Ghost Controls Keypad & Intercom Repair Nationwide

Ghost Controls Keypad & Intercom Repair: The Los Gatos Owner’s Guide

We stock and install Ghost Controls-compatible keypad and intercom repairs in Los Gatos, with most jobs running $280-$520 installed depending on whether the issue is a standalone keypad, a wireless intercom module, or a full hardwired station with video. Same-day service is available when the part is on our truck, which it usually is for the common Ghost Controls AXWK, AXPB, and AXZK series. Most Los Gatos homeowners notice the problem when the keypad beeps but won’t release the gate, or when the intercom rings through to the house but the gate won’t open from the handset - the motor runs fine, but the access point has gone silent.

Call (831) 246-7187

Which Ghost Controls Models This Applies To

Ghost Controls builds keypads and intercoms across three main hardware generations, and the part you need depends on which board architecture your gate operator uses. The AXWK wireless keypad (black housing, four AA batteries, 433 MHz radio) pairs with TSS1, TS1, and newer DTP1 operators. The AXPB premium keypad with backlit buttons runs on hardwired 12-24 VAC from the control board and mounts on the AXPB-S surface bracket or AXPB-R recessed ring. The AXZK intercom system, discontinued around 2019, used a two-wire bus to a base station inside the house and is the one we see most often in Los Gatos hillside homes off Titus Avenue and along Shannon Road, where the original installer spec’d it for long driveway runs.

To identify yours, check the label inside the battery compartment or on the rear housing. The model prefix tells us the radio frequency and voltage requirement. Aftermarket keypads exist for the AXWK at roughly half the OEM price, but we’ve found the radio range drops off in the damp air that collects in Los Gatos canyon properties before 10 a.m. OEM Ghost Controls parts maintain their programmed PINs through battery swaps and hold sync better through seasonal temperature swings. We carry both and will tell you which we’re installing before we start.

Signs Your Ghost Controls Keypad & Intercom Repair Is Failing

• Keypad lights up, gate doesn’t move. The keypad’s internal relay is firing, but the signal isn’t reaching the operator. On hardwired AXPB units, this often means corrosion at the terminal block where Los Gatos morning fog has wicked into the conduit. On wireless AXWK units, the 433 MHz board may have lost pairing after a low-battery event.
• Intercom rings, handset opens nothing. The audio path works, but the dry-contact closure that tells the gate to cycle has failed in the base station. This is common in AXZK systems past eight years, especially where the indoor unit sits near a kitchen window with direct sun exposure.
• Keypad accepts PIN, then beeps three times and locks out. The motor-draw sensing circuit in the operator is detecting what it thinks is an obstruction, but the real fault is a keypad relay chattering instead of closing clean. We see this after voltage drops on long wire runs to hillside gates in the Los Gatos mountains.
• Intercom audio is garbled or drops mid-conversation. The two-wire bus is picking up interference, or the outdoor station’s speaker element has degraded from UV exposure. In Los Gatos, south-facing installations above 1,200 feet elevation see this faster due to higher daily thermal cycling.
• Keypad works in summer, fails in winter. Battery-powered AXWK units show this first. Alkaline batteries lose significant capacity below 45°F, and the keypad draws just enough in standby to pull marginal cells below the radio’s transmit threshold. Lithium AAs solve it, but so does hardwiring if conduit is already in place.

Before

After

Replacement Cost & What’s Included

What drives the range: whether we’re replacing just the surface unit or also the backbox, whether the existing wire is reusable, and whether your operator firmware needs updating to recognize a newer keypad revision. We quote flat, itemized prices in writing before any work starts, under Haven Standard Clause 1. The installed part carries the manufacturer’s warranty plus our 365-Day Done Right Promise - if it fails or behaves differently than documented, we make it right at no charge. Every visit leaves a photo record of the wiring before and after, the keypad’s programmed position, and the operator’s limit-switch readings, filed under your address in our system.

DIY or Call Us?

There’s no high-tension danger in a keypad or intercom swap, but there are ways to turn a $300 repair into a $600 one. An owner can safely check the battery voltage with a multimeter, verify the keypad’s LED pattern against the manual, and confirm the operator’s manual release still works. Where DIY goes wrong: programming a new AXWK without first clearing the operator’s paired-device memory, which leaves a phantom entry that blocks the new keypad; or running new low-voltage wire parallel to 120 VAC without proper separation, which induces hum that the intercom picks up as noise.

We carry Ghost Controls keypads, intercom modules, and the programming cable on our Los Gatos trucks. If you’re unsure which generation you have, text us a photo of the label and we’ll name the part before we dispatch. That’s the habit - name what you found, name what it costs, name what you left behind.

FAQs