On 8 Dec 2004 16:24:15 -0800, wrote:

Puddin' Man wrote:

About 20 years ago I installed a Stanley residential
garage door opener (chain-drive, Model 2000.05, maybe
1/3 hp). It has given good service.

I typically go in the garage, open the door with either
the button or the remote, pull the car out of the garage,
then attempt to close the door with the remote.

The door closes OK about 50% of the time. When it doesn't
close properly, I can work the remote any number of times
having no effect. But if I wait 2 min. until the light goes
out, actuation with the remote works fine. A new battery in
the remote has no effect on this behavior. Positioning of
the antenna wire also has no effect.

Does anyone have any idea why actuating the door with
the remote would be dependent on the light-timer circuit?

The door should close properly 100% of the time if the door and opener
are in good condition. Is the door properly balanced and, when
disengaged from the opener, will slowly fall when held open about 1/3
of the way but slowly rise when held open about 2/3 of the way? Are
the pivot points greased or, for track doors, the roller shafts oiled?
Is the opener's force sensor adjusted properly (on a yellow Stanley,
probably a large knob on the bottom)? Is the rail clean (wipe off but
do not lube -- Stanley chain drives run dry, except for the chain)?

These bases are all covered. I do maint. on it about once a
year. No evidence of stickiness, etc.

When it fails to actuate from the remote while the lite burns,
nothing happens. No start, no click, no -nothing-.

If the opener always closes from the wall button

It does, 'tho I might have to push the button more than
once ...

but not from the
remote, then it's possible that the switch on the remote has developed
cracked solder joints.

Should be visable on a workbench with a magnifying glass?

But if the wall button works no better than the
remote, I would suspect cracked solder on the opener's circuit board
(motor vibration is rough on it), a bad motor start capacitor (about
1.5" diameter, 3-5" long), or a burned motor relay. There are 3 relays
--motor up, motor down, and lamp, and the lamp relay can usually be
swapped for a worn motor relay, which will still usually operate the
lamp normally.

Hmmmmm.

Those old Stanleys are very good,

It's been a true workhorse.

except for the lack of an electric
eye safety beam, and all the electronic parts are cheap and generic
(three $1 CMOS chips, the main problem area is a pair of 1/2 watt
resistors that overheat -- replace with 1W resistors ). One possible
problem is the gearbox housing, which is made of brittle plastic and
can cause a hazard if it cracks where the safety microswitch attaches
to it.

This sounds -very- helpful (profuse thanks!).

I gotta pull the cover and see what I can see (and check the
remote). Possibly tomorrow ...

Cheers,
Puddin'


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