands We Service
We’re factory-familiar with nine major opener brands, and we keep OEM parts in stock for FAAC, BFT, Linear, and Viking among them. On a Viking slide gate operator, the most common failure we see in San Jose is the internal limit switch drifting out of spec after a power bump. On a FAAC 400 or 402 swing operator, it’s the hydraulic pump losing pressure, which presents as a gate that moves at half speed.
With Linear operators, we regularly replace the control board after a lightning strike or a transformer blowout, and with BFT, the capacitor box on the Deimos line is a known weak point we address without hesitation. Whether you have one of these units or something else entirely, our home page has the full list of brands we service, and the same written-price guarantee applies to every make.
Signs You Need a Pro Right Now
- Gate moves at half speed. A gate that crawls is a gate with a failing capacitor or a pump losing pressure. The motor is working twice as hard to do half the job, and that burns out the windings fast.
- You hear grinding or screeching. That’s metal on metal. It means a gear, a bearing, or a chain has lost lubrication or alignment, and every cycle is shaving life off the drive train.
- The gate reverses for no reason. If the gate starts closing and then bounces back open with nothing in the path, the safety sensors are misaligned or the force setting is wrong. This is a safety problem, not an inconvenience.
- Keypad works sometimes, not others. Intermittent keypad failures usually mean a cracked solder joint or a corroded wire splice. It’ll fail completely on the day you need it most.
- You have to hold the remote at arm’s length. If your opener only works when you’re ten feet away with the remote aimed just right, the receiver antenna or the radio module is failing. The range will keep shrinking until it stops entirely.
See the difference
Before
After
Before
After
Before
AfterOur Process, Step by Step
- 1
Call and talk to a person. You call (669) 666-6859 and get a live dispatcher, not a bot. We ask what the gate is doing, get your address, and book a technician with a trackable arrival time.
- 2
Track your technician. You get a live link showing exactly where your technician is and when they’ll arrive. No four-hour windows. If the ETA changes, you get a text.
- 3
Get a written diagnostic. The technician tests the motor, control board, sensors, and power supply before quoting anything. You get a written price for the exact repair. The number on the invoice is the number you agreed to, nothing more.
- 4
Repair and testing. We install OEM parts, calibrate the open and close limits, and cycle the gate at least ten times under load. On safety-related repairs like sensors and force settings, we test the entrapment reversal with a physical obstruction.
- 5
Digital invoice and written guarantee. You pay from a link on your phone. You get before-and-after photos, a written guarantee, and the 365-Day Done Right Promise: if the repair fails within a year, we return free.
How Much Does Electric Gate Repair Cost in San Jose?
A typical gate opener repair in San Jose runs $165 to $385 before parts. If the repair requires a new control board, expect to add $120 to $450 for the board itself, depending on the brand. A full electric gate motor replacement in San Jose lands between $650 and $1,400, with hydraulic operators like FAAC on the higher end and slide-gate motors like Linear on the lower end. Access control work, meaning keypads and card readers, typically runs $140 to $320 for repair.
What moves the price: the age of the opener, whether parts are still in production, and how much of the drive mechanism needs to be removed to reach the failure. A 2007 Viking that needs a new motor will cost more in labor than a 2021 BFT that needs a new capacitor. The way to avoid overpaying is simple: get a written price before work starts, and make sure the company stocks OEM parts instead of universal boards that never quite fit. Our free estimate includes the full diagnostic, the part cost, and the labor, itemized, in writing, before you approve anything. For a more detailed look at what we charge in San Jose, see our Electric Gate Repair in San Jose page.
Our Service Area Near San Jose
Calder Gate Repair San Jose covers the city proper plus the surrounding Silicon Valley communities. Most of our calls come from San Jose neighborhoods like Willow Glen, Rose Garden, Evergreen, and Japantown. We also serve Electric Gate Repair in Los Gatos for hillside swing gates, Electric Gate Repair in Sunnyvale for access control systems, plus Redwood City, Milpitas, Cupertino, Menlo Park, Atherton, Los Altos, Scotts Valley, Woodside, and Morgan Hill. Typical dispatch time within San Jose is under 90 minutes for urgent repairs.
Serving San Jose, CA - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the San Jose area and know this community well. Use the map below to see our service coverage - if you’re nearby, we can almost certainly help.
Frequently Asked Questions About Electric Gate Repair in San Jose
Electric gate repair is the diagnosis and correction of failures in the motor, control board, sensors, drive mechanism, or access control system that operates an automatic gate. In San Jose and nearby communities, this usually means fixing a dead operator, a misaligned sensor, a stripped gear, or a keypad that has stopped accepting codes. We also provide Electric Gate Repair in Sunnyvale with the same thorough approach. Calder Gate Repair San Jose does the full range, from capacitor swaps on FAAC hydraulic pumps to complete Viking motor replacements, all covered by our written guarantee.
Most common repairs in San Jose take 60 to 90 minutes on site. Sensor realignments, capacitor replacements, and keypad fixes are often done within the hour. A full motor replacement can take two to three hours because the drive mechanism has to be detached, the new motor seated, and the limit switches recalibrated from scratch.
Most electric gate repairs in San Jose cost $165 to $385 before parts. Control boards add $120 to $450 depending on the brand, and full motor replacements run $650 to $1,400. Calder gives you a written, itemized price before any work starts, so the number you approve is the number you pay. Call (669) 666-6859 for an exact quote, estimates are free.
Yes, we service FAAC and Viking openers every week in San Jose. Our technicians stock OEM parts for both brands, including FAAC hydraulic pumps and Viking limit switches. Whether it’s a 400-series FAAC swing operator or a Viking slide gate unit, we can fix it in a single visit.
Yes, emergency electric gate repair is available 24/7 in San Jose. If your gate is stuck open and you can’t secure your property, call (669) 666-6859 and a live person will dispatch a technician with a trackable arrival time. We respond to stuck-open and stuck-closed emergencies, and we always provide a written price before the emergency work begins.
Every repair from Calder Gate Repair San Jose carries the 365-Day Done Right Promise. If the repair fails within 365 days, we return at no charge and make it right. The guarantee is written, not verbal, and it applies to parts and labor on every repair we perform.
Clear the area around the gate motor so the technician can open the housing and access the control board. If the gate has a manual release, leave it in its current position unless the gate is stuck open, in which case secure any pets and let us know. If you have the opener manual or the original remote, set those out, though we carry most documentation digitally.
Schedule Your Electric Gate Repair Service in San Jose Today
Call (669) 666-6859 and get a live person, a real arrival time, and a written price before anything gets touched. Calder Gate Repair San Jose is ready now, with background-checked techs, OEM parts for FAAC, BFT, Linear, and Viking, and the 365-Day Done Right Promise on every job. Your free estimate takes one call.
Written by Nico Alvarez, Owner at Calder Gate Repair San Jose, serving San Jose since 2009.