Sometimes when I attempt to open the garage door using our opener it
raises up about 2 feet and then stops. I can press the button again
and it closes. It may take 5 or so times before the door opens up
completely.

We bought our house a year ago and it was doing this on our
inspection. They had the door serviced and it has worked perfectly
until now.

Before I call a service-person does anyone have any input?

+ Does this problem sound like a common one?

+ If it needs regular maintenance to keep running is it something a
homeowner with only moderate fix-it skills can handle?

+ Would it make more sense to simply replace the opener?

Sorry I don't have the make/model information with me. I can follow-up
with that post. It's a brand I've never heard of.

Thanks in advance.

engwar wrote:
Sometimes when I attempt to open the garage door using our opener it
raises up about 2 feet and then stops. I can press the button again
and it closes. It may take 5 or so times before the door opens up
completely.

We bought our house a year ago and it was doing this on our
inspection. They had the door serviced and it has worked perfectly
until now.

Before I call a service-person does anyone have any input?

+ Does this problem sound like a common one?

+ If it needs regular maintenance to keep running is it something a
homeowner with only moderate fix-it skills can handle?

+ Would it make more sense to simply replace the opener?

Sorry I don't have the make/model information with me. I can follow-up
with that post. It's a brand I've never heard of.

Thanks in advance.

Before I would call a repair person, I would do the following:
Disconnect the door from the mechanism that pulls it up and pushes it
down. Normally there is a lever that disengages the two. Lift the door
so that it is half way open. It should be balanced enough at half open
so that it stays at that point. If the door wants to shut at that
point, tighten up on the springs so that it does not. (The previous
sentence assumes you have two coil springs with cables that are adjustable.)
It could be the motor is seeing too much weight when opening and shuts
down. If this is not your problem AND the door moves freely while
disconnected from the opener mechanism, call the garage door service
company.

On Dec 6, 10:47 am, engwar wrote:
Sometimes when I attempt to open the garage door using our opener it
raises up about 2 feet and then stops. I can press the button again
and it closes. It may take 5 or so times before the door opens up
completely.

We bought our house a year ago and it was doing this on our
inspection. They had the door serviced and it has worked perfectly
until now.

Before I call a service-person does anyone have any input?

+ Does this problem sound like a common one?

+ If it needs regular maintenance to keep running is it something a
homeowner with only moderate fix-it skills can handle?

+ Would it make more sense to simply replace the opener?

Sorry I don't have the make/model information with me. I can follow-up
with that post. It's a brand I've never heard of.

Thanks in advance.

Is it cold where you are? Many garage doors openers require more
force to move the door as it gets colder. Try adjusting the up force
on the motor housing.

engwar wrote:
Sometimes when I attempt to open the garage door using our opener it
raises up about 2 feet and then stops. I can press the button again
and it closes. It may take 5 or so times before the door opens up
completely.

We bought our house a year ago and it was doing this on our
inspection. They had the door serviced and it has worked perfectly
until now.

Before I call a service-person does anyone have any input?

+ Does this problem sound like a common one?

+ If it needs regular maintenance to keep running is it something a
homeowner with only moderate fix-it skills can handle?

+ Would it make more sense to simply replace the opener?

Sorry I don't have the make/model information with me. I can follow-up
with that post. It's a brand I've never heard of.

Thanks in advance.

I recently had to replace the circuit board in one of the Overhead
Door/Genie operators in my garage. The behavior was similar but not
quite exactly the same as what you describe. In my case, the garage
door would open part way, and then stop and close again. The time spent
trying to raise the door varied and sometimes the operator would shut
off completely. Anyway, I replaced the circuit board and all is well.

Before I decided to replace the circuit board, I explained the symptoms
to the employee at Overhead Door and he said it was actually quite
common for the circuit board to have problems. He mentioned that I
ought to make sure the opener was plugged into a surge protector because
there really isn't any built-in protection in the opener. Anyway, for
me, the circuit board was around $75 and afterwards I bought a $2.99
surge protector that will hopefully protect it from now on.

Good luck with yours.

In article
,
engwar wrote:

Sometimes when I attempt to open the garage door using our opener it
raises up about 2 feet and then stops. I can press the button again
and it closes. It may take 5 or so times before the door opens up
completely.

We bought our house a year ago and it was doing this on our
inspection. They had the door serviced and it has worked perfectly
until now.

Before I call a service-person does anyone have any input?

+ Does this problem sound like a common one?

+ If it needs regular maintenance to keep running is it something a
homeowner with only moderate fix-it skills can handle?

+ Would it make more sense to simply replace the opener?

Sorry I don't have the make/model information with me. I can follow-up
with that post. It's a brand I've never heard of.

Thanks in advance.

Before you try those other suggestions, I'd be looking for a partially
blocked sensor. Dirt, cobwebs, a rake handle, etc.

Thanks for the suggestions everyone.

I have noticed that it seems to do this more on colder days. DerbyDad
may have hit the nail on the head.

I'll see if I can find the manual in the box o' information the
previous owners left us and see what's required in adjusting the up
force.

While I'm at it I may clean the sensors and lubricate everything too.

Thanks again.

On Dec 6, 3:28 pm, engwar wrote:
Thanks for the suggestions everyone.

I have noticed that it seems to do this more on colder days. DerbyDad
may have hit the nail on the head.

I'll see if I can find the manual in the box o' information the
previous owners left us and see what's required in adjusting the up
force.

While I'm at it I may clean the sensors and lubricate everything too.

Thanks again.

You may not need a manual. Grab a step ladder, a chair or a cooler
(depending on how tall you are ;-) ) and look for either a plastic
screw head or a knob or some turnable item on the motor housing. They
should be labeled something like Up Force, Down Force, Up Limit and
Down Limit. Good luck!

"DerbyDad03" wrote in message
...
On Dec 6, 3:28 pm, engwar wrote:
Thanks for the suggestions everyone.

I have noticed that it seems to do this more on colder days. DerbyDad
may have hit the nail on the head.

I'll see if I can find the manual in the box o' information the
previous owners left us and see what's required in adjusting the up
force.

While I'm at it I may clean the sensors and lubricate everything too.

Thanks again.

You may not need a manual. Grab a step ladder, a chair or a cooler
(depending on how tall you are ;-) ) and look for either a plastic
screw head or a knob or some turnable item on the motor housing. They
should be labeled something like Up Force, Down Force, Up Limit and
Down Limit. Good luck!



But before the OP does that, he should check the door's balance, as
suggested by someone else. It may be that the counterbalance springs need
adjusting.

On Thu, 06 Dec 2007 07:47:47 -0800, engwar wrote:

Sometimes when I attempt to open the garage door using our opener it
raises up about 2 feet and then stops. I can press the button again and
it closes. It may take 5 or so times before the door opens up
completely.

We bought our house a year ago and it was doing this on our inspection.
They had the door serviced and it has worked perfectly until now.

Before I call a service-person does anyone have any input?

+ Does this problem sound like a common one?

+ If it needs regular maintenance to keep running is it something a
homeowner with only moderate fix-it skills can handle?

+ Would it make more sense to simply replace the opener?

Sorry I don't have the make/model information with me. I can follow-up
with that post. It's a brand I've never heard of.

Thanks in advance.

We had the same thing happen with our door. Readjusted the force to open
it and all went well. Also fiddled with the metal bar attaching the door
to the drive. Ours is a Genie opener.