Got a small (single door) electric roller shutter where (I think) the motor is failing. Pretty old (at least 10 years, could be as many as 25!); need to physically lift it whilst running the motor to get it to lift (closes OK on its own).

Had a few quotes, no-one wanted to fix it so was quoted £££ to fit a new one. Found someone last week willing to repair it – was still going to be £800 though! Would like to have a go at DIY if at all possible.

Anyone have any experience with these? Have googled but couldn’t find anything relating specifically to this type (with the motor sticking out the side). Guessing I’ll have to remove the entire shutter and replace the motor (have looked on eBay and it seems the motor comes as a unit along with a tube of some kind?) unless it’s possible just to replace the motor at the end? Any advice/pointers? Ta!!

If it’s a single door, can’t you just remove the motor mechanism entirely, fit a lock and lift the shutter up and down by hand.
That’s what happens with most single door rollers i’ve ever come across.

I suppose I COULD do that… I’d rather have an electric one though! And if I’ve managed to get to the stage where I can remove the motor, would it not be just as easy to replace it with a new one, and then re-assemble everything?

I’ve replaced just the motor in shutters before, it may be rivetted in to the tube so will require drilling the heads off.
I can’t remember where the motors came from but there are places on the net that sell them in the UK.

Singe width shutter isn’t too much of a problem to get down and up but you will want 2 people and something good to stand on.

I had a similar issue with our roller garage door which has a Somfy tubular motor. I got the original supplier to have a look but like you I found they were reluctant to fix and wanted to replace the whole door but in our case with something inferior for £1-2K. You can buy these tubular motors all over the place for £100-£300 or so but I found a Youtube video where a French guy had fixed his by replacing the motor capacitor. This required some dismantling and a pop-riveter to put it all back together but for about £1 for a new capacitor on Ebay it fixed it. YMMV etc etc

I did it on my own by closing the door and disconnecting it from the top roller. This made the bit that needed to be manipulated (roller tube plus motor) fairly light and easily lifted by 1 person; this may be possible with yours depending on how it all fits together.

I’ve replaced just the motor in shutters before, it may be rivetted in to the tube so will require drilling the heads off.

@K thanks! With the shutter down, it looks like the shutter is fixed to the tube with some big slotted screws, so maybe they will just unscrew? But I’m assuming that the rusty tube is just a sleeve that the actual motor tube is fixed to (looks like there might be some rivets at the end). Does that sound right?

also there are 2 little red adjustment screws in the motor, what do they do?

You can buy these tubular motors all over the place for £100-£300 or so but I found a Youtube video where a French guy had fixed his by replacing the motor capacitor.

@Rio thanks, that is encouraging! One issue that I have is I don’t know anything about these things, don’t know what brand it is/who makes it, or how I’d go about identifying a suitable replacement motor if I did go down that route!

also there are 2 little red adjustment screws in the motor, what do they do?

Adjust the end stops for the shutter so it knows when to stop when going up and down…

Adjust the end stops for the shutter so it knows when to stop when going up and down…

Thanks, someone here suggested it was some kind of tension adjustment but that didn’t sound right!!

The two red screws are the upper and lower limits.

I don’t recognise the motor unit you have but a 230 tubular motor is easy enough to buy but…

They come in a variety of sizes so you’ll need the right one (I’d guess a 45mm on a single door but could be bigger).

That l looks like a smooth barrel suggesting it’s pop rivited to the motor but you may find the barrel is shaped internally to take a specific drive head which may be specific to the motor.

The idle mount is probably specific to the motor.

Some sort of tension adjustment but that didn’t sound right!!

On a shutter a lot of motors stall stop for limits, so you adjust the stall torque to stop them ruining mounts and things by massively over torquing but, more importantly to stop them crushing toes and the like

Good point about the tension adjustment – our garage door didn’t have one but my Googling indicated that some doors do have a big wind-up tension spring inside the roller to help balance the weight. I guess if it has one you need to release the tension before taking anything apart otherwise death or worse could result!

I guess if it has one you need to release the tension before taking anything apart otherwise death or worse could result!

The worse bit is a big thumping bang as you demount it followed by a lot of swearing as you figure out how to retension the spring

They come in a variety of sizes so you’ll need the right one (I’d guess a 45mm on a single door but could be bigger).

@dangeourbrain thanks, the barrel is the rusted brown thing? Like a sleeve and there is a motor tube inside (which is connected to the protruding motor that is visible?)

What are the pertinent measurements that I need? Does the 45mm you mention refer to diameter (of the internal motor tube)? 45mm seems a bit small for this? A quick look on eBay shows that 97mm is a common size, for a “4 inch diameter outer tube” (which seems to be what I’ve got).

I take it the length of the motor doesn’t matter (if indeed they come in different lengths?) as long as it fits within the outer tube & the motor isn’t underpowered.

I guess adapter-wise there’s no way to tell what’s required until I take it apart!!

^That! Always release the tension before dismantling. My door is a Securoglide, and there is a helpful PDF on their website of fitting instructions that would be a good guide to replacement. You would likely need to set the upper and lower motor stops after replacement, again the guide details how to do this. Your manufacturer may have similar on their site.

Hiya, fitted these for a couple years but its a long time ago now so bear with me..
Firstly you probably can just service it and get it working fine.
The motor is still working so thats good, you will need to take off one of the guide channels that the curtain runs down.
Then remove the stops at the bottom of the “T” bar or “L” bar which his the botton peice that stops on the ground. This will have to be slid off sideways.
Whilst the channel is removed realign all the rest of the lath`s so the curtain run up and down smoothly and level (not hard once it can be accessed)
Then raise the curtain to the top helping the motor if you need to.
Using rope of a strap tie the curtain into a tight wrap around the barrel so you can rotate it safely.
Rotate manually fully around the barrel, this retensions the inner spring which is in there to assist the motor in getting the curtain moving. One or two wraps should do it.
Lower the door again on the motor to check the new tension, it should have an immediate and obvious difference from previously.
If you rotated the wrong way the door will be “heavier” for the motor and rush downwards, correct way and it will drop more slowly and under control. Once you are happy with the tension continue to..

Reset the limit stops roughly (bad advice to mess much with them earlier) then raise the curtain and replace the guide channel.
Up and down the curtain a few times and recheck limits and you should be done.
Phew!
One tip dont get into greasing the channels etc to make it “smoother”. It just collects dirt.

Hope that makes sense….

@gooner69 thanks, I will have a go at that, will post back if I balls it all up or get stuck 😂

Think of it as just a fancy way to wind a spring a little tighter…
The spring helps get the door moving by assisting the motor.

The spring is held tensioned by the two end that protrude from the barrel and sit into cups mounted on the plates at the top. If you want to remove the door completely then wrap the curtain at the top and slowly release the tension that way before lifting out of the cups.
On a manual door its obvious long before this stage that the spring is weak as the door crashes down faster and faster over time. Equally too much tension causes could cause it too bang at the top stops.

PM me if you get stuck..