Genie Garage Door - Opens a little - then quits

[Paul J. Dudley]

I have a friend who has a Genie garage door opener. It is about 3 years old and is one of the screw type drives. Just the other day when we tried to open the door it rose about 18 inches and then stopped. We closed it and tried again. This time it rose to about 24 inches. This went on for 8 tries before the door finally opened. I then opened and closed it a couple of times and it seemed to be ok. But later on when we came home, the door would only open 18 inches and no matter how many times we tried it would open no more. We pulled the rope to open it manually and it went up with no problem. So we engaged the trolley and tried the remote again but the door would only open a foot or so.

Any advise as to what to try next ? Does this soundlike the motor is going ? Help ...!

= Me =

[BobK207]

Sectional door? Wooden door? Recent heavy rain?

When you worked the door manually were you able to raise it with VERY little effort?

GDO's are not very strong & the springs must be adjusted to balance the door.

Check the door balance...with the drive disengaged & the door ~ 3 or

4 feet open...it should stay it that position (that is, not roll or slam closed)

if balance is ok does the GDO have an "open force" adjustment? If so increase the opening force.

cheers Bob

[Joseph Meehan]

Disconnect the opener from the door. It's a good idea to do that with the door closed. The door should open and close easily and it should stay partway open as well as fully closed and fully open.

There is a good chance that a spring has slipped or weakened. If you don't know what you are doing, it is best to leave spring adjusting to the pros. Making an mistake can be very dangerous.

It is also possible that the motor may need some adjustment. There is a clutch adjustment on the motor. That would be a likely issue if the door moves easily when you have disconnected it from the opener.

One last thing is the safety eyes. If the safety beam (a sender on one side about 8 inches off the ground on either side of the door) is not properly aligned or if a spider has a nest in one etc, that can cause problems like yours. Clean both lenses and make sure the beam hits the receiver properly.

Good Luck and stay safe

[SBH]

I'm no expert, but it could be a few things. One is the door alignment and tension of the springs. If one side of the springs is pulling more than the other, it's provides tension on the closer and will not open. Even though it's easy to pull by hand, the closer is more sensitive and will not open.

The other could be the overall tension of the springs. They may need to be tightened up to help raise the door. If the closer is doing all the work, the heavier load of the door will cause it to stop. Again, a sensitive closer will notice. Over time, the springs lose tension and need to be tightened. The idea is to be able to open the door midway unattached to the closer and it shouldn't fall nor go up. That's a sign of good tension on the springs.

It could also be the rollers or something within the tracks. If it detects a slight bump or tug, it will stop. Also check the hinges and make sure all are fastened tightly and pivoting properly. In time, they need to be retightened and everything needs to be lubricated.

Also check the screw and make sure nothing is in it's path or check for a damaged section.

Hope some of this helps.

[dadiOH]

Is the bracket between the drive track and door bent? Does it shimmy when the door tries to rise? If so, the torsion spring is probably broken. If so, don't mess with it yourself, call a repairman.

[Paul J. Dudley]

Thank you all for your replies. I just got back from Lowes (where the door opener was purchased) after talking with their people. They mentioned cleaning the eyes and lubricating rollers. Having done both, the door seemed to open and close just fine. Time will tell. I will post back in a couple of days to share whether or not it still works fine.

Lots of good suggestions. Thank you all once again.

= Me =

[AZ Nomad]

Sounds like the opener's maximum operating force is set too low.

If you can move the door by hand easily enough then the problem is the opener.

[Tony Hwang]

Hi, I always have a IR sensor card. You can get one from electronics parts outfit. Very handy to check IR emitters/sensors alignment. Saves lot of time when something like that happens. Or you can use a DVM.

[Paul J. Dudley]

We did have heavy rain that day and the day before. What could 'heavy rain' have to do with it ?

= Me =

[Paul J. Dudley]

Hey y'all ... If'n anyone is still following this thread, the garage door has been working fine since cleanig the lenses on the sensors ...

Thanks again for all replies. Educational to say the least.

= Me =

[knblyc]

replying to Paul J. Dudley, knblyc wrote: it is a rail coupling unit they make it with a cheap piece of shit plastic inside a castened steel cylinder..........replace it and good to go

[Jack G.]

I had to replace the spring on mine.

[hrhofmann]

I hope after 8 years he has figured things out!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Kat]

replying to Paul J. Dudley, Kat wrote: what did you lubricate the rollers with?

[""Retired"]

When Paul posted his problem in *2008*, he had to leave the car in the driveway. Two nights later it was stolen, and Paul has had to ride the bus to work ever since ;-)

[Tekkie®]

Kat posted for all of us...

It is hard to tell what you are seeking from this post. I suggest that you get a real newsreader and find out what is being discussed and previously answered on the newsgroup: alt.home.repair You may get better results.

[Wade Garrett]

Yeah, pity he didn't take my suggestion to just push the button harder- that always works for me.

[Dkenebrew]

My garage door comes up just a little and stop but when I hold the button down it opens all of the way. Closes fine but then will just open a little what should I do?

[Marilyn Manson]

Is it getting colder where you are?

Garage doors and/or openers can bind when the weather gets colder. The bind can be just enough to make it seem like there is an obstruction, causing the motor to stop. It usually happens on the way up since the motor has to overcome both gravity and the "obstruction".

Very often, just a slight tweak of the up-force adjustment can be enough to alleviate the problem.

[gfretwell]

What does it feel like when you disconnect the opener? Can you still open it manually? It might just need the springs adjusted. If you are not comfortable with that, call someone. Garage door springs can hurt you.