79
votes
Accepted
Garage door suddenly really heavy, opener gives up
Your torsion spring broke.
Whether these are DIY or not is debatable.
That they can kill (or merely injure/maim) you if you lack adequate care is a fact.
That one needs to be replaced.
- 226k
34
votes
Car in driveway is source of garage door opener interference
This may be caused by the air pressure sensors in your tires (TPMS). They operate at 315 MHz. Some garage door opener remotes operate at 315 MHz. If that's the case the troubleshooting procedures ...
- 4,293
27
votes
Why would remotes work reliably on one garage door opener, but unreliable on another?
When 3-4 minutes has passed since activation, the room light on the garage door opener turns off. This suggests that the light is creating RF interference. Remove the light bulb and see if your remote ...
- 12.8k
24
votes
Accepted
Garage door opener remotes do not work when light is on
I diagnosed and found the large electrolytic capacitor on the circuit board went bad. I removed and replaced the capacitor and it works as good as new.
Details: With a bad capacitor the operating ...
- 471
23
votes
Car in driveway is source of garage door opener interference
You could check if there is a local amateur radio club or a hackerspace nearby. This sounds like an interesting problem, and those places usually have the equipment to check for radio interference and ...
- 2,186
20
votes
Accepted
Would a bit of grease on overhead door cables or bearings cause the springs to break?
TLDR: The spring failed naturally due to old age or manufacturing defect. Not your fault. As an aside, learn to properly grease garage doors.
Oh boy. The bull-oney here is thick. Let's start with ...
20
votes
Accepted
Why isn't my overhead door closing completely?
You need two bolts in the arm brackets to hold them together, not just one. That might be what caused the problem, one bolt fell out.
See the picture below, from German garages, to get an idea about ...
- 86.2k
17
votes
Garage door suddenly really heavy, opener gives up
I work on truck sized garage doors.
The spring is broken and fully unwound. You can tell because of the white line spray-painted on at the factory while it's unwound.
Doors are actually balanced.
...
13
votes
Car in driveway is source of garage door opener interference
If you are able to generate a consistent test sequence, you should be able to narrow down the problem, making it easier to solve.
Have a neighbor use the remote and with your car in place, it should ...
- 11.3k
11
votes
Accepted
Garage door not closing when sunlight is bright
You can buy purpose-made tubes for a few bucks. They are already black, they are not made of cardboard, and they screw securely onto the sensor frame. If it works it will last longer than a toilet ...
- 45.5k
10
votes
Clean and lubricate garage door rails
(mild) Soap and water, sure.
Don't use WD-40. It isn't a lubricant. Instead, look for white lithium grease. You can get it in a spray can with one of those small straw like things to put it exactly ...
- 548
10
votes
Why would remotes work reliably on one garage door opener, but unreliable on another?
From what you write, I am taking the following conclusions:
Both openers work properly
This is proven by the hardwired button.
Both your remotes (your vehicle built-in remote and your handheld remote) ...
- 7,404
8
votes
Would a bit of grease on overhead door cables or bearings cause the springs to break?
Torsion springs have a finite lifespan. They break. I seriously doubt that a little grease was a factor. Replace them both and move on with life.
After you've done so, disconnect the opener (if ...
- 149k
8
votes
Car in driveway is source of garage door opener interference
Had and still have the same problem where the remotes refuse to work unless directly underneath the opener. Sears refuses to fix, but acknowledged that the problem is caused by rf interference with ...
- 13.5k
8
votes
How to remove a single remote from a LiftMaster garage door opener?
They all have to be reprogrammed.
When you teach the system you add remotes 1 by 1.
To remove 1, all remotes are erased from memory.
they have to be taught 1 by 1 again sorry.
- 103k
7
votes
Add manual light switch to Genie Garage door opener
Lights on garage door openers are normally controlled by a proprietary wall console like this:
Genie Wall Console (I have no idea if this is the one you really need, just an example)
They use the ...
- 28.3k
7
votes
Garage door opener will not close unless the wall button is held
99% of the time, the issue is the door sensor. Usually an infrared beam, it runs across the bottom of the doorway to reverse the door if anything blocks it. You'll need to check them. There's ...
- 26.3k
7
votes
Accepted
How to change battery in garage door keypad?
I found this page which stated:
The second oldest style keypads have a pin hole at the bottom of the keypad cover. You will have to insert a small Phillips screw driver into the small hole at the ...
- 997
6
votes
Accepted
Clean and lubricate garage door rails
I just had an installer come out a couple weeks ago to lubricate my door and show me all the contact points to lubricate because my <1 year old door was doing the same. He recommended using ...
- 76
6
votes
Lift Master Garage Door - remote hardly works from outside the garage
One possibility is your receiver antennas are not extended properly. Usually a thin wire drooping from the motor unit ... if it's coiled up or broken or not extended properly you might have VERY ...
- 45.5k
6
votes
Garage Door Sticking On Open (only first time)
When you think the conditions are when it will likely stick. Pull the cord to disconnect the garage door from the opener. Then try opening the door by hand. If it sticks when opening by hand you ...
- 1,844
6
votes
Accepted
Newly installed Chamberlain garage door opener blinks lights twice when trying to open
I figured out what it was. I didn't have the up and down limits set. Once I set them everything worked fine.
- 287
6
votes
Garage door motor has become hypersensitive to downforce setting
At 20 years old, the tiny computer in the GDO is probably suffering some component failures. I've lost laptops at half the age, while others have carried on far longer.
If you really want to go that ...
- 226k
5
votes
New garage door opener belt sags when opening
I had the same issue on a brand new opener I just installed. The non-pulling side of the belt was loose and floppy when opening. Turns out I just didn't follow the instructions for tensioning the belt ...
- 151
5
votes
Do they make wireless safety sensors for garage door openers?
I've never seen them. The battery maintenance would be a hassle anyway.
Route and secure your wires appropriately to protect them, and build wood or metal guards around the sensor area to prevent ...
- 149k
5
votes
Can I wire two Chamberlain door openers in parallel?
Yes you can wire up to 4 opener buttons in parallel to the same opener. I know this because I figured it out while developing ratgdo.
The 882lmw wall mounted button requires 8.5mA of power. Other ...
- 150
5
votes
Garage door opener will not close unless the wall button is held
Running the extension cords is not causing the problem but you're smart to install the outlets and correct the installation.
The momentary operation of the wall switch triggers a normally open relay ...
- 86.2k
5
votes
Accepted
Detecting voltage at garage door opener control panel wire
Contactless testers are notoriously unreliable.
The best thing to do is to locate the other end of the wire, which should have been connected to your old opener, and check continuity between the BLACK ...
- 23.5k
5
votes
How does a garage door motor wall control on a two wire circuit determine between door control and light control?
I haven't played with a Genie unit, but I spent some time with an oscilloscope and a Chamberlain/Lift Master unit several years ago. I found it has two modes of operation. One is the simple contact ...
- 33.5k
5
votes
Accepted
"Press the push bar to activate control" message on Chamberlain or LiftMaster wall control panel
I disconnected the wall control panel and waited for five minutes before reconnecting it, and then it seemed to work.
Also, it is said that one might have to press the button "up to 4 times to ...
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