Garage Door Opener

Questions and Answers

Garage door opener seizing – causes?
My automatic garage door opener has begun to stop after moving a couple of feet, either up or down; the sensor is not obstructed – I suspect cold weather is freezing the spring axle on the door, but oiling it didn’t help.

Opinions?
Update: It’s a chain drive; I took it apart and found that the sprocket bearing failed and the drive gear worn down (it’s plastic). Fortunately, I found that these parts are easily located on eBay – thanks for the advice!

Posted by Jason

Admin: One caution, generally garage doors are “assisted” up by spring tension. This is what allows you to open it with little effort in the absence of a opener. It also makes it possible for openers to be designed with little horsepower. There are two types of springs used. Extension springs are mounted along the track parallel to the ceiling on both sides. A torsion spring is mounted along the wall above the door and parallel to the top of it. If you have extension springs, they may have lost their strength causing more tension “lift” on one side than the other this will get the door in a bind and in a chain reaction parts of the opener may fail. If you have a torsion spring, they can get out of adjustment causing the same chain of events. “CAUTION” most torsion springs require a qualified professional for adjustment (They can kill a person and have). Some of the newer ones can be adjusted by anyone using a drill.

 

Craftsman 1/2hp garage door opener troubleshooting?
Trolley stops at various locations along the rail whether door is connected or not. Steps taken so far: Unplugged for over 5 minutes, verified no Diagnostic LED flashing, overhead light does not flash 10 times (ie sensors) Sensors are aligned (green & amber: bright – don’t blink), Adjusted the Force Adjustments from 1 – 9 (usually set at 5) made no difference. Chain lubricated & properly adjusted 1/4″ sag in the middle, Travel limits set properly 2-4″ from hard stops, rail is clean. Unit 3 years old, never a problem before.

Posted by Ed

Admin: There’s a gear set inside most of the Craftsman openers that goes bad with pretty common frequency. To inspect them though you’ll have to open up the case, usually 2 screws on each side and 1-2 on either end. The gears are made out of nylon and it’s not uncommon for them to have missing/smashed sections of teeth. There’s no real repair for the gears, they just have to be replaced. This isn’t a job to tackle yourself unless your fairly competent with mechanical repairs, although the gear set does come with a really good set of instructions.