Electric Garage Door Sometimes Doesn't want to close

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1victorianfarmhouse

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I am working on various issues at my mother's house in preparation for sale.

One issue that I guess fits in here is the garage door. It is automatically operated by a keypad outdoors, a remote control in the car, or a switch on the garage wall. Those all work fine, but there are some times when the door will not close fully, and go back to the fully open position. On the next try, or two, it will close with no problem. There is nothing in the way of the infrared (or whatever) sensors.

Any bright ideas what might be causing the non-closing?

Thanks as usual!

Vince
 
Check the mounting for the light sensors, Last summer I had one that wouldn't close in the afternoon when the sun was on one rail. I added another bracket to hold it straight.
 
1victorianfarmhouse said:
I am working on various issues at my mother's house in preparation for sale.

One issue that I guess fits in here is the garage door. It is automatically operated by a keypad outdoors, a remote control in the car, or a switch on the garage wall. Those all work fine, but there are some times when the door will not close fully, and go back to the fully open position. On the next try, or two, it will close with no problem. There is nothing in the way of the infrared (or whatever) sensors.

Any bright ideas what might be causing the non-closing?

Thanks as usual!

Vince
Click to expand...

The symptom also portends of a marginal connection, where a screwdriver or push-in secured wire attachment is loose or becoming corroded, and while finding, THE ONE, can be hit or miss......................?
 
Another possibility is the down force adjustment needs tweaked. You can probably find the owners manual on line with instructions. Lubing the door rollers and springs probably wouldn't hurt either.

Does the door reverse and lights flash when it won't close?
 
While you are looking over the door make sure all the fasteners are tight. The nuts have a way of working loose over time on garage doors.

Also, the receiver side of the door sensor should be on the shady side of the door. If you're having problems closing it during the day light hours and one of the sensors is in direct sun it may not be able to see the light.
 
And if the opener is a Genie from 2012, there is a massive recall due to bad circuit boards.

(saw a big recall flier at my local Home Depot recently)
 
Thanks for all the responses!

It took me a while to find the original manual and more time to find the proper section and fool around with it. It is a Craftsman 3/4 hp 315 MHz Opener, installed in 2008. Yesterday I opened it with no problems. When I tried to get it to close, on the 8th try it closed, the previous seven it reversed.

According to the manual, the problem may be with the reversing sensors. Both the green and yellow LEDs are lit as they are supposed to be, indicating proper alignment. Paging further through the manual, I just discovered that there are a certain number of flashes to count that may indicate where the problem lies, so I will go at it again to see if it can tell me what the problem is.

Stay tuned!

Vince
 
Had a similar intermittent problem at my daughter's condo. A small piece of leaf was hanging from a web at the bottom of the door in the middle and would sometimes trip the sensor. FWIW.
 
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