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Ghost Controls Gate Motor Replacement: The North Hollywood Owner’s Guide
If your Ghost Controls gate opener has stopped responding, grinds, or opens partway and reverses, the motor is usually the culprit, and replacement is the fix. We stock Ghost Controls-compatible gate motor replacements and install them throughout North Hollywood, with most residential jobs running between $540 and $1,150 installed depending on the model series and whether the control board also needs replacing. Most owners discover the problem the same way: the gate worked fine for years, then one morning it just hums without moving, or the opener trips its breaker every time you press the remote.
We’re an independent gate repair company in North Hollywood. We work on Ghost Controls equipment daily but we aren’t affiliated with Ghost Controls, and we’ll tell you plainly if the motor is the actual problem before quoting anything.
Which Ghost Controls Models This Applies To
Ghost Controls builds openers in three main lines: the AXDP and AXCP series for single and dual swing gates, the TSS1 and TDS1 series for slide gates, and the newer VELOX and REX1 hybrid units. The motor we replace is the DC gearmotor inside the operator arm or slide chassis, and the part number is printed on a label on the arm housing or inside the control box. Before scheduling anything, we ask for that label number or a photo of it.
Here’s the gotcha most online guides miss: Ghost Controls changed the motor gear ratio between the original AXDP (2016-2020) and the AXCP revision, so a motor pulled from an older unit will bolt into a newer one but run the gate at roughly 70% speed and trip the obstruction sensor whenever the wind picks up. On replacement, we match the exact motor revision to your board’s firmware, not just the model family. OEM motors ship direct from Ghost Controls and take five to seven business days; quality aftermarket equivalents with identical torque ratings are on our truck for most AXCP and TSS1 builds and cost $80 to $140 less.
Signs Your Ghost Controls Gate Motor Replacement Is Failing

- Humming with no movement: the motor’s start capacitor or internal gear train has failed. The board is sending power, but the arm isn’t turning, and this is the most common failure we see in North Hollywood after a hot summer month.
- Gate opens halfway and stops or reverses: often misdiagnosed as a sensor issue. In Ghost Controls units, it’s frequently the motor’s encoder disc wearing down and sending false position data, so the board thinks the gate traveled farther than it did.
- Slower operation over time: a DC motor losing its brush contact produces noticeably slower movement weeks before it dies completely. If your gate went from 14 seconds to 20+ seconds to open, we want to look at it before it strands the gate open.
- Audible grinding or clicking from the arm itself: the nylon gears Ghost Controls uses are the sacrificial part in the drivetrain. Once they strip, the motor spins but the output shaft does not, and swapping just the gear set sometimes saves the motor.
- Remote works, gate doesn’t respond, and the unit feels warm: the motor’s thermal overload is tripping repeatedly. In North Hollywood summers, this shows up as a gate that quits in the afternoon and works again after dark.
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AfterReplacement Cost & What’s Included
For a residential Ghost Controls opener in North Hollywood, here’s what we write on the estimate before any work starts:
| Scope | Installed Price Range |
|---|---|
| Motor replacement only (OEM or aftermarket, matched to model) | $540-$730 |
| Motor plus control board (when a board fault contributed to the motor failure) | $790-$1,050 |
| Motor replacement on a dual-gate system (both arms) | $980-$1,320 |
The range depends on whether your model takes an OEM or aftermarket motor, whether the arm bracket and limit hardware are reusable, and whether we’re doing one arm or two. The price you get is the price you pay: it’s written down, handed to you, and agreed before we open the arm. Every replacement includes the new motor, re-setting the travel limits, aligning the photo-eye, and a documented photo log of the install. The work is covered by our 365-Day Done Right Promise, and under Haven Standard Clause 1, the written price comes first.
DIY or Call Us?

Honest answer: this is not a spring-under-tension job, and you won’t get hurt replacing a Ghost Controls gate motor if you unplug the unit and work carefully. What you risk is a gate that won’t auto-close properly, a motor that burns itself out because the limit settings weren’t re-learned, or a board that gets fried from a mis-wired harness. We’ve fixed enough DIY replacements in North Hollywood to know that the $150 saved on labor usually becomes a $400 follow-up call.
What you can safely do before calling: check the breaker, confirm the arm is bolted tight, and photograph the label inside the control box so we bring the right motor first trip. After that, call us at (213) 566-1045 and we’ll have someone out with the part matched.
FAQs
We see 5 to 9 years of service life from a Ghost Controls motor in this climate, with the shorter end common for gates that get 30+ cycles a day or sit in full afternoon sun. The heat breaks down the brush assembly faster than mechanical wear alone. Call (213) 566-1045 if you’re outside that range or the gate has started slowing down, and we’ll check the motor before it strands the gate.
Sometimes. If the gears are stripped but the windings still test clean, we replace the gear set for $180 to $260 and keep your existing motor. If the brushes are gone or the armature has burned, replacement is cheaper than attempting a rebuild. We test before we recommend.
Most single-arm Ghost Controls motor replacements take 45 to 90 minutes on site, plus the time to re-learn the limits and re-align the photo-eye. Dual-gate systems run closer to two hours. We schedule a two-hour window so nobody’s rushing the limit setup.
Our North Hollywood truck carries aftermarket motors for the AXCP and TSS1 series and common gear sets for most Ghost Controls arms. OEM motors and less common revisions are ordered and installed within a week. We’ll tell you which one your gate gets before we schedule.
Written by Adrian Vance, Owner & Lead Technician, Vance Gate Repair North Hollywood, serving North Hollywood and nearby areas. Adrian grew up in Queens, NY, studied at New York City College of Technology, and has spent the better part of a decade running gate service calls throughout North Hollywood, including a steady stretch of work on the driveways near North Hollywood Park. His rule on every job: name what you found, name what it costs, leave the gate straight.





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