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I have a Craftsman model 139.53600 garage door opener. While closing the door, the motor did not turn off and jammed the trolley against the trolley stop. The motor hums, gets hot, shuts off, cools and restarts the cycle. The down limit switch does not turn off the power to the motor. I unplugged the opener.

I released the door from the trolley and can operate the door manually. With the door released and the chain removed from the pulley, the motor runs in the direction to close the door. Unplugging and plugging does not change the direction. Pressing the wall switch pauses the motor, then it restarts in the same direction.

The gears are working properly and the down limit switch makes contact.

In recent years, I have had to adjust the down and up limit switches several times a year to keep the door in the proper position.

I would appreciate guidance on how to fix the opener.

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  • See diy.stackexchange.com/a/184699/18078 - unless you're quite sure, a new opener is the better bet, and will have a warranty.
    – Ecnerwal
    Jun 27, 2020 at 18:18
  • How old is this opener?
    – ThreePhaseEel
    Jun 27, 2020 at 18:25
  • The opener is 32 years old.
    – user78602
    Jun 27, 2020 at 20:10
  • Wow! That is a serious level of service! We had a Craftsman that would have been 26 this year, except it gave up about 10 years ago... Retire it, build it a shelf of honor in the garage complete with padding for its poor, tired gears, and some velvet and spotlights and get a new one.
    – FreeMan
    Jul 1, 2020 at 0:28

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Replace it, so you don't have to explain to somebody why you didn't replace it

I would replace this geezer of a GDO if I were in your shoes. It did quite well to make it to 32, but outlived its welcome as it most likely lacks the auto-reverse safeties of newer openers (namely, stall-reverse/inherent protection and photoeyes/photosensors), rendering it hazardous to operate in the way one would treat a newer opener.

This would also be a good time to inspect the door itself for proper manual functionality and adjustment.

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