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