Ok, being that I am in my first home as a homeowner I have never had to handle the repair of certain things before, like a failing garage door or garage door opener. My garage has two single-bay garage doors with their respective door openers. Mine is opened/clodes maybe 2-3 times per week, while the wife’s is used daily. Mine is less used because I park the truck in the driveway, and her Bimmer in the garage.
Anyway, it just stopped working. From a closed position it will open only partially before giving up. I do not know what should have been the routine maintenance (there is no first-time homeowner’s manual for thise kind of things), nor how to troubleshoot once the failing-to-open door presents itself.
Can someone offer some guidence on this? The garage door openers are Genie and were part of the home, that I bought new on 12/16/00. I do not know if its the electric motor going south, the track & wheels needing lubricating, etc. I can disengage the motor from the door and hand open/close it with a little effort.
Any productive suggestions are most welcomed.
Replies
Do you have the owners manual?
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All,
First, thanks for all of the replies. I appreciate it! I do not have an owner's manual for the two operators. Its the one item in my new-home purchase that wasn't included. I have owners manuals for all other appliances that came with the new home.
Its a Genie ProMax Chainguide operator model PCG650, and I will try to get the owner's manual off of the Genie website. This morning I went into the garage and tried the door. Its working just fine this morning. Ok ... so I took the liberty of checking the safety detectors (IMERC) and plenty of dust and cobwebbs there.
Yesterday I did disengage the door from the operator and was able to by hand lift and lower the door. It didn't seem like a problem, but I have no reference to compare with. This is a cookie-cutter home and nothing but inexpensive items went into it.
While observing the opening/close attempts yesterday I thought I caught one-side of the door slightly higher than the other. Could have been my perception, but I do not see this at the moment. Hand lifting and closing the disengaged door doesn't reveal anything light a wheel getting caught on something. Not a smooth wheel-in-track, but this could be because lubrication is needed. How do I do this?
I was able to operate the operator fully yeaterday with the door disengaged, and this morning with the door engaged. Is there a torque limit that I can test by placing one hand on the door (from the inside) while trying to open the door to see if it could be a weak motor or just a chain-track being dirty/dusty? I did notice a fair amount of dust on the top of the operator.
There should be force sensors on the door that you can trigger by firmly holding the door as it goes up or down. It should take a fair amount of force -- an amount that's relatively easy for an adult male to achieve with one hand, but would be at the limit for, say, a 10-year-old child.
When the door is operating, watch for any jerkiness in the motion of the door, especially when one side seems to snag briefly. Unfortunately, if there is jerkiness, fixing it may be a problem -- adjusting garage doors is a black art.
Hi,
My next door neighbor's does the same thing and it is usually dust on the safety photocells. Try cleaning them off and see what happens. Depending on the make an model there could also be a load sensing circuit that needs adjusting. Also, if your doors have the coil type tension springs directly above the door opening, if they get weak and in need of adjusting, they can cause the problem by putting too much load on the opener. Try disconnecting the safety latch on the opener and see how hard it is to open the door manually. You shold be able to open the door to about waist high and it should stay there on its own. If not, the springs probably need adjusting.
Hope this helps,
Bill Koustenis
Advanced Automotive Machine
Waldorf Md
If the door works fine manually, then look for a force adjustment on the operator.
There should be an addjustment for up force and down force. Increase the up force. You should also check to make sure the door will reverse if it meets an obstruction while closing.
You could try to find a Genie customer service and request a owners manual.
Your side not working or your wife's? As long as her side works, don't bother us. :)
Try to see if Genie has a website, you should be able to get some answers there.
If you say the door moves smoothly when disengaged, it seems to be balanced. Like the other poster said if the door doesn't come down when it's half open, the spring is fine. If the spring needs adjustment, get help. Never never try to do it yourself unless you know exactly what you are doing.
Is the unit gear-drive or chain-drive? There may be interference in the drive mechanism, or may be it just needs a good cleaning and lubricating. Check the load adjustment screw, turning it up a notch may help. There is also a travel adjustment but if you haven't been fooling around with the drive unit, I don't think that's the problem though.
No problem closing, only opening, right?
If you can disengage the door and open/close it easily then that lets out most possible spring failures, etc.
One thing to check, though, is if (as is sometimes the case) the opener is not centered over the door. In such a case the opener may rack the door while it opens/closes OK by hand.
With the door disconnected, try operating the opener. If it operates OK then the tension adjustments may be off (screw adjustments on the opener). If it still fails then there's something amiss in the mechanism, or the limit adjustments are way out of whack.
As someone mentioned earlier, find the manufacturer's website. You may be able to find and print the instructions you need, order an owner's manual for your model or email a request for one, or at least email your questions. Attempting adjustments might be easier with specific instructions and drawings of your model.
Having gone thru this not long ago with a friend, I'll offer what advice I can.
Have you pulled the cover on the opener and looked at the 'lifetime plastic gears', if chain drive?? If the gears are going, there will be a lot of white 'dust' in the cover. It's usually a worm drive assembly. Check the manufacturers website (if available) for part numbers or call directly.
Should you choose to replace gears yourself, DO NOT, make any adjustments to the travel limits until you are done. It may not be required. DO NOT press any reset buttons on back of motor housing. Other than above, follow previously offered advice.
As an aside, my friend and I scratched our heads and our arses for more than a few hours until we finally gave up. He spoke to the rare knowledgeable person at the retailer and it was a simple fix. If you're frustrated easily, a twelve pak might be in order:)
Hope this helps.
Best Regards