our garage has a "genie excellerator" opener on it. we've had it on there for like 4 yrs now, approx, since it was new. problems with it are 'numerous' (and related to each other?):
- this opener has ALWAYS (since it was brand new) opened, or closed our rollup door "at whatever speed it FEELS like that day" regardless of settings. at various times it 'crawls upward dead slow' end to end, sometimes it "rockets upward like a bullet from a gun barrel", from one end to the other (of its travel), and other times it "operates mostly at medium speed, except when it first starts to move and when it nears the end of its' travel, where it slows down considerably" (which is how, I think, it's *supposed* to operate). does this mean the 'motherboard' in there is defective?
and also, for whatever bearing this might have:
- the door is standard residential, steel four panel, 16 feet across, and, when the opener 'red pull knob-rope' is used to DISengage the door from the lead screw, and I close the door manually, the door will "fall entirely CLOSED of its own weight", from a dead stopped position, starting when it's up about 16 inches up from fully closed. does that mean the single torsion spring is wearing out, -or- improperly adjusted?
the 'most major' problem is this, however:
- sometimes (about 10 percent of the time, at entirely random times) it'll close fully, then, when the bottom of the door (and its fat gasket) hit the slab, the main lead screw extrusion will "flex way too far upwardly" (accompanied by the door trying to close TOO far) and then the door will 'immediately self-open' back -up-, as if it hadn't 'seen' the close-stop reed contact (or some dang thing).
I have the opener set to close at 'near minimal' force, but NOT 'full minimal'. when this bizarre 'ARCHUP/door bounceup' stuff happens, I don't hear the (normal) tiny 'relay click' I ordinarily hear in the control head about a half-second after the door has closed fully. is this 'auto bounce back UP by itself' another indicator the 'main board' in the thing is either defective or 'going defective over time'? or what
-could- cause this bizarre behavior other than that?
- another possible indicator: this opener seems to not want to close when I adjust it to close at the 'minimal close force' setting. it'll just close halfway, or not even halfway, then 'auto-bounce' right back up. I've tried intercepting the door, with my hands when it's closing, to SEE if our kitty could be safe IF this thing closes on her, and the weight this opener allows, even at the 'lite' close setting, is what I'd consider to be "VERY heavy indeed", like the weight of a HUGE car battery, at LEAST, before it'd open back up*...aren't these 'close force' things supposed to FAR more sensitive than that?
all rollers are clear, free-spinning, well oiled, and 'looked after'. same applies to all door hinges. the tracks are also unbent, hung correctly, and entirely unobstructed. door itself is also unbent, and correctly horizontal in its tracks. this is an inland environment, not 'salt air' or anything like that. all electrical connections are clean and free of corrosion. no 'jury-rigged' or 'shabby' electrical connections anywhere.
thanks in advance for 'tips' and ideas on these baffling events, guys,
toolie
- - replies by e-mail, if any, please remove the weird stuff from my address before you click send. thanks :-)
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*I tried to measure this 'door close force' =exactly= by spanning the slab where the door closes, about halfway up, with a stout board supported by two A-frame ladders (one 6-footer inside the garage, one 8-footer outdoors), with a good quality bathroom scale located mid-plank. when the door closes on it, the needle jumps around dramatically, though, so it's impossible to read accurately (when the door closes on the scale then bounces back up) *but* it 'seems like' (best I can judge) around 70 lbs of close force is involved here (and this with the opener set at 'as light as I set it and still have the door close fully') - does that seem right?