A week or two ago, out of the blue, one of my garage doors wouldn't close. In a rush, I just disconnected the door and manually shut it and haven't really looked at it since. Today I looked a little closer.
The opener(closer) will receive the signal and start closing, but only move about a foot before immediately returning to the top. Its acting exactly like something is obstructing the movement or blocking the beams.
I checked the lights/beam at the bottom and they are properly aligned. The send and recieve lights are on, and they go off when I interrupt the beam.
What do I check next?
When this happened to me, it was the bolts holding the hinges on being loose. Door would start to roll down, but then if wouldn't follow the curve of the track properly because the panels weren't following the runners properly. Created too much resistance for the motor, so it pulled everything back up.
Mother-in-laws door has issues when the sensors are in direct sunlight. Does the door still malfunction in the dark? Check the wires/ plugs to the sensors. Also, check that the sensor lens aren't dusty.
Beer Baron said:
When this happened to me, it was the bolts holding the hinges on being loose. Door would start to roll down, but then if wouldn't follow the curve of the track properly because the panels weren't following the runners properly. Created too much resistance for the motor, so it pulled everything back up.
Even with the door disconnected (door track not in play at all), the carrier will malfunction and return to top.
Appleseed said:
Mother-in-laws door has issues when the sensors are in direct sunlight. Does the door still malfunction in the dark? Check the wires/ plugs to the sensors. Also, check that the sensor lens aren't dusty.
Yes, still malfunctions in the dark. I've dusted the sensor lenses also, still not working.
By check the wires do you mean continuity tester? I checked the connection at the opener, and the lights are on and solid at the sensors, which implies to me that the wires are properly connected.
Disconnect the drive mechanism (mine has a little red handle to pull) and verify that the door runs freely up and down without binding. Might be a good time for a routine lubrication, but if it started acting up overnight, something is likely amiss.
I believe the drive force is adjustable, and there is probably a way to increase it. Find instructions for your particular model and see if they have a troubleshooting section.
1988RedT2 said:
Disconnect the drive mechanism (mine has a little red handle to pull) and verify that the door runs freely up and down without binding. Might be a good time for a routine lubrication, but if it started acting up overnight, something is likely amiss.
So, expanding on what I said above... the with the door totally disconnected from the opener, the door carrier (with the little red pull handle) will no go all the way to the "down" position.
The door moves pretty freely, but it isn't even part of the equation at this point :(
wae
PowerDork
4/19/22 9:26 a.m.
Bypass the safety sensors and see if it starts working, although if you've got the LEDs lit up, that should mean that everything is good on that front. I can second the sunlight problem. My mom & dad's door has to have this little bit of cardboard in place to shade it from the morning sun, otherwise it won't close.
There should be an effort level dial on the opener somewhere. That tells it how much resistance it should try to push through before it gives up and goes back. You could try to increase that. If the door is a little off track or needs to be lubed, you might have been on the very edge of how much power it was willing to apply before it decided that something was in the way. If it works when you do that, lube up the door real well and make sure everything is following the track correctly.
ProDarwin said:
1988RedT2 said:
Disconnect the drive mechanism (mine has a little red handle to pull) and verify that the door runs freely up and down without binding. Might be a good time for a routine lubrication, but if it started acting up overnight, something is likely amiss.
So, expanding on what I said above... the with the door totally disconnected from the opener, the door carrier (with the little red pull handle) will no go all the way to the "down" position.
The door moves pretty freely, but it isn't even part of the equation at this point :(
Ah. Missed that.
I did put a replacement control board in one of my units several years ago. Pretty straightforward fix. It was such a long time ago, I honestly don't remember the failure mode.
When mine detects an obstruction, it will blink the light on and off to alert the user to an object in the light beam. Is yours doing that?
Edit: What is the drive mechanism? Chain, screw?
wae
PowerDork
4/19/22 9:41 a.m.
In reply to ProDarwin :
oooh, also missed that.
Is the nylon gear all chewed up and getting stuck? Mine usually just round themselves out, but I could see how it might deform and get stuck... Chain drive, I assume? Anything jammed in there?
more hipshots incoming: check that the track the carrier runs on isn't twisted. Check it is still firmly mounted to the wall (and ceiling).
Also, maybe try a different button (usually an easy swap if you have 2 garage doors)? Sounds like it may be working similar to what would happen if you did a 'double push'.
trucke
SuperDork
4/19/22 9:55 a.m.
I had this issue occur last year. When the openers were new, it was recommended to put surge protection inline. When one of my door openers failed, I just replaced one of the surge protectors. That fixed it!
Manual link: https://www.manualslib.com/manual/555621/Craftsman-139-53973srt.html?page=34#manual
It appears that I need to do force adjustments. This is surprising because even with the door disconnected it comes right back up, so how much resistance can there really be? Unless its the gears...
When you've got the door disconnected, does the motor retract at the exact same point each time? If so, it sounds like the trolley is hitting something. I suggest disconnecting the chain and running the trolley along the rail to see if there's an obstruction. Also, I see that there are wear parts on the inner trolley, check those.
RX Reven' said:
When you've got the door disconnected, does the motor retract at the exact same point each time? If so, it sounds like the trolley (sometimes referred to as the shuttle) is hitting something. I suggest disconnecting the chain and running the trolley along the track to see if there's an obstruction.
So, I was just playing with it, and no. Most of the time it is the same, but sometimes it makes it further.
I adjusted the force settings, and it works fine now. Weird.
I took off the cover and I can't see anything out of place with the gears. No chipped teeth, the worm still has plenty of grease on it, etc. They do make a more audible clicking noise during the up motion of the door with the cover off, but I'm not sure if that is abnormal or not. On the top nothing seems to be out of the ordinary with the chain drive. I guess I'll just put it back together and send it, unless anyone has recommendations re: greasing/cleaning/etc?
Does the carrier slide smoothly with the door disconnected?
Robbie (Forum Supporter) said:
more hipshots incoming: check that the track the carrier runs on isn't twisted. Check it is still firmly mounted to the wall (and ceiling).
Also, maybe try a different button (usually an easy swap if you have 2 garage doors)? Sounds like it may be working similar to what would happen if you did a 'double push'.
This! I forgot I had a button go bad and completely jazz the opener.
Just so others dont waste their time:
Cliff notes:
Problem is fixed.
Action needed:
Read the berkeleying manual.
I had to adjust the force limits and it seems to work great now.
In reply to ProDarwin :
Nice. Is the track supposed to be lubricated at all? Maybe throw som white lithium greese on or something?
Mine did the same thing, except both going up or down. I did all of the above and no joy. I may just replace it, thing has to be 30 years old.
Strange the force limits were the issue, as it was an all-of-a-sudden type problem. LIkely some internal component failure messed with the manual calibration, but likely that won't happen twice. 
In reply to Beer Baron :
I had a similar problem with mine years ago (details are fuzzy) but a spray of white lithium grease along the length of the track solved it. I hit it every year or two and no such problem has reappeared.
