I'm having trouble with my garage door opener. On warm afternoons when
the sun is shining on the garage door, it won't close properly. It
goes down part way, then the light flashes and the door goes back up as
if there's a blockage in front of the infrared beams. I've checked for
something in the way, as well as the alignment of the beams. Early in
the morning and at night, it works perfectly. What is the heat of the
sun doing and how can I remedy it?

By the way, it's a 1/2 h.p. Craftsman and a metal rollaway door.

Thanks.

-Fleemo

In article .com,
wrote:
I'm having trouble with my garage door opener. On warm afternoons when
the sun is shining on the garage door, it won't close properly. It
goes down part way, then the light flashes and the door goes back up as
if there's a blockage in front of the infrared beams. I've checked for
something in the way, as well as the alignment of the beams. Early in
the morning and at night, it works perfectly. What is the heat of the
sun doing and how can I remedy it?

The heat of the sun is warping or otherwise expanding the door so the
wheels are binding on the side tracks.

See if you can spot where and bend the track a bit so it won't bind.

--
Rich Greenberg Marietta, GA, USA richgr atsign panix.com + 1 770 321 6507
Eastern time. N6LRT I speak for myself & my dogs only. VM'er since CP-67
Canines:Val, Red & Shasta (RIP),Red, husky Owner:Chinook-L
Atlanta Siberian Husky Rescue. www.panix.com/~richgr/ Asst Owner:Sibernet-L

Thanks for the input, Rich.

Well, I went out and ran the garage door opener several times, trying
to see if there was a place where the wheels were binding. After
several tries, I heard a loud "snap" and a puff of smoke came out of
the opener. Looks like I ran it one too many times. It still
functions, but I smell smoke when I run it. Never a good sign. Drat
and double drat.

-Fleemo

Don't give up so fast Flee. There's a lot of dust up there that could
have shaken loose and looked like smoke as the mechanism shuttered
trying to open.
The fit of the door is surely binding with the expansion caused by the
heat of the sun. Look closely at the side rails and see if there's a
way to loosen them slightly or reposition them . There are ways to fix
it, but only after you find where it binds. Even if the width of the
opening is too small and is pinching the door, that can be handled.

wrote:
Thanks for the input, Rich.

Well, I went out and ran the garage door opener several times, trying
to see if there was a place where the wheels were binding. After
several tries, I heard a loud "snap" and a puff of smoke came out of
the opener. Looks like I ran it one too many times. It still
functions, but I smell smoke when I run it. Never a good sign. Drat
and double drat.

-Fleemo

Sounds like the sun light is washing out the infrared beams. Try
swapping the two photo-cells. One is a transmitter & one is a receiver,
so this usually solves the problem.

The smoke was probably from the capacitor. Once it cools down the
opener may no longer work, motor will just buzz. Even if it keeps
working the cap should be changed.

Doordoc
www.DoorsAndOpeners.com

Thanks for the advice, here folks. I genuinely appreciate it.

Sounds like the sun light is washing out the infrared beams. Try
swapping the two photo-cells. One is a transmitter & one is a receiver,

so this usually solves the problem.

Ya know, Doc, that might make sense. The door didn't appear to be
binding to my untrained eye. And at this time of year, the sun does
shine in on one of the sensors at certain times of the day. It just
might be that.

The smoke was probably from the capacitor. Once it cools down the
opener may no longer work, motor will just buzz. Even if it keeps
working the cap should be changed.

You're right again, Doc. It was indeed smoke, and the unit did stop
working at all once it cooled down. So is the capacitor a
user-replaceable part? If so, where can they be purchased? At Sears?

- Fleemo

Sunlight wash-out is a very common problem here in sunny SW Florida.

Sears would have the capacitor if the people there know what they are
doing. Around here if you don't have a Sears part number they usually
can't help you. Any Liftmaster dealer should also have the part.

You could probably also get the capacitor at any motor shop or
Grainger, however while the rating may be the same the actual size
(diameter) may be different & therefore may not fit in the original
holder. The rating on yours should be printed on the side w/ something
like 220 VAC, 53-64 MFD. It's ok to go up on the VAC rating, but the
MFD should be as close as possible.

Doordoc

Thanks for the info, Doc.

The strangest thing... today my wife came home and absent-mindedly
pushed the garage door remote control -- and it opened! I got home
shortly thereafter and tried it myself, and sure enough. There was a
faint smell of electrical smoke in the air. I'm sure the unit is on its
last legs, but does the fact that it's operating again still sound like
a capacitor problem?

-Fleemo

Yes. Pull the plug, take off the cover, & inspect the capacitor (gray
or black cylinder near motor w/ four wires) & usually it will be
obvious that it is blown or there may also be an oily substance in the
cover.

Doordoc

Thanks Doc. I'll do that when I get home from work tonight. I
appreciate your help.

-F

Doc, I do believe you just saved me somewhere between $150 and $300. I
spent $6 on a new capacitor and it seems to be working just fine now,
so a sincere thank you for your advice.

The weather has cooled dramatically and the clouds have hidden the sun,
so I'll have to wait a few days to try your sensor switcharoo.

-F

Well, unfortunately I'm still having problems with my garage door not
going down on warm days. I've scrutinized the tracks, but there's no
obvious point where the rollers bind. It goes up fine, it's only when
I try and lower the door that the garage door opener unit flashes and
the door reverses.

I experimented with blocking the sunlight from the infrared beams
without success, though I still haven't actually switched them out. But
my tests made me think the problem lies elsewhere.

Perhaps a good lubricating would do the trick? Should a special type
of grease or oil be used on the tracks, or would WD-40 work just fine?

-Fleemo

How far does the door close? For some reason I was thinking it wouldn't
close at all.

There is a special oil made for garage doors, but it really only needs
to be put on the hinges & the rollers (if the rollers have ball
bearings) but light weight motor oil or 3-in-1 oil also works. WD-40 is
silicone based which gets sticky & the oil part evaporates very quickly
so it's not the best thing to use. Definitely do not use grease on the
rollers or door track. Grease will collect dust & dirt and may make the
matter worse.

If the door is closing part way & then reversing i would suspect the
door sections are rubbing hard against the jambs or molding. Simple
solution for that is to rub a candle along the entire inside edge of
the jamb/molding that the door touches as it closes. If you move the
molding the door won't seal when it's closed & if you try to plane it
down it will look like crap from outside once the door is closed.
Simply wax it once or twice a year & it should work fine.

Doordoc

Hey Doc,

The door tends to close about three feet or so before it reverses back
and the lights flash, and as I've mentioned, only when it's warm
outside. I am able to push and hold the doorbell-like button down the
duration of the closure to make it go down, but for some reason this
doesn't work using the remote controls. (FYI, it's a metal door.)

I'll go out and pick up some 3-in-1 oil and do the hinges and rollers.
I'll also investigate the jambs and try a little candle wax as you
suggested. Thanks much for the suggestions.

-Fleemo

On 23 May 2005 10:15:43 -0700, wrote:

Well, unfortunately I'm still having problems with my garage door not
going down on warm days. I've scrutinized the tracks, but there's no
obvious point where the rollers bind. It goes up fine, it's only when
I try and lower the door that the garage door opener unit flashes and
the door reverses.

I experimented with blocking the sunlight from the infrared beams
without success, though I still haven't actually switched them out. But
my tests made me think the problem lies elsewhere.

Perhaps a good lubricating would do the trick? Should a special type
of grease or oil be used on the tracks, or would WD-40 work just fine?

-Fleemo

I haven't followed this thread too closely so perhaps you have already
tried closing the door manually. Disconnect the door from the opener.
There is usually (always?) a rope you can pull to disconnect the door from
the trolley on the opener. You can usually stick a small bolt, nail or
screwdriver through a hole to keep the spring loaded catch from engaging
the trolley while you are testing.

With the door open, push the door closed exactly like the opener would. A
properly balanced door will close with very little effort. The force
required to open and close the door should be about the same. If you
notice an extra effort is required to close the door, the door needs
adjusting and you should call a repair person to make the adjustments for
you. If the door goes down easily, the problem is either in the opener or
with the IR detectors.

I don't know what type of grease is suggested for the roller track, but
WD40 will not do any good. It might temporarily do a little good on the
the roller bearings but I doubt this is the problem since the door opens
without problem.

wrote:
Hey Doc,

The door tends to close about three feet or so before it reverses
back
and the lights flash, and as I've mentioned, only when it's warm
outside. I am able to push and hold the doorbell-like button down
the
duration of the closure to make it go down, but for some reason this
doesn't work using the remote controls. (FYI, it's a metal door.)

I'll go out and pick up some 3-in-1 oil and do the hinges and
rollers.
I'll also investigate the jambs and try a little candle wax as you
suggested. Thanks much for the suggestions.

-Fleemo

The transmitters don't "latch" the receiver relay on new openers even
if you hold the button the hold time & even though the LED light on
the transmitter (if you have a LED) stays on. The receiver relay will
only stay energized for a few seconds & then release whether you are
holding the button or not.

Doordoc

Well, I think it might be time to call in the pros. I went out and got
some 3-in-1 oil and oiled every moving part in sight. I then applied
candle wax to the door jamb. The door did appear to get pretty close
to the jamb in some places, but I wouldn't know how to adjust that.
During my testing, I blew out the capitor again. Ugh.

In any case, I do appreciate all the input offered here, I truly do.

-Fleemo