Garage Door Openers

HI all,

I've had the electric garage door opener at my place for many years and has never been serviced. For quite a few of those years the door was rarely used.

This afternoon when I was closing the garage door, it stopped half way through. I pressed the switch again and the door closed. I reopened the door and the same thing happened. So I did it a couple more times and the door opened/closed as it has done. But I am wondering if maybe the time has come for it to be examined? And of course the week-end is coming up fast when no service person is available!!!

Maybe it was just getting stuck on something? Maybe just try oiling up the rails.

There is usually an adjustable POT on the control board that sets the sensitivity for motor load. This is what makes it stop when it hits a car or... These are normally set right by installers. Try lubing the screw or chain, that should reduce the friction and the motor load. If that doesn't do it, open the controller and see if it has a schematic in it. It should have a label that ID's the POT. Mark it's current location and then turn it 1/8 turn clockwise and test. Don't adjust more than 1/2 turn to avoid damage or it may dent your car, crush your grandchild. If you can't get it right call a pro.

Carjosse said:

Maybe it was just getting stuck on something? Maybe just try oiling up the rails.

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That's my thought. If the door operates halfway then stops, something must be obstructing it.

If those don't work, you may clean off the sensors, the ones near the bottom that detect when something is in the way. Get some rubbing alcohol and wipe them off perhaps.

The rails could also be slightly bent from true, which could be from a kid leaning on it, or even the heating and cooling cycle from direct sunlight over many many years. If it hasn't given you any trouble and now it's only giving you a little trouble, a little grease might do the trick.

Glowpun said:

HI all,

I've had the electric garage door opener at my place for many years and has never been serviced. For quite a few of those years the door was rarely used.

This afternoon when I was closing the garage door, it stopped half way through. I pressed the switch again and the door closed. I reopened the door and the same thing happened. So I did it a couple more times and the door opened/closed as it has done. But I am wondering if maybe the time has come for it to be examined? And of course the week-end is coming up fast when no service person is available!!!

Click to expand...

Today is your lucky day. I used to install and repair overhead doors for a living way back when. You need to service your door yearly at least.

First we need some info.

What kind of door and what material. IE one piece or sectional rollup. Aluminum steel wood.
What brand of opener, what model, what year.
Has it been raining or snowing more than normal in your area by significant degree.

I just did my dads door which had an aluminum one piece with a newer Genie screw drive opener. The garage is an old one separate from the house built in the forties out in the California central valley and it has been relatively dry until this year and my dad place has been practically flooded for the last few months. It settled the building a bit more and caused the door to come be a little lower when closed and so screwed with the screw drive motor resistance return feature. Anywho Ended up adjusting the spring tension and rebalancing the door, a full yearly maintenance job, re did the J arm geometry for the opener, and reset the travel limits. Oh and I cleaned and realigned the laser eye trip system.

I love the way the limits are now done on the newer drives. Much better.

General info on procedures for maintenance:

Everything starts with the door. It must function properly first. Otherwise the opener wont function properly.

Standard yearly maintenance for your garage door and opener. Before doing and cleaning or lubing procedure the door must be immobilized. I do this typically by disconnecting the trolley and locking the door. Check and clean the laser eyes. Use either a dry lube or lithium grease and lubricate the spring(s) after dusting it or them off. If you have a one piece door lube the pivot points after cleaning. Make sure the door is immobile and discounted from the opener. On a sectional the track and rollers and hinges are need to be cleaned and lubed. As well as the torsion spring and cable and drums. For a sectional I recommend a good brand name dry lubricant rather than lithium because it doesn't attract as much dirt. You just have to lube the system more often. You still have to clean the mechanism every time you service it just wont be as messy. Again immobilize the door before doing any procedures.

Maintenance on the opener is to grease the chain, or screw, the carriage rail the carriage and trolley after cleaning. On a belt drive the belt does not need to be lubed. Everything else on a belt drive needs to be lubricated like a screw or chain drive.

The procedure for checking the opener operation after lubrication:

Checking the eyes. Door disconnected activate door to close. Interrupt the eye. It should return to the open position. Connect the door repeat procedure close door interrupt the eye. It should return to the open position.

Checking the limits. Disconnect door. Open the door and close the door. Note were the trolley attached to the J arm stops with the door open and closed, mark the rail. Now close the door leave the trolley disconnected and operate the opener and see where the carriage stops both open and closed. Mark and note those marks as carriage. The marks should either be identically aligned or very close to identical. If they are off by more than a half inch or more then the limits will need to be adjusted.

Checking the door return on contact with an object. Use a piece of 2x4 block set it where the door will close on it. Close the door. The door should return to the open position almost immediately. If not either the limits are out adjustment or the contact limit needs adjustment. Before adjusting any of these be sure the door is properly balanced and functional.

Everything STARTS at the door. If it doesn't function correctly then the opener wont function correctly.

sounds like a problem with the flux capacitor

trblmkr said:

There is usually an adjustable POT on the control board that sets the sensitivity for motor load. This is what makes it stop when it hits a car or... These are normally set right by installers. Try lubing the screw or chain, that should reduce the friction and the motor load. If that doesn't do it, open the controller and see if it has a schematic in it. It should have a label that ID's the POT. Mark it's current location and then turn it 1/8 turn clockwise and test. Don't adjust more than 1/2 turn to avoid damage or it may dent your car, crush your grandchild. If you can't get it right call a pro.

Click to expand...

All that is opener specific. My dad has a Genie I just serviced and adjusted and it is completely digital, which to be honest makes things easier and nicer. Some of the openers I've worked on were completely mechanical. It all really depends on how old it is and what brand is.

As far as diagnostics the first thing that needs to be diagnosed before the opener is the door operation, if the door is not operating properly then diagnosing the opener will lead to a mushy head or worse incorrect and possibly unsafe condition.

Glowpun said:

HI all,

I've had the electric garage door opener at my place for many years and has never been serviced. For quite a few of those years the door was rarely used.

This afternoon when I was closing the garage door, it stopped half way through. I pressed the switch again and the door closed. I reopened the door and the same thing happened. So I did it a couple more times and the door opened/closed as it has done. But I am wondering if maybe the time has come for it to be examined? And of course the week-end is coming up fast when no service person is available!!!

Click to expand...

Door, read - the rollers that guide it, are jamming, hitting something on the way. Likely a bad connection between the guides. Check them and lubricate if needed. When that happened to me one side had 1 joint at the bend out of line. Good luck!