Garage door won't open all the way!

amawoman,

I have to respectfully disagree with your technician's approach. But in his defense, he did perform the job you asked him to, that is, getting your door operational.

Every single garage door I've ever owned or inspected required routine maintenance, and that includes tightening loose bolts and fasteners. The vibrations generated by many mechanical openers can cause things to loosen up, sometimes to the extent of causing failure of the door's operation. Case in point--an unoccupied home I looked at a few years ago (with the intent of buying) had a 16' door with many of its track bracket bolts quite loose, including 2 bolts that were completely missing (end of the track was hanging down, causing the door to wrack or twist as it wanted to open). The listing realtor who was showing the place mentioned that the garage door "was jammed" when he had tried to open it with the wall switch during a previous showing. I found one of the missing bolts and several nuts/washers off to the side on the garage floor, and gave them to the realtor as a reminder that he have the house's owner get a repairman out to replace and tighten all hardware. Chose not to make an offer on the place, as it was a true beater.

We moved into a home 10 months ago and I noticed that when the door is completely shut there is still light coming in from the outside. These gaps tend to be right where the tires of vehicles go to enter the garage. I got out a ladder and went up to adjust the dial on the back of my Genie opener. But it was a cold day and the dial snapped off. On cold and windy days in Wyoming my garage gets quite cold with the air coming through these openings under the door. I tried to adjust the "L" shaped arm that goes from the gear to the door but there isn't enough "play" in it to get to the next hole. Any suggestions. I have also been having trouble the last few days (single digit temps at night) with the garage door not opening completely unless I "help" it up.

Another note to mention: Had a similar scenario happen to me today. Garage door would only open 12 inches or so (via keypad or button) so I took off the emergency release and the motor seemed to be working fine, checked my rollers and they seemed fine too. So I called the Garage Door Opener Installer (only 2 years old) and he had me check the springs. A single garage door will have one spring and double garage door will have 2 springs, and sure enough the left spring had broken. $125 to replace both springs, because once one goes the other goes shortly after. He said to be careful not to try the opener to much with a broken spring because it's really hard on the motor.

When the temp is below 30 degrees, I have to hold the switch on the wall down, until the garage door opens. Then it will not close from my remote in the car. Any suggestions? carl

Check your springs above the center of the door. If you see a gap you have a broken spring. Call a professional.

My Garage Door only Opens 2 inches and goes back down with the opener. Yes it is Winter but I'm not sure if that is the problem. My garage door is newer,, I have no access because the service door is blocked from the inside with a 2x4 to prevent break-ins and the windows are shut. Any suggestions?

The maker may be able to tell you how to fool the opener into working again.

You could also try quickly blocking the door from coming back down with a piece of lumber; the opener should sense this and go to some fail-safe state, 'state' as in 'state machine'.

Your opener and the phone system and motion detectors and spacecraft and dishwashers and furnaces and vending machines can be viewed as state machines
[ame]http://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=%22state+machine%22&oe=UTF-8&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hl=en&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi&ei=YiEUUffhD_Tq0QHijoCoDQ&biw=1020&bih=764&sei=ZiEUUaCcJsbq0QGnrYCQBQ#um=1&hl=en&safe=off&client=safari&tbo=d&rls=en&tbm=isch&sa=1&q=%22state+machine%22&oq=%22state+machine%22&gs_l=img.3...0.0.0.36689.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0..0.0...0.0...1c..2.img.d_nxNvLnirQ&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.&bvm=bv.42080656,d.dmQ&fp=cd3c418f2d69c461&biw=1020&bih=764&imgrc=07lnBXPe7SwrTM%3A%3BXyyN1QDJldNG4M%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.uml-diagrams.org%252Fnotation%252Fbehavioral-state-machine-frame.png%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.uml-diagrams.org%252Fstate-machine-diagrams.html%3B300%3B211[/ame]

and sometimes only the maker knows how to get them into usable states from 'illegal' states. Yours seems to be in an illegal state and maybe it got there due to a power quality problem or a design defect.

Along these lines, I suppose you could cut power to the opener, wait >15 seconds and then restore power, in hopes of resetting the opener's computer.

It could also be legitimately responding to a blockage on the track or some mechanical failure. The maker can step you through a troubleshooting procedure to isolate the problem.

double posted :/

I have rebuilt, or, replaced the gears inside my 15+ year old garage door opener. The gears are plastic and get worn down. It was a cheap fix and the parts were avaliable at a local store that specializes in DYI appliance repairs - not only do they carry the parts, but they also have sheets of paper with detailed repair instructions. So it IS possible to rebuild (choose your word) a garage door opener. My garage door started doing the same thing recently - won't open all the way in the morning when it's cold outside. Opens fine in the evening when it's warmer. It is well lubed and a kid could open it when it is released from the opener. Weight is not an issue, as it does this stop and go thing even when the door is not attached. If I press the wired opener on the wall several times, allowing it to open then pressing the button again to stop it from closing, each time it opens a little more...doing this I can get it open. It closes just fine. I've adjusted the "dials" on the back which made no difference. I am curious if anyone has found a cause and/or a fix for this situation. I'm wondering if the gears need to be replaced again.

http://www.realestate.com/advice/garage-door-opener-troubleshooting-tips-93815/
This site may be helpfull.

Thanks - I've done everything on that list, including tightening the chain (it had some slack in it causing it to droop). The Torsion spring is only about five years old...little by little I've replaced everything (including the garage door) over the years, with the exception of just completely replacing the door opener. So maybe it's just time. I'll probably wait and see what happens when the weather warms up before I decide to replace it. I'll probably continue to use it until it just completely fails.

The only other thing I can think of is an rpm sensor, if it dosn't read movement at the motor it will shut off the power.

I struggled with exact same issue with my Genie door opener. It went on for about one year. I would call them and make a minor adjustment or two based on their input. It would work for a month then start this nonsense all over again. I finally called them and said I have done everything you've told me to do the opener is bad. They sent me a new mother board and instructions. I installed it in about 30 minutes and have not had an issue since.

Could someone please explain how to post a question re. garage door problem?

start here: http://www.houserepairtalk.com/f10/

Then hit the button towards the upper left that says "New Thread"

Then type away!

cainchu; welcome to the site and thanks for trying to start a new thread for your question:banana: