Any garage door opener experts here?

[never_retreat]

I have a problem with my opener.
Its a genie intelicode screw drive unit. The last few days the temperature has been between 9-20 degrees. The door will open about 6 inches and stops. it will go back and forth but never more than about 6". I pulled the release and it opens and closes fine. The door will close under power if I manually open it.

[brimic]

Check to make sure you don't have any broken door bogies that are causing the door to bind.

[RoadKingLarry]

When I have trouble with my garage door opener I take her shoes away as punishment.

[Regolith]

Is it a model that has the anti-child-crushing trip-laser attachment doohickeys*?

Could be that the lasers are being tripped by something, maybe something attached to the bottom of the door. They're usually mounted at about 6".



*That thar's a technical term.

[CNYCacher]

Is it a model that has the anti-child-crushing trip-laser attachment doohickeys*?

Could be that the lasers are being tripped by something, maybe something attached to the bottom of the door. They're usually mounted at about 6".



*That thar's a technical term.

That's what I was thinking, too.  Maybe some ice or snow.  Is there a tubular foam seal at the bottom of your door?  Is the cold causing it to stick out the back of the door when it's flattened?

[Perd Hapley]

Is it a model that has the anti-child-crushing trip-laser attachment doohickeys*?

Could be that the lasers are being tripped by something, maybe something attached to the bottom of the door. They're usually mounted at about 6".

I would think that would cause problems with closing, not opening.

[charby]

Grease on the screw is getting too thick in the cold weather?

[Brad Johnson]

Most likely it's the Opening Force Sensor is tripping.  Probably something to do with the lubrication being goopy and other parts being a little stiff due to cold. 

Opening force is adjustable on most units.  There should be two adjustments, one for open and one for close.  Find the opening force adjustment and turn it up just a little.  The adjusters are usually screw types that go from low to high in about a 300 deg arc.  When I say just a little I mean JUST A LITTLE!!  A few degrees of rotation is all it will probably take.

The open force ajustment is there as a "fuse".  It keeps the opener from cranking hard and tearing up Really Expensive Things if there's a blockage somewhere (like leaving the locking bar in place).

Brad

[MechAg94]

Mine has been doing the same, but a couple months ago one of the tension cables on the upper corners became unspooled and the door was tilted.  I think that got the rails a bit kinked which is causing the binding.  I didn't consider a broken bogey/wheel.  I'll have to look for that.  Mine works 95% of the time, but occasionally catches with the door about a foot open.

Any other upkeep maintenance/lubrication I should be doing?  I am not sure if I still have the manual or not.  Do you grease the screw periodically?

[HankB]

Any other upkeep maintenance/lubrication I should be doing?  I am not sure if I still have the manual or not.  Do you grease the screw periodically?

When I lived in MN, I had a garage door opener with a long lead screw - yes, the screw had to be greased peridically - and in winter, the grade of grease was critical. "Lubriplate" was recommended, but only "Lubriplate AERO" worked . . . and even then, in really cold weather, I used to spray the length of the screw with LPS1 in addition to the Lubriplate AERO in order to get it to work.

(Before greasing, I used to wipe off as much of the dirty old glop as was practical - a bit messy.)

[never_retreat]

All the rollers and springs are fine on the door. It goes up and down by hand just fine.
The infer red beam thinning is working fine.
I'm thinking it might be the grease on the screw.
We should be getting a heat wave tomorrow (32) If it starts to work I will try and remove the grease and put something lighter on it.

Right now I'm sick so its not getting played with.

[cassandra and sara's daddy]

if you mess with the upforce limiter go easy.  and run it up and down a couple times after each change. you can get carried away with big changes

[never_retreat]

if you mess with the upforce limiter go easy.  and run it up and down a couple times after each change. you can get carried away with big changes

This thing actually has a micro switch on each end or the track. So i don't think it can open or close to far or hard.

[cassandra and sara's daddy]

This thing actually has a micro switch on each end or the track. So i don't think it can open or close to far or hard.

no  but if anything does bind you can strip gears or bend things they are stronger than you might think  i now longer treat the safety features cavalierly.  got my fingers mashed pretty good
  i used garage door openers to make gate openers for a while. got to play with the adjustments a bunch

[Tallpine]

Most likely it's the Opening Force Sensor is tripping.  Probably something to do with the lubrication being goopy and other parts being a little stiff due to cold. 

Opening force is adjustable on most units.  There should be two adjustments, one for open and one for close.  Find the opening force adjustment and turn it up just a little.  The adjusters are usually screw types that go from low to high in about a 300 deg arc.  When I say just a little I mean JUST A LITTLE!!  A few degrees of rotation is all it will probably take.

The open force ajustment is there as a "fuse".  It keeps the opener from cranking hard and tearing up Really Expensive Things if there's a blockage somewhere (like leaving the locking bar in place).

Brad

The Force is against you 

[Brad Johnson]

This thing actually has a micro switch on each end or the track. So i don't think it can open or close to far or hard.

The switch is a travel limiter, not a force limiter.  Don't mess with the switch.  Turn up the open force adjuster just a tiny, tiny bit and I'd bet a good hamburger your problems will be solved.

Brad

[Perd Hapley]

How far south does cold cause a problem with garage doors? Does this affect different types of openers, or just screw drive? I've been doing building maintenance in St. Louis County for about 8 winters, now, and we have never had cold-related problems with the doors on my properties.

[Azrael256]

The open force ajustment is there as a "fuse".  It keeps the opener from cranking hard and tearing up Really Expensive Things if there's a blockage somewhere (like leaving the locking bar in place).

Bull-freaking-puckey.

The open force adjustment is there to either screw with you and make you insane, or to fail completely. If it fails, the opener will continue trying to open a jammed door.  There is a $.80 clutch in the mechanism to prevent damage.  Being made by the same ahole who came up with the open force adjustment, it will hold fast while the $118 motor burns to a melted-plasticky crisp.

[brimic]

The open force adjustment is there to either screw with you and make you insane, or to fail completely. If it fails, the opener will continue trying to open a jammed door.  There is a $.80 clutch in the mechanism to prevent damage.  Being made by the same *expletive deleted* who came up with the open force adjustment, it will hold fast while the $118 motor burns to a melted-plasticky crisp.

And then burns your house down if its a real bad day.

[eyebrows]

If your door works smoothly by hand  then it probably is a combination of low sensitivities, cold weather and your spring may need adjusted. Check the balance of your door(open halfway by hand and let go, door should not fall back down).

If its coming up and doesn't shut off but just starts growling when the door stops then the mesh plate in the travel is stripped.

Best thing to do with a screw drive is throw it away. Best thing to do with a Genie, is throw it away.

[Brad Johnson]

You guys are making this way, way more complicated than it needs to be.

Part of being a real estate agent was helping homeowners fix pesky little problems like this to get their house ready for sale.  I've seen dozens of garage doors with exactly the same problem.  Nine times out of ten a tiny tweak of the force limiter control is all that's necessary.  If that doesn't fix it then you start running down the list of more involved fixes.  Just like any other problem... check the most common and easiest to fix items first, running down the list of more complex fixes only if step one doesn't resolve the problem.  In this case that means making sure the moving parts are decently clean, giving the coil spring and friction points a squirt of good lube (something with grease in it, not WD40), and adjusting the opening force.  If that doesn't resolve the problem then you progress to more involved fixes like spring tension adjustment, roller replacement, etc.

Given the symptoms an underadjusted force limiter is the most likely problem, and the easiest fix.  It happens, and it happens a lot.  Garage doors and door openers are open mechanical systems in a relatively dirty environment.  They're going to suffer increases in open/close force due to dirt and wear.  If the original installer did his job correcntly the the force limiter will be set to the absolute bare minimum required to open the door.  That's the way it should be for both safety and to limit potential mechanical failure.  Then, as time, wear, and dirt cause changes in opening force you will need to tweak it up a little to compensate for the change.  It's no biggie, and certainly not something to get your panties in a wad about.  It just happens.

Brad

[eyebrows]

Sure you can just crank the sensitivity but if you don't address the root of the problem then you will just burn up your operator faster.

Your problem is most likely a out of adjustment spring combine with the cold weather. Springs break in over time and need periodic adjustment.  The springs provide 99% of the lifting power for your door.
 If its out of adjustment and all you do is crank the sensitivity then you are transfering all the extra load to your operator. An operator is not designed to lift the weight of a door, its job is to move the door with the springs carrying the weight.
Cranking the sensitivity to compensate might be ok to fool the home inspector and make your sale but its a bad idea if you are going to be responsible for future repairs.

A properly balanced door will stay fully open by itself, will balance halfway open, and will set on the ground without anything holding it down.

Just my opinion from 13 years of repair/sales/installation of commercial and residential overhead doors and operators. 

[Brad Johnson]

Sure you can just crank the sensitivity but if you don't address the root of the problem then you will just burn up your operator faster.

Your problem is most likely a out of adjustment spring combine with the cold weather. Springs break in over time and need periodic adjustment.  The springs provide 99% of the lifting power for your door.
 If its out of adjustment and all you do is crank the sensitivity then you are transfering all the extra load to your operator. An operator is not designed to lift the weight of a door, its job is to move the door with the springs carrying the weight.
Cranking the sensitivity to compensate might be ok to fool the home inspector and make your sale but its a bad idea if you are going to be responsible for future repairs.

A properly balanced door will stay fully open by itself, will balance halfway open, and will set on the ground without anything holding it down.

Just my opinion from 13 years of repair/sales/installation of commercial and residential overhead doors and operators. 

I fully agree in theory, but his door was working properly prior to the cold.  That indicates the spring tension is likely within reasonable limits and the problem is temp-induced.  That stands to reason as low temps stiffen up operation for any number of reasons - increased lube viscosity, dimensional changes in the door, etc..  That being the case adjusting the spring for the cold operation could esily result in it being misadjusted for warm operation.  Again, the first thing to try is a slight, and I mean SLIGHT, adjustment of the force limiter.  It's something the homeowner can do on their own, for free, and it can rule out or confirm if other, more extensive and expensive repairs are necessary.

Again, first things first.  Start with the common and easy, progress to the less common and more expensive if necessary.  Could it be a misadjusted spring?  Sure.  Happens all the time.  But why do a spring adjustment when it is more likely a slight opening force issue cause by cold-stiffened parts and mechanisms?  If the adjustment doesn't work then that confirms it isn't the force adjuster and other repairs are necessary.  And it's something Never can easily do on his own without calling a $75/hr repairman.

To clarify... I'm not proposing that there couldn't be significant problems in other areas, including a misadjusted spring.  All I'm trying to do is make sure Never isn't putting the cart before the horse, jumping past the potentially simple fixes in a time-consuming and possibly expensive search when a little basic cleaning and adjustment might be the proper resolution.

Brad

[eyebrows]

I hear you and it is usually the most basic things that cause problems.
If he just checks the door balance, and checks to see if his rollers/hinges/bearings need oil he may very well find the problem.
In a perfect world sensitivity should be about 4 1/2, just shy of halfway. You should not need to adjust it ever.
Cold weather or not if it suddenly won't open then you have a problem somewhere in the system.
Could be the cold weather is exaggerating the problem, you should take it as a early warning sign.

We get lots of service calls this time of year for problems like this. Typically the most basic things are the culprit, door balance and lack of lube on the door hardware. The cold weather just causes the problem to become an issue. Springs weaken and break in over time. Might just need a couple quarter turns and some oil.

[thebaldguy]

I clean up the track and use a thinner spray oil lube in the winter when it's extremely cold on our screw drive. I use it on the other moving parts/hinges as well. The summer spray grease is too thick when temps are below 10 degrees. Also check and clean out the laser sensor glass areas. Something could be blocking the light sensors; I once found a spider web totally blocking the sensor.