Garage Door Opener

Any garage door service techs here?

Garage door intermittently will not go down unless you hold button on wall unit or hand held until door is closed completely.

The door will attempt to go down, moves maybe a foot or so, then back up, unless you hold button down.

Replaced the sensors and still the same.

One sensor is steady green, the other steady red.

Thanks in advance.

 

following...

i have a different issue with a Genie remote, so if there's a tech on here, i'd like to ask also

 

Seems like a day for opener issues...

 

Not a tech but it’s likely sensor related. Either aiming or the connections are poor.

 

Aiming seems ok, solid lights on both sides.

I wonder - if LED lights could be causing issues

 

Do you have an LED bulb in the opener? Or one of those ultrabright garage lights? It's worth a try to take the bulb(s) out and see what happens. Guessing there's the same opportunity for interfere that some of us have had with the cargo lights, LED bulbs and the key fob antenna.

 

Actually fixin to try that right now...lol

 

Seems odd your sensor lights are different colors
Both my sensor lights are solid green unless the beam is obstructed then they are solid red

 

From researching, that's ok unless the red light is constantly blinking. Maybe im wrong though.

 

If you break the beam do one or both of the lights change?

Another thing to look at, on some openers you have to set the top and bottom travel at the opener. On my Liftmaster there are arrow buttons and a specific key sequence to do this. Not sure if that being off would cause what you're seeing though.

 

When you have issues, how sunny is it? My in-laws have a similar issue and it's due to the sun shinning too bright into the receiver sensor.

 

Yes, if you break beam, the red starts blinking.
The travel - do not know. Will have to look at it.
I do know there are little black knobs to turn, i think.

 

Is there any lights blinking on you wall unit? Sometimes those go in to some kind modes

 

No lights blinking on wall unit nor on sensors, unless you break beam.

 

LED bulb issues have more to do with reduced remote range than the door in malfunctioning.
Although it wouldn't hurt to remove it and test..

If the sensors where bad or misaligned, I'd think the door opener would not operate at all.
Or start to close and stop.

I would reset all up and down limits and force and see if the problem persists..

I see your opener is an Overhead Legacy, but what model number is the opener?
My Liftmaster and Chamberlains have an LED that shows a code when the opener malfunctions..

 

No codes to show. Believe this is a older version. Replaced the main board about 4 years ago. No problems since, till now.

 

No Led's in opener but other 2 lights on ceiling yes.

Removed them and still not functioning
So don't believe led's are causing the issue.
The sensors are hard wired, so couldnt really see that being the cause, just thought i would mention Led's

 

And just like that, the door decides to work as it should.

My chest hurts....seriously....lol

 

Replacing the sensors was the right first step. Now check and see if the door is binding anywhere on the track, making the motor think its hit an obstruction. Lubricate the wheels, hinges, and track with the spray lube.

 

It works until it doesn't in the middle of the night..
It is odd that the motor would run while you held the button.
Unless it was somehow stuck in setting limits or force mode, but I guess that is done on the unit itself.

I'm sure you already have this, but I'll post it anyway..

https://www.overheaddoor.com/Documents/phantom-legacy-installation.pdf

I just went thru issues with my 13 year old belt drive Chamberlain.
It would open or close a 1/4 of the way and stop, not reverse but stop, then work perfectly for 3 or 4 days.
Sometimes it wouldn't open at all.
I messed with limits and force and still had issues.
Work fine for a few days, and then screw up.
Sometimes it wouldn't open at all.

My wife has no patience for this stuff and she is the only one that parks in the garage..
Finally ended up ordering a jackshaft opener and had it installed.
No issues since, it is ultra quiet, and has a battery backup if the power goes out.



Because I needed another clock in the garage..

^ This..
Make sure the door is balanced and not binding.
When I was trying to fix my old opener I found my door was a little heavy.
It would stay at the halfway point, but it wanted to drop any higher or lower.

I ended up buying a 2' 1/2" solid rod and cutting it in half to adjust the springs.
It can be dangerous doing these adjustments, but I watched a video youtubes and learned how to do it.
You MUST put vise grips on the tension bar to keep it from spinning when you loosen the spring ends.

These were the most helpful videos...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=8&v=JppFspK4z54&feature=emb_logo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KiZvXfMCmgs&t=182s


I also replaced the rollers a few weeks ago with these sealed bearing nylon wheels..
I thought my old wheels were metal, but they were cheap bearingless plastic.

$24 XiKe 10 Pack Black 2" Nylon Garage Door Roller 4" Stem, Quiet/Durable and High Load, Use 6200-2RS Double Seals Precision Bearings.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07H745QFG/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

The door rollers are easy, remove the hinge, replace the roller, reinstall the hinge.
The bottom rollers are little trickier being the tension cable is attached to them.
Some suggest bending the track edge, pulling the roller out of the track, and bending the track edge back.
I ended up removing the screws in the mounts of the lower track piece and pulling the track out of line just enough to get the bottom roller out and back in.

They didn't reduce the noise 80%, as the description reads, they weren't that loud in the first place.
But they did help a little and the door moves smoother than it did with the cheap plastic rollers.
The only thing that makes noise now is the door itself.

If keeps screwing up, you might as well replace it.
Even though they are pretty much the same thing, made by the same company, I like Liftmaster over Chamberlain, but Chamberlain doesn't make a bad product.
Swapping a ceiling mount opener with another one shouldn't be that hard..
I've also found Liftmaster/Chamberalin customer service very helpful if you have a problem during installation.
Just make sure you do it on a Saturday morning or weekday..

 

If it will only go down while holding the button, it means the motor is sensing a fault and you’re having to force override it.

 

As of right now, it's decided to work properly. Im sure before the day is over, it won't be.

I've called a local shop for service. Sure i will get a call back Monday.


I appreciate all the responses. This forum rocks.

 

Yes is there something to be said for letting the experts handle it.
I've learned that the hard way on some things, plumbing for one.
Nothing worse than calling a repair person to fix something I tried to fix myself and made it worse.

A man's got to know his limitations

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CG2cux_6Rcw

Let us know what happens..

 

I had a similar issue several years back when the openers were less than one year old. I tried everything listed above regarding alignment, clearing spider webs from in front of the LEDs, etc., but no luck. Finally, giving up I called in the door tech come since everything was still under warranty. It turned out that the wire nuts they used to connect the power to the sensors were not tight enough to keep a solid connection. It took him all of 5 minutes to fix this, making me feel pretty silly because it was such a simple thing. Don't know if it's your problem, but it will cost you nothing to check this. Good luck!

 

90% it’s the sensors. I would swap them out before calling someone.

 

I had a similar issue 5-6 years ago. I went through all the trouble shooting you are doing with no difference. I took the side cover off and looked at the control board and found several loose or broken solder points. I fixed that and have not had an issue since.

This vid is similar to what I found, but I didn’t need any magnifying to find my problem. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_yzesvN8AI

 

Try this ^^^^. Use the link to the user manual that @1lowlife provided.

I have Legacy openers (red and green indicator lights standard) and had problems with the closing force being just barely enough to get the door closed. Then, with any increase in resistance in the tracks and wheels (summer temp expansion), the opener will stop and reverse.

Also closely check that something isn't breaking the beam. Stuff stored near the door can fool you by appearing to be out of the way at the floor, but actually be breaking the beam higher. How I know is a longer story.

 

This is normal sensor operation. If there is a problem with the sensors, the red sensor with blink a self-diagnosis code. Example: 2 blinks, pause, (repeats) means (1) bad alignment, (2) obstruction, (3) sensor defective.

 

Repair man just left. Couple of adjustments, nothing needed replaced.

Spring(s) over the door frame needed tightened 4 quarter turns.

Adjusted and lessened the down limit so door closed easier and smoother.

Adjusted a force adjustment on open. Something about motor getting weak due to age.

Lubed all moving parts.

30 min labor - $125.00