Hiya All,
Well I've gone and done it. The garage door opener was making a heck of a
racket (along with the door itself). Seemed to me that
it was time for a bit of grease. This is a screw drive opener. I greased
the screw and the track on the doors. Well it worked. The
door opener won't work now. Push the button and it makes a bit of noise
and stops. There are no obstructions in the door's path and
the sensors indicate the door should move. So I have a couple of
questions. 1. Seems odd, but did I hose the thing up by greasing the
screw? 2. Any recommendations for either fixing it or replacing it (ie.
Brand, screw vs. chain, etc....).

Thanks for the advice. I will probably be forced into replacing it this
weekend as the wife puts her car in the garage and well, she probably
can't lift the door on her own. Anyway, thanks,
cc

James "Cubby" Culbertson wrote:

Hiya All,
Well I've gone and done it. The garage door opener was making a heck of a
racket (along with the door itself). Seemed to me that
it was time for a bit of grease. This is a screw drive opener. I greased
the screw and the track on the doors. Well it worked. The
door opener won't work now. Push the button and it makes a bit of noise
and stops. There are no obstructions in the door's path and
the sensors indicate the door should move. So I have a couple of
questions. 1. Seems odd, but did I hose the thing up by greasing the
screw? 2. Any recommendations for either fixing it or replacing it (ie.
Brand, screw vs. chain, etc....).

Thanks for the advice. I will probably be forced into replacing it this
weekend as the wife puts her car in the garage and well, she probably
can't lift the door on her own. Anyway, thanks,
cc



Quite a conundrum, but you really didn't give us much information to go on.

1. Is the door open or closed now?

2. Did you disengage the door from the opener traveler while greasing
things? If you did, did you reengage it correctly?

2. Did you try disengaging the door from the traveler, and see that it
moves freely by hand and "balances" about half way up?

If the door is disengaged from the traveler and closed, will the
traveler run along it's track when you push the button?

3. What kind of grease did you use, and is there any possibility
(unlikely as it seems) that if it's very cold in the garage that grease
stiffened enough to gum things up?

Report back with some answers and the folks here may be better able to
help you.

Jeff

--
Jeffry Wisnia

(W1BSV + Brass Rat '57 EE)

"As long as there are final exams, there will be prayer in public
schools"

Ok. Here is a bit more information. See below please. Thx.

"Jeff Wisnia" wrote in message
...
Quite a conundrum, but you really didn't give us much information to go
on.

1. Is the door open or closed now?

The door is closed. Under it's own power, it went up. Under it's own
power, it won't go down. I disconnected the door from
the rail and manually closed it for the night. Moved just fine when I
lowered it.

2. Did you disengage the door from the opener traveler while greasing
things? If you did, did you reengage it correctly?

I did not disengage the door while greasing.

2. Did you try disengaging the door from the traveler, and see that it
moves freely by hand and "balances" about half way up?

Yes, and it does move freely.

If the door is disengaged from the traveler and closed, will the traveler
run along it's track when you push the button?

No. Push the button and a bit of noise for a brief moment and then
nothing.

3. What kind of grease did you use, and is there any possibility (unlikely
as it seems) that if it's very cold in the garage that grease stiffened
enough to gum things up?

I just used ordinary automotive grease. I can see the stuff on the
tracks/screw and it's
definitely not stiffened up. It's not that cold here at the moment (rained
last night).

Report back with some answers and the folks here may be better able to
help you.

Jeff

--
Jeffry Wisnia

(W1BSV + Brass Rat '57 EE)

"As long as there are final exams, there will be prayer in public
schools"

James "Cubby" Culbertson wrote:

Ok. Here is a bit more information. See below please. Thx.

"Jeff Wisnia" wrote in message
...

Quite a conundrum, but you really didn't give us much information to go
on.

1. Is the door open or closed now?


The door is closed. Under it's own power, it went up. Under it's own
power, it won't go down. I disconnected the door from
the rail and manually closed it for the night. Moved just fine when I
lowered it.


2. Did you disengage the door from the opener traveler while greasing
things? If you did, did you reengage it correctly?


I did not disengage the door while greasing.


2. Did you try disengaging the door from the traveler, and see that it
moves freely by hand and "balances" about half way up?


Yes, and it does move freely.


If the door is disengaged from the traveler and closed, will the traveler
run along it's track when you push the button?


No. Push the button and a bit of noise for a brief moment and then
nothing.


3. What kind of grease did you use, and is there any possibility (unlikely
as it seems) that if it's very cold in the garage that grease stiffened
enough to gum things up?


I just used ordinary automotive grease. I can see the stuff on the
tracks/screw and it's
definitely not stiffened up. It's not that cold here at the moment (rained
last night).


Next:

1. If you stand (on something) so that you can see the screw when
someone else pushes the button, is there any movement of the screw while
it's making that "noise"?

2. Did the greasing possibly free things up enought so that the door
moved a bit further up than it used to and let the traveler jam up
against whatever it might hit at the back end of the track? Can you
wiggle it a bit in its present location, or does it seem "stuck"?

If that happens to be it, then using a wrench or something to rotate the
screw in the right direction to free the traveler and then resetting the
"up limit" on the opener so it won't do that again may be all it takes.

Jeff

--
Jeffry Wisnia

(W1BSV + Brass Rat '57 EE)

"As long as there are final exams, there will be prayer in public
schools"

See answers below. Thanks Jeff!

Next:

1. If you stand (on something) so that you can see the screw when someone
else pushes the button, is there any movement of the screw while it's
making that "noise"?
The screw moves as if to lower the door for just a fraction of a second then
reverses
for equally long. It's as though the sensors are saying something is
blocking them. I've
jumpered the sensors and it still does it. It does this whether the
traveler is engaged or not.

2. Did the greasing possibly free things up enought so that the door moved
a bit further up than it used to and let the traveler jam up against
whatever it might hit at the back end of the track? Can you wiggle it a
bit in its present location, or does it seem "stuck"?

That doesn't seem to be the case. I can easily move the door (disengaged)
and with the
traveler in the down position (door is down), it's not anywhere near the
opener yet I still get
the same result. I unplugged the unit and checked the rear travel switch
(up limit switch) and all seems fine there
(ie. makes contact when closed, open when not closed).
At this point, I'm beginning to think a new unit is in order. Any
recommendations? Was looking
at the Genie Excelerator series for a start.

Thanks Jeff for the advice/troubleshooting help!
Cheers,
cc

James "Cubby" Culbertson wrote:

See answers below. Thanks Jeff!


Next:

1. If you stand (on something) so that you can see the screw when someone
else pushes the button, is there any movement of the screw while it's
making that "noise"?

The screw moves as if to lower the door for just a fraction of a second then
reverses
for equally long. It's as though the sensors are saying something is
blocking them. I've
jumpered the sensors and it still does it. It does this whether the
traveler is engaged or not.

2. Did the greasing possibly free things up enought so that the door moved
a bit further up than it used to and let the traveler jam up against
whatever it might hit at the back end of the track? Can you wiggle it a
bit in its present location, or does it seem "stuck"?


That doesn't seem to be the case. I can easily move the door (disengaged)
and with the
traveler in the down position (door is down), it's not anywhere near the
opener yet I still get
the same result. I unplugged the unit and checked the rear travel switch
(up limit switch) and all seems fine there
(ie. makes contact when closed, open when not closed).
At this point, I'm beginning to think a new unit is in order. Any
recommendations? Was looking
at the Genie Excelerator series for a start.

Thanks Jeff for the advice/troubleshooting help!
Cheers,
cc




Well, I'm out of ideas from this end. It does sound like something in
the powerhead is reacting as though there's an overload, even though it
sure doesen't sound like there is one.

Must be just a coincidence that it happened just when you greased things up.

Are there "up force" and "down force" adjustments in addition to the
rear travel switch? I doubt that you changed them, but maybe tweaking
them a bit in case one of them is sitting on a dirty spot would be worth
trying. If they are there and work by sensing the moto'sr running
current it's possible the motor has developed a partially shorted
winding and is drawing excess current even without the door loading it.
If that;s the problem, it isn't worth trying to fix.

I'm no experrt on brands and current quality. I have two Craftsman chain
openers on my two single width garage doors and both have survived 19
years now with zero mechanical problems and only one electrical one (a
cold solder joint on the circuit board) easily found and fixed.

Good luck,

Jeff

--
Jeffry Wisnia

(W1BSV + Brass Rat '57 EE)

"As long as there are final exams, there will be prayer in public
schools"

James "Cubby" Culbertson wrote:
Hiya All,
Well I've gone and done it. The garage door opener was making a
heck of a racket (along with the door itself). Seemed to me that
it was time for a bit of grease. This is a screw drive opener. I
greased the screw and the track on the doors. Well it worked. The
door opener won't work now. Push the button and it makes a bit of
noise and stops. There are no obstructions in the door's path and
the sensors indicate the door should move. So I have a couple of
questions. 1. Seems odd, but did I hose the thing up by greasing
the screw? 2. Any recommendations for either fixing it or
replacing it (ie. Brand, screw vs. chain, etc....).

Thanks for the advice. I will probably be forced into replacing it
this weekend as the wife puts her car in the garage and well, she
probably can't lift the door on her own. Anyway, thanks,
cc

You got grease on the obstruction sensor(s)?

JJ wrote:
On Thu, 24 Feb 2005 20:58:21 -0700, "James \"Cubby\" Culbertson"
wrote:


3. What kind of grease did you use, and is there any possibility (unlikely
as it seems) that if it's very cold in the garage that grease stiffened
enough to gum things up?

I just used ordinary automotive grease. I can see the stuff on the
tracks/screw and it's
definitely not stiffened up. It's not that cold here at the moment (rained
last night).



If it's a Genie, Genie's require white lithium grease.

Hi,
I just use Liquid Wrench spray which contains Teflon.
Since it was making noise before greasing, it was on it's last leg.
Tony

ive read whats there so far...

get a rag out, clean off the grease, and see what happens.

while it seems unlikely greasing it caused the problem, it would be a much
more incredible coincidence if something else unrelated to the greasing
broke at the same time.

seems like a case of cause and effect to me.

randy

"James "Cubby" Culbertson" wrote in message
...
Hiya All,
Well I've gone and done it. The garage door opener was making a heck of
a racket (along with the door itself). Seemed to me that
it was time for a bit of grease. This is a screw drive opener. I
greased the screw and the track on the doors. Well it worked. The
door opener won't work now. Push the button and it makes a bit of noise
and stops. There are no obstructions in the door's path and
the sensors indicate the door should move. So I have a couple of
questions. 1. Seems odd, but did I hose the thing up by greasing the
screw? 2. Any recommendations for either fixing it or replacing it
(ie. Brand, screw vs. chain, etc....).

Thanks for the advice. I will probably be forced into replacing it this
weekend as the wife puts her car in the garage and well, she probably
can't lift the door on her own. Anyway, thanks,
cc

"James "Cubby" Culbertson" wrote in message
...
Hiya All,
Well I've gone and done it. The garage door opener was making a heck of
a racket (along with the door itself). Seemed to me that
it was time for a bit of grease. This is a screw drive opener. I
greased the screw and the track on the doors. Well it worked. The
door opener won't work now. Push the button and it makes a bit of noise
and stops. There are no obstructions in the door's path and
the sensors indicate the door should move. So I have a couple of
questions. 1. Seems odd, but did I hose the thing up by greasing the
screw? 2. Any recommendations for either fixing it or replacing it
(ie. Brand, screw vs. chain, etc....).

Thanks for the advice. I will probably be forced into replacing it this
weekend as the wife puts her car in the garage and well, she probably
can't lift the door on her own. Anyway, thanks,
cc


What type of grease did you use? Grease on a leadscrew will increase the
motor current if excessive. This will then cause sensitivity setting to
trip. Wipe all the grease off and clean with alcohol, then apply whatever is
recommended on the screw...I think someone posted white lithium grease. That
should solve your problem. I know on machine tools we would measure the
motor current to test leadscrews and when the techs put too much grease on
them they might go from 2 amps up to 6 or more !! So there's my .02 and hope
it helps.....Ross

Folks,
Thanks for the many replies and help.

It definitely seems odd that I grease the thing and it crashes. I did
not use lithium grease as I have no manual for this thing. Hard to
believe a type of grease would cause this though.

There are no up/down adjustments other than the limit switches. I
might try to wipe all the grease off the screw this weekend and see
what happens. The thing is 13 years old so I wouldn't expect it to die
but it's probably not worth investing a whole lot of time into either.


I appreciate all the help.
Cheers,
cc

Cubby wrote:
Folks,
Thanks for the many replies and help.

It definitely seems odd that I grease the thing and it crashes. I
did
not use lithium grease as I have no manual for this thing. Hard to
believe a type of grease would cause this though.

There are no up/down adjustments other than the limit switches. I
might try to wipe all the grease off the screw this weekend and see
what happens. The thing is 13 years old so I wouldn't expect it to
die
but it's probably not worth investing a whole lot of time into
either.


I appreciate all the help.
Cheers,
cc

Yes too heavy of a grease will stop the screw from turning (especially
in cooler temperatures). Put a rag at the end of the rail by the
header, with the door opener disconnected have someone push & hold the
wall button while spaying the screw w/ WD 40. You should hear the screw
speed up as you are spraying the screw. Let run for a minute or so to
flush the grease. Re-grease w/ Lubriplate Low Temp grease.

If the WD 40 doesn't clean it enough, take opener down & lay on floor
upside down. Dump motor oil on the screw (put rag at end of screw
again) & run opener again.

If you put grease in the door track you may want to clean that out as
best as possible. Grease will collect dirt & dust & actually make the
door run worse. Rollers should be oiled w/ a lightweight oil (not WD
40) occasionally but the tracks do not really need lubrication.

Doordoc
www.DoorsAndOpeners.com

wrote in message
oups.com...

Cubby wrote:
Folks,
Thanks for the many replies and help.

It definitely seems odd that I grease the thing and it crashes. I
did
not use lithium grease as I have no manual for this thing. Hard to
believe a type of grease would cause this though.

There are no up/down adjustments other than the limit switches. I
might try to wipe all the grease off the screw this weekend and see
what happens. The thing is 13 years old so I wouldn't expect it to
die
but it's probably not worth investing a whole lot of time into
either.


I appreciate all the help.
Cheers,
cc

Yes too heavy of a grease will stop the screw from turning (especially
in cooler temperatures). Put a rag at the end of the rail by the
header, with the door opener disconnected have someone push & hold the
wall button while spaying the screw w/ WD 40. You should hear the screw
speed up as you are spraying the screw. Let run for a minute or so to
flush the grease. Re-grease w/ Lubriplate Low Temp grease.

If the WD 40 doesn't clean it enough, take opener down & lay on floor
upside down. Dump motor oil on the screw (put rag at end of screw
again) & run opener again.

If you put grease in the door track you may want to clean that out as
best as possible. Grease will collect dirt & dust & actually make the
door run worse. Rollers should be oiled w/ a lightweight oil (not WD
40) occasionally but the tracks do not really need lubrication.

Doordoc
www.DoorsAndOpeners.com

yeah i can see it bunching and causing extra resistance. kind of like a
freshly greased bike wheel not turning as fast. i would oil it with tri-flo
(liquid teflon)

randy

Folks,
I need to thank everyone for their help. Tonight I cleaned out all the
grease I applied
a few days ago and voila! it works fine. Shot some silicone spray on the
door hinges (it's
a panel door) and it's the quietest it's ever been. I had never really
thought grease would
actually cause the screw to seize up (well not really but the motor
obviously couldn't turn
it with all the grease). So all in all, your help saved me $200 or so for
a new unit and a potentially
frustrating afternoon. Thanks very much!!!!!!!

cc

James "Cubby" Culbertson wrote:
Folks,
I need to thank everyone for their help. Tonight I cleaned out all the
grease I applied
a few days ago and voila! it works fine. Shot some silicone spray on the
door hinges (it's
a panel door) and it's the quietest it's ever been. I had never really
thought grease would
actually cause the screw to seize up (well not really but the motor
obviously couldn't turn
it with all the grease). So all in all, your help saved me $200 or so for
a new unit and a potentially
frustrating afternoon. Thanks very much!!!!!!!

cc




Glad to hear there was a happy ending!

Just perform a "random act of kindness" for someone else soon and you
will have balanced the books.

Have a great weekend,

Jeff

--
Jeffry Wisnia

(W1BSV + Brass Rat '57 EE)

"As long as there are final exams, there will be prayer in public
schools"