Question:
We've had a problem with our garage door opener for a few months now,
and since winter is coming we are using it a lot more. I can't really
afford to call someone out right now, so I've been trying to figure out
what I can do to try to troubleshoot the problem myself. Here is what
I've come up with so far. Does anyone have any suggestions? Might I
be barking up the totally wrong tree?
The garage door will not close normally with a single push of the
operation button, or through use of the remote control. To close the
door, we need to hold down the button until the door is completely
closed, otherwise, the door closes a couple of inches and immediately
"bounces" back open.
Answer:
I would check the above possibilities before I bought new sensors. I
actually had the 3rd problem at one time. New house, builder-installed
opener, worked fine January through June. Then we started having
problems with the door not closing, but only in late afternoon.
Conclusion - summer sun in late afternoon was blinding the receiver.
Solution - positioning a plant near the garage to shade the offending
sunbeam.
This sounds like a down force setting problem. The
doors are typically set up to reverse if either the force becomes too
great, or the sensing beam is interrupted. If the door starts down,
then reverses, it's not likely a photo sensor issue, because if that
were the problem, it should not start to move. There should be an
adjustment on the opener for both down and up force limits. Also, make
sure the door is nearly balanced and moves up and down with little
force.
