How to add a garage door motor to a roller door

26 Apr How to add a garage door motor to a roller door

Andrew Strachan of Grove Roller Doors shows you how to fit a garage door motor. In this case we show you how to fit an ATA GDO-6 motor to a Steel-Line Roller Door. Each door will be different and may require a different motor to fit the shaft.

If you are going to do this job yourself, please make sure that you have the correct equipment, a stable platform to climb up on to work on the door, and someone to help you, as you will need to lift the door up to attach the motor. Due to the weight of the door this may cause and injury. As the door motors are electric you will need an electric socket to plug the motor into. Please make sure that this is set up correctly by a qualified electrician.

Today we’re going to show you how to fit a garage door motor to an existing garage door. Here’s our basic motor before it’s assembled. Release the chord to lock it onto auto, then release it to manual. Then it’s ready to go.

First of all we want to check that the u-bolt is tight on this side. The side opposite where we are going to fit the motor. The other side has the existing power, and there’s more room to fit the motor. Before we undo the u-bolt where we are going to fit the motor, we always have to tighten the other u-bolt nice and tight. We use our 15mm socket to tighten the u-bolt. Make it nice and tight and secure.

You also need to check that the door has the right amount of tension to check that it can hold it’s weight half way down. If not, you will need to retention your door. This one has a weight bar on the door as previously it had a motor, so it’s all ready to go. You will need to add the weight bar that comes with the kit. Put the door down. Make sure the other end it tight otherwise you will lose the tension and unspool.

The other u-bolt is 13mm, just check the size of yours before you undo the bolt.

Climb onto a ladder, make sure it is stable, and loosen off the u-bolt on the end you are going to attach the motor to. Stand up on your ladder, lift up the door and remove the u-bolt fitting completely. You will be replacing it with the one that comes with the motor. Leave the shaft sitting there.

Sometimes when the bracket is further over, you can fit the motor between the bracket and the shaft and re-use the u-bolt. In this case the motor is going to sit on top of the bracket and be locked through the bracket.

Make sure the motor is on manual, make sure you find where the two slots on the motor are going to slide onto the drum wheel, it will be the two small sections where there is a bolt. In some cases, this is a steel-line door where the drum wheel is nice and close to the edge here, in other cases with Gliderol, doors, the drum wheel is a lot further in, you won’t be able to fit this particular motor, you will need to bolt another drum wheel. This one is nice and good.

Get comfortable, and safe on the ladder. With one arm slide the door onto your shoulder, slide the motor onto the shaft, connect it to the drum wheel with the two forks, and push the motor up onto the new bracket. Slide the u-bolt into position.

We’ve got the motor on, make sure the two forks are connected into the drum-wheel inside the door, we have the motor in the correct position on the bracket, drop in the u-bolt, tighten up the two nuts, make sure the u-bolts are tight as they are the only thing that keeps the tension on the door. Tighten them with your drill.

All nice and secure. Lift the door and try it manually to make sure it is running nice and free. This one is ok. Lift it up to the half way position. Lock it onto the motor by pulling the chord, plug the motor into power.

We need to reset the limits again, this determines the top open position and closed position of your garage door when open or shut. Hold down the close button for 6 seconds until it beeps, run the door down until you get a nice close on the floor, event, press set. Run it back up, press set again. Then just let the door travel up and down to reset it’s margin.

That’s how you fit a motor to an existing garage door.

If you live in the Geelong region, Bellarine Peninsula or the Surf Coast of Victoria and you need help with your garage door or motor, please call Andrew Strachan on 0438 231 799