Anyone know anything about garage door openers? Mine's killing me

Moved into house, thing worked fine. Last winter, it started to get screwy. It would open maybe 3 feet, then stop. I'd hit the button, it'd start going down. It took about 2 minutes of constant start/stop button pressing to get it to open/close all the way (up, stop, down, stop, repeat a few times). I could use the wired wall opener, the wireless external opener, and the car remotes to get it at this point. I played with the manual settings a bit to see if it helped. Nothing. I figured it had something to do with the freezing temps so I just brushed it off - I'd deal with it in the spring (first electric opener I've ever had).

Spring comes, it only got worse. It would move maybe a foot now, then stop. I couldn't use the external keypad or the car remotes quick enough to get it to work - just the wired wall button. Adjusted settings per the manual again. No love. So I've just been using it manually since.

- The thing came with the house, and the house was finished being built in early 2006. So figure the unit is ~6 years old. It is an Overhead Door Legacy 1/3HP chain driven model.
- It stopped working well *before* I added the insulation, so that's not it (more on that below too)
- The safety beam sensors both light up and react as they always have, and exactly how the manual says they should
- I took a long level to the tracks and the vertical sections are straight and vertical. The horizontal sections are straight and level. The rounded sections look fine
- Cleaned and lubed the tracks and rollers per the manual (tracks were clean though)
- I replaced the main plastic drive gear, which was perfectly fine anyway. I also replaced the worm gear that is considered a wear item as well. That, too, was in like-new condition. All the other gears looked perfectly fine, and there was no plastic shavings/dust anywhere inside the unit. Lubed with the recommended lube per the manual
- Nothing on the circuit board looks burnt, bulging, or otherwise damaged/bad
- Optical sensor spider arm end thingy receptor is clean inside the unit housing
- Chain is adjusted as the manual says
- I took apart and lubed the pulley on the door side of the frame. It was all sorts of crooked before I took it down, but it is correct now. No wear on the bearing or bearing surface from being crooked. The pulley has what looks like could have been teeth that were stripped off almost completely, but the manufacturer says there were never any teeth on it for the chain. So they even say not to bother replacing it.
- Using it manually is 100% smooth and fine. Stays in place where it should when not connected to anything (door balance or whatever)
- If I completely unhook it from the chain so it can be used manually, and try to open with the opener, it still doesn't work. So that makes me think it's not related to the door or the tracks at all.
- Reset all the settings to the factory defaults and ran through the initial setup procedures again. If I hold the "open limit" button to set that, it will go half way up then stop, no matter how high I set the opening force. At this point I took the insulation off and tried again - it stops at the exact same point, so it's not the few extra pounds added (which the manufacturer said wouldn't be an issue either).

Anyone? I'd rather not call a door guy out here because I know it's either something incredibly stupid, I will get charged $200+ for the guy to go through the steps I already did, or he will say it's a lost cause and still charge me $100 or so...which is about half of a brand new replacement unit.

Had one acting similar a couple of years ago I replaced it with a cheap Chamberlain opener and the new one has been working fine!

http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/...b-5d422de7297f

I had an issue at my old house where it would behave strangely at certain times in the evening. I finally realized it was during the period 30-60 minutes before sunset. Turns out at those times, the sun was hitting the safety beam sensor in such a way to mess up the signal.

That's kind of what I'm thinking will be the end result. :( I'd sooner replace it completely than pay someone to look at it, just to tell me it needs to be replaced. Everyone else I know with electric openers says theirs have been going much longer than 6 years though, which is why I'm still semi-attached to this one. But I guess I need to bite the bullet if nobody else has any last minute suggestions. Thanks

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Originally Posted by Titus

I had an issue at my old house where it would behave strangely at certain times in the evening. I finally realized it was during the period 30-60 minutes before sunset. Turns out at those times, the sun was hitting the safety beam sensor in such a way to mess up the signal.

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I didn't want to get into detail on that, but I read that in the manual and looked into it as well. This happens ALL times of the day and night, garage light on or off, cloudy day, rainy day, sun shiny day. And like I said, it used to work perfectly. I never moved the sensors, so they are in the same position they have always been in. But yes, I have been thinking to temporarily move them to the back of the garage to test this idea more. At this point it seems like a complete long-shot though, but one I will give a whirl this weekend.

It's probably the motor itself dropping a deuce. The up/down force pots just set a limit for amp draw that a failing motor can do pretty much any time.

Now that you've got the door and tracks all tuned up, go get ya a nice belt driven somethingorother that's faster and quieter with a bit more power. Costco always has a belt driven 3/4hp Chamberlain quiet drive and something else that's 1/2 hp chain drive on the shelf. Mine's fast enough that I can barely make it from the interior button to the under the door/over the beam without a head first dive.

No need to relocate sensors. Just take rectangular cardboard and bend it three ways then tape it to the top of the sensor to make hoods for the eyes. That should block any errant light. Also check that the wires are securely fastened to sensors. After that I'd opt for a new unit.

Bah. I'll try moving the sensors just to test this weekend. I'm assuming I'd need to remove/replace them if I have to get a new unit, so there's not really any reason not to try that first. Cardboard hoods is a good idea as well, but if I need to replace them anyway...

Already went over the wires for the sensors a million times. All wired as they should be, and pass electricity as they should (tested the wires directly).

Thanks, guys.

Mine is doing something very similiar, due to the door binding against frame around the garage door opening. In my case, I need a whole new door, so in case anybody knows a good door guy, I'd appreciate any input.

If it's a screw drive opener, the 'thing' (forget the official term) that runs up and down the rack and attached to the arm that's attached to the door will wear out. Could be a simple/cheap fix.

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Originally Posted by cam76034

Mine is doing something very similiar, due to the door binding against frame around the garage door opening. In my case, I need a whole new door, so in case anybody knows a good door guy, I'd appreciate any input.

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Overhead Door....

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Originally Posted by cam76034

Mine is doing something very similiar, due to the door binding against frame around the garage door opening. In my case, I need a whole new door, so in case anybody knows a good door guy, I'd appreciate any input.

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http://www.planooverhead.com/

Been using them for years.... really good service....

Well I just went and did the cardboard hoods as Nails suggested. No love still. While out there, I made sure the sensors were in shadows anyway, which they were, so the sun is not it at all. There is a Chamberlain unit on sale with free shipping in the link that POS posted, so I just punted. Should have done that a year ago so I didn't have to wiggle behind the car to pull the manual release cable every time I needed to open the door.

sammm - It's a chain drive. I've already replaced the two gears that are considered "wear items" despite them both being in perfect condition. And it does the same thing with the train attached to the door or not. So it's acting up just the same with the door completely unattached.

cam - I've never used them, but there is a big Overhead Door in Ft Worth sticker on my unit and in the manual. So I'm guessing they either did the install or some maintenance on mine at one point. I would have given them a call if it came to it.

Thanks again for all the suggestions, guys.

Did you check for loose wires on both ends from sensors to unit?

Many many times. I even cleaned the contacts on the main unit and the sensors, and even the wire ends themselves. Then I disconnected the wires completely and hooked a power source to one end and a bulb to the other - bulb lit right up on both wire sets (wires are ran inside the finished walls). Then I ran temporary wires from the main unit to the sensors just to doublecheck the connections and wire itself was good.

Unit will not even attempt to open if the sensors are unplugged or otherwise disconnected - it will close if you hold the wired wall button down, but the remotes and wireless keypad won't work for safety reasons. So on the slight chance I somehow missed a poor/loose connection the numerous times I went over them, the unit wouldn't work as "well" as it does if one was making no contact at all for a second or two. When trying to close the door with the sensors unhooked, it does the same thing - goes down a bit, stops. It won't go back up when I hit the button, but it does not close more than a foot even in this fail-safe mode.

I can't think of anything I haven't done to figure it out yet, short of replacing the wall button itself and swapping in new sensors. Unless someone has compatible ones very local to me, I have no plans to go that far now that I just bought a new unit. I would still love to figure out what the deal is, and I have a week before the new unit gets here. So feel free to keep shooting ideas at me...just know that they would be for the sake of completion and not to actually help me fix it at this point.

Sounds like its time for the BFH...:banghead:

Are the rails lubed? How about the chain?

Cleaned, lubed, and in excellent condition. They weren't dirty to begin with, but I thoroughly cleaned them once I started digging into this thing more and more.

Rollers are all nylon. All in great shape as well. I pulled them all (except the bottom one on each side) one at a time to check, clean, and lube them.

BUT...the exact thing happens whether the door is attached to the chain or not. So with the door 100% out of the equation it still does not work as it should. Door also rolls up/down smooth as silk when you use it manually.

Chain is clean and freshly lubed as well. No signs of wear whatsoever.

The only "questionable" piece is the pulley on the door side of the chain. It has little "nubs" that look like they could have been teeth at one point. But I called the manufacturer and they said they never had teeth and get like that in a few months, so it's of no concern.

Tommy with North Dallas Garage. Best around, and typically fast service.

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Originally Posted by Nails

Did you check for loose wires on both ends from sensors to unit?

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For mine it's usually either loose wires or alignment of the sensors at the bottom of the door. Mine has small lights on the sensors that go out when the wire is loose or the light is blocked.