Garage Door Opener Problem

[Montecfo]

I'm learning a lot about these things. I installed our two 21 years ago. Not sure how long they last but still kicking.

Runningbum it sounds like we have the same outdoor entry pad. I finally replaced mine with a new one with a hinged cover. It was an easy fix and can't believe I lived with battery falling out for years. I did get pretty good at sliding up the old cover just so.

 

[Chuckanut]

I had a similar problem a few years ago.

It turned out that the movement of the door was the problem.

The tech advised me that the roller wheels on my door were worn and that caused excess vibrations as the door moved. The vibrations managed to jiggle the sensors out of alignment and UP went the door.

 

[Chuckanut]

RB, there are any number of 3rd party garage door monitors available for low money. Some even have wifi opening abilities. One doesn't have to replace an opener in good working condition to get these "modern" features.

If only I had a device to verify the condition of my car's rear hatch that seems to open with the keys in my pocket. The remote fob is too strong IMO.

As a former data security person who knows a bit about the Internet of Insecure Things the idea of a WIFI enabled garage door scares me. A cheap 3rd party WIFI enabled monitor scares me even more. Often, these devices are NEVER updated to fix known security flaws. They are so cheap the manufacturers is not going to put any money into maintaining the security of the software/firmware.

My 2¢. Take what you wish and leave the rest.

 

[Qs Laptop]

BTD and have a new one installed. It will be quieter, and wifi enabled

Sounds to me like it is time for a new one.

Yes, I hear you guys. The thing is I was planning on replacing the garage door and getting a new garage door opener this upcoming spring. (Winter here in MN.) For now I was hoping to repair the GDO and make it until next April or May. I suppose there is nothing preventing me from installing a new GDO now and having it refitted onto the new garage door in five months. However I don't want to install it in the cold which means I'd hire it out and while I understand BTD, I don't want to pay twice for installing a GDO.

 

[Qs Laptop]

Is it possible the door is getting tight when closing? Maybe try disconnecting from opener and see if it close freely. It could be hanging up and you may need to increase the amount of force to close it.

You (Q) seem to be doing all the right things. Have you tested the limit switches (presuming you have those). Mine are on the rail and at the far ends of travel. I had one limit switch quit working, and it exhibited symptoms like you're describing. You can disconnect the carriage from the door using the red rope thing, and watch the carriage go from one limit switch to the other. You can force short and force open the limit switches (manipulating the wiring) to see what's going on. Maybe you'll get a clue as to if one of those is involved.

You didn’t mention it in your post, but disconnect the opener and make certain that the door operates properly in a manual state. Look at the springs and be very careful to notice any binding on the way down. Then decide whether or not to look for repair issues on the opener.

GDO is from 1994 so I don't think I have limit switches. Sometime today I will disconnect the GDO mechanism from the door and manually move the door up and down in the rails checking for smoothness of operation. I don't think I will find anything obstructing movement, but it's worth a shot. I have checked the roller wheels/bearings and most of them look fine.

The problem started on the first cold snap of the season which leads me to believe it's an electronic component failure.

 

[Qs Laptop]

It's annoying to me when someone suggests that just because something is old, that it needs a complete replacement. Especially when it's probably a $3 part that the culprit. It's not a matter of being able to afford it. Of course most of us can blow the dough. It's about just being reasonable. But I must admit that if I get up one day, and the garage door exhibits problems, I KNOW it's going to be a good day because it's a problem I get to solve!

Last time this happened, it was $21 for a kit that came with both new sender and new transmitter sensors. Last week I paid $15 on Ebay for a used sender sensor. I'm a DYI sort of person and I, too, get a kick out of fixing something on the cheap.

 

[Qs Laptop]

I had the same problem. In addition to the "eye", there is an adjustable over current switch in the motor. It is intended to sense when a door is jammed and to stop the motor to prevent burning it out. When first installed, they set it to the lightest setting (i.e. -- the least pressure will cause the motor to stop itself.) As the doors age, they build up a little bit of corrosion in the tracks and it takes more force to close the door. The fix was just to adjust the mechanism to require more current before it stopped. A simple tweek with a screwdriver. Fortunately, my neighbor's son owns a garage door company and he told me what to do.

If this is the "downward force" adjustment, yes, I have tried tweaking that adjustment.

 

[Qs Laptop]

Lube the door tracks and spring. We replaced our opener last year, the guy use chain wax, same stuff I use on my motorcycle. The old one was a screw drive and I replaced the carriage / trolley thing, then it died anyway less than a year later. The new is a Chamberlain chain drive and so much quieter it is amazing. About 700 beans installed.

There is a special spray that you use for the spring. You can get it at Lowes. I just use a little grease on the tracks and the rollers.

You've just reminded me that I've replaced both springs in the past five years. So, I don't think it's the springs. I have inspected the roller wheels and they look to be greased and moving freely, although the wheels nearest the ground when the door is closed could use some attention.

MC Rider, when you say the door tracks were lubed are you saying that this chain wax was applied inside rails (where the wheels travel)?

 

[Car-Guy]

Yes, I hear you guys. The thing is I was planning on replacing the garage door and getting a new garage door opener this upcoming spring. (Winter here in MN.) For now I was hoping to repair the GDO and make it until next April or May. I suppose there is nothing preventing me from getting a new GDO now and having it fitted onto the new garage door in five months. However I don't want to install it in the cold which means I'd hire it out and while I understand BTD, I don't want to pay twice for installing a GDO.

Makes sense to me... I hate working outside in the cold too...Maybe get what you want now and hope for a few nice weather days before April/May? Sounds like you are working on it a lot now anyway. Until then, just release the door from the GDO chain/belt (pull cord on mine) and open it manually... Yes PIA, but it works.

 

[Qs Laptop]

It's entirely possible that the used sender sensor I got from Ebay doesn't work. If so, I replaced a bad sending sensor with another bad sending sensor. I can't think of a way to test it--it's a sealed unit and it's getting voltage. I suppose it emits infrared light. Any ideas on how to test this thing?

 

[SumDay]

BTD and have a new one installed. It will be quieter, and wifi enabled

What CardsFan said. I now have an app on my phone to double check I really shut the door. Which is silly, because the new one shuts automatically in 10 minutes unless we override it. I drive around our 65+ neighborhood and see empty garages with the door wide open, knowing they drove off and just thought they shut it. It's well worth it. Seriously. One of those things you didn't know you could do without until you got it.

 

[Qs Laptop]

Makes sense to me... I hate working outside in the cold too...Maybe get what you want now and hope for a few nice weather days before April/May? Until then, just release the door from the GDO chain/belt (pull cord on mine) and open it manually... Yes PIA, but it works.

The door DOES open normally, but it won't close unless you hold down the button on the wall and wait until the door closes completely. So after my wife leaves for work I hold the button down and close the garage door.

On the flip side when the wife gets home from work she can push the remote button in her car and the door will open. This would be better than her manually pulling up the door whenever she comes home.

 

[Qs Laptop]

What CardsFan said. I now have an app on my phone to double check I really shut the door. Which is silly, because the new one shuts automatically in 10 minutes unless we override it. I drive around our 65+ neighborhood and see empty garages with the door wide open, knowing they drove off and just thought they shut it. It's well worth it. Seriously. One of those things you didn't know you could do without until you got it.

I love the idea of a phone app to check on closure, as well as the automatic close feature after 10 minutes.

When I see garages open in my neighborhood, especially at night, I think of it as window shopping for thieves. "Hey, look at what I've got in my garage! See anything you like!?"

 

[Car-Guy]

The door DOES open normally, but it won't close unless you hold down the button on the wall and wait until the door closes completely. So after my wife leaves for work I hold the button down and close the garage door.

On the flip side when the wife gets home from work she can push the remote button in her car and the door will open. This would be better than her manually pulling up the door whenever she comes home.

Sounds like a good temporary work around to me... Sure sounds like a sensor not working properly or to much slack in the chain/belt, but I'm not an expert on GDO's


EDIT: In thinking about this I just realized that one of my GDO's (I have three) acted much the same as the OP's a few months ago.... It would open okay but not close properly... (reversed itself)... I would try it several times and it would finally close all the way... It did this for about a week and then "just started" to work okay so I forgot about it... (I practice the "Don't fix it if it's not broken" maintenance program)

 

[Sunset]

It's entirely possible that the used sender sensor I got from Ebay doesn't work. If so, I replaced a bad sending sensor with another bad sending sensor. I can't think of a way to test it--it's a sealed unit and it's getting voltage. I suppose it emits infrared light. Any ideas on how to test this thing?

put your cell phone camera on movie, and point it at the sensor and it will see the infared light. shows up as white light.
Don't need to record.

You can try this with your tv remote to be sure you know how to do it.

 

[Sunset]

.... My electrician did one nice thing for me, he wired the outdoor lights to the opener so I can see the driveway better as I pull in, and I can tell the door is opening before I see it as I crest the hill just before my house. He warned me it would void the warranty so that makes me think I won't get that with a new one.

When you do replace it, you can copy this same action by putting a wyze sensor on the garage door, and then set the rules on the app, to turn on wyze bulbs when the door opens.
The wyze equipment runs on 2.4 wifi (not the newer 5 Ghz) so need a dual band router and the equipment has to be in range.

 

[CRLLS]

As a former data security person who knows a bit about the Internet of Insecure Things the idea of a WIFI enabled garage door scares me. A cheap 3rd party WIFI enabled monitor scares me even more. Often, these devices are NEVER updated to fix known security flaws. They are so cheap the manufacturers is not going to put any money into maintaining the security of the software/firmware.

My 2¢. Take what you wish and leave the rest.

I totally agree. Apparently, some people want these features and are willing to "upgrade" their garage door openers to get those features. I don't have, want or probably ever have, WIFI appliances in my home if I can avoid them. Some things like computers, cell phones and TVs are a necessary evil IMO, I may possibly have security cameras at some time. Until then I am a WIFI luddite and proud of it.

Here's your 2¢ back. I already have what you were offering.

 

[Sunset]

My Garage door was making a horrible screeching groaning racket, so I sprayed it with some white lithium grease (a spray can).
Sprayed the rollers and track, but not the track along the ceiling as I didn't want to get dripped down upon.

It is now a lot quieter and hopefully will still work fine in below freezing temps. A couple of my bottom rollers were rusted.

OP may want to try oiling or lubing the rollers, as I'm sure the rust and lack of lube over time makes it harder for the door to open/close.

 

[Gumby]

As a former data security person who knows a bit about the Internet of Insecure Things the idea of a WIFI enabled garage door scares me. A cheap 3rd party WIFI enabled monitor scares me even more. Often, these devices are NEVER updated to fix known security flaws. They are so cheap the manufacturers is not going to put any money into maintaining the security of the software/firmware.

My 2¢. Take what you wish and leave the rest.

A good opportunity to advise that you should lock the door between your house and attached garage whenever you would lock the regular exterior house doors. Whenever I make the rounds before bed, I check that one too.

 

[braumeister]

A good opportunity to advise that you should lock the door between your house and attached garage whenever you would lock the regular exterior house doors.

Very good point. Both my front door and the connecting door to the garage have pushbutton combination locks, and I take it one step farther, each of them having a different combination. Both combinations are easy for us to remember.

I should add that neither is connected to anything so can't be hacked, and both are good quality deadbolts.

 

[Major Tom]

3 pages so far, about a garage door opener. This gives me hope that we have our priorities right in retirement - and I'm being completely serious

 

[RunningBum]

As soon as I spend anything to improve the existing opener I feel like the whole system will break down and need replacement. That's how it goes, doesn't it?

 

[Winemaker]

Check for cobwebs, leaves, insects near the sensors. My mom's garage door is rarely used in the fall and winter and sometimes the critters build/dangle items in front of sensor. Also, tighten up the screws/bolts that hold the sensors in place; if out of alignment in the least, a failure will occur.

 

[Qs Laptop]

I bought some white lithium lubricant spray and sprayed all the hinge pivot points, stems, roller ball bearings, roller stems, etc. Sprayed the torsion spring and the top of the rail. I then disconnected the door from the motor by pulling the emergency release rope on the "J-bar". I then manually opened and closed the door several times to work the lubricant around. The door was not binding neither was it difficult to open/close manually. Reconnected the door to the motor and gave it a try.

Nope. Doesn't want to close. Starts to close for a second and then quickly reverses and opens.

I then closed the door all the way and opened it about a foot. Then, using the rope and T-handle I disconnected the door from the motor again and pressed the button to open the door so the connector to the J-bar (trolley carriage) moved past the connection point and I let it go almost all the way to the end of its run. If the door was still connected it would be almost fully opened. I then pressed the button to close the door, and without any load on it whatsoever (since the door is not connected to the opener) the trolley carriage started to move down the rail for a second then reversed itself and went to the fully open position.

So now I'm thinking the used, replacement sending safety sensor is defective.

I'm also thinking of "blowing that dough" and getting a new garage door and new GDO opener installed. Not wait until next spring. Let the installer schedule the job on a halfway decent warm winter day here in Minnesota.

 

[Qs Laptop]

Check for cobwebs, leaves, insects near the sensors. My mom's garage door is rarely used in the fall and winter and sometimes the critters build/dangle items in front of sensor. Also, tighten up the screws/bolts that hold the sensors in place; if out of alignment in the least, a failure will occur.

Yes, that was the first thing I tried.