Garage Door Opener Issues

I installed my second door opener today and it hasn’t gone well. The first was flawless and works awesome. The second is have the following problem.

When closing, the last section of the door appears “bind” and put a huge amount of pressure on the trolley system/travel rail. It puts enough pressure that without the down pressure maxed out, it won’t close and starts heading back up.

Here are the steps I’ve tried to troubleshoot this:
Verified centered on door.
Door does not stick when trolley system is dis-engaged.
Measured trolley mount location is within 1/8th of an inch of working system.
Decreased down travel setting and increased door to trolley connection rod length.

Now once i’ve got the door closed, there appears to still be a large amount of tension/pressure on the trolley travel rail. So much it’s arched. Working door does not have this problem. Lastly, when I disengage the trolley manually and run the door up and down, doesn’t seem to bind, so I don’t think the door is out of whack.

So, any experts out there who can help the mechanically challenged.

I’m not an expert. Though I have had some experience.

1. Are you sure that your springs are adusted correctly. you should very easily be able to open and close the door while disengaged from the Garage door opener.

2. It sounds like your tracks are strait if your not noticing binding. You might want to double check. Sometimes its necessary to double check that all is secure, especially if the door has been used for a long time.
There are many ways to adust the tracks.

Good luck

Assuming that the opener runs back and forth on the trolley without problems when the door is NOT attached, I’d guess that the angle that the opener attaches to the door needs to be adjusted or that the door needs to be reinforced where the opener attaches to it.

When you say that the door is “arched” do you mean bowed toward the door opening? First I’d try changing which holes you are using on the adjustable bar that reaches from the trolley to the door and see if shortening or lengthening that helps. If not, it could be that the door needs to be reinforced at the door opener’s attachment point because the opener is bowing the door therefore causing the binding. A piece of 3/4″ plywood about the height of the door panel by 2′ or so wide would probably cure this if that’s the problem.

What size door is this and what is it made of?

Good luck.

Dan

P.S. As I’ve found out, it’s a good idea to connect your opener to a surge protector.

Is this a belt drive or chain drive.sounds like its not a spring thing if it runs smooth when disengaged.also is this a genie, chamberlin, or ??.you can call 1-800-genie and they are pretty helpful.

My father in law installs garage doors in the west metro…if you need him to stop by let me know. I can get you his number and try to get you a deal. Give me a call if you want. 320-221-2953. Chad

OK. I knew this was going to be hard to describe.

The arching/pressure is on the travel rail the trolley runs on as the last section of door bends to the closed position. I’ve adjusted the arm length several times and have determined the longer the arm, the less the pressure. however, I’m now adjusted as far as the possible.

So, why did door one install in less than two hours and door two isn’t working. These are the exact same doors, 8’x8′ insulated. I’ve measured mounting points etc… All are within a 1/4 inch.

I’ve installed several door openers(5-7) and never had this issue. I’m leaning towards the door or springs need ajusted. I will call Chamberlain tomorrow and ask them for suggestions.

BTW, the chamberlain whisper quiet belt drives are truely that, whisper quiet. Right now Menards has them on sale for $157.00. That’s $40.00 off regular price.

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BTW, the chamberlain whisper quiet belt drives are truely that, whisper quiet. Right now Menards has them on sale for $157.00. That’s $40.00 off regular price.

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Well no wonder they’re on sale

i am not a expert either, and i too have had some experince, with kooty.
1. the first door opener was installed without a hitch.
2. how many beers between door #1 and door #2???
3. if i was a betting man, i would have to say that there was a beer or two involved…………..tom fellegy

Kooty have you tried running the opener with the door un hooked maybe it’s not the door at all maybe there is something wrong with the trolly rail.

I am an open book as they say. The first door took about a six pack. Sadly the second door only took one beer. The conclusion, I do my best work after a 6 pack.

Actually it was colder than a well diggers gizzard yesterday working out in the garage with the door open.

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i am not a expert either, and i too have had some experince, with kooty.
1. the first door opener was installed without a hitch.
2. how many beers between door #1 and door #2???
3. if i was a betting man, i would have to say that there was a beer or two involved…………..tom fellegy

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Ha, ha, ha!!!!!!! He’s got your number Kooty!!

And during that one beer, did the wife ask if you think you should call someone for help?

Sorry Bud, I just know what its like to be freezing cold and frustrated working on something

Does this model have opeing and closing sensors on the trolly rail that lets the opener know when to stop? Just wondering if you left some pieces out.

OK, this makes it clearer. Like you said, it is probably the door or springs that are causing this. It would be interesting to see how this door operates manually compared to the other one. I’m guessing that the problem door has tighter springs and more resistance to closing.

This cold weather can also make overhead doors stiffer. Maybe give all the hinges and rollers a shot of WD-40 to see if that helps before you start adjusting springs etc. I’d also check the vertical tracks with a level to see if they are fairly straight and also with a tape measure to see if they are parallel to each other. It could be that the door installers didn’t get this door in quite right, and jacked the spring tension up to make it easier to open – which is in turn causing it to be hard to close.

If all else fails, it would be interesting to swap the openers from one door to the other to see if that makes a difference!

Good luck.

Dan

Good point Dan. I did silicone the heck out the wheels and track. It didn’t appear to help. I’m going to mess with it some more this afternoon.

BTW, these are brand new doors, so they are simply just not broke in much yet. I’ll do some measuring on the tracks to see if the work door is the same as the non-working.

Thanks for all the suggestions, well from most anyway.

I think I have your answer for the issues between doors 1 and 2. you said a 6 pack for the first one. and 1 beer for the second one.

here is my conclusion, but I will give you them in reverse order.
you did door number 2 by yourself and got through one beer because reading the directions and putting the right parts together was more difficult, then door number 1 because you had a six pack and your buddy did all the work and left after door number 1 because you did not help for beans.

Broncs

Kooty, not sure if your 12lver is gone yet but what about where the door sections are fastened together with the hinges. I wonder if the troubled section is not fitting tightly together when the door goes down. I’ve seen there are minor adjustments. I’m just wondering if it was put together tight enough so the door won’t buckle. Other than that, maybe the whole door needs to be brought closer to the interior wall of your garage so that it fits tightly between the roller rails and the garage wall. If that doesn’t work,…..

Sadly I gave in and called the professionals. The place who installed the doors is out today trying to figure out if it’s a door/spring issue or opener/installer issue. Likely the latter.

Either way, I’m going over to Cal’s tonight for beers. He got a new house pet. I hear she is real cute and likes to be scratched behind the ears.

Been dere, done dat.

Sorry to here about your trouble wish i would have known earlier i used to install doors.Let us know how it comes out.P.S.Put a few in on the side and beer is a must especialy when your at the inlaws.

Well, the door company was out and couldn’t figure out the problem. I’m not sure the guy actually got out of his truck.

Anyway, I’m ticked last night trying to figure this thing out. I’m thinking the door has to be binding somewhere. So, I’m really studying the travel path of the door sections as they go down the track. Ah ha!! The second to last and top section of the door are binding on the “door stop”. It’s a piece of one by furred out around the door frame. So to picture this, the door is pushing out enough to bind on this “trim”.

My guess is the house has shifted, setttled and the dry weather as the wood shifting quite drastically. So, I’m reluctant to try and move the “trim” at this time of year only to the have same problem come spring.

Suggestions?

try removing some of the wood trim with a rasp or some over type of tool!!

A BFH might wook also…….

Sell your house!!!!

Sorry couldn’t resist buddy!!!!!

Hows is settling that much….hmmmm!!! Who are we kidding….I have no idea!!!!!

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A BFH might work also…….

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It all comes down to persuasion.

If the first sections are not hitting the trim but the top ones are something is shifting. Hitting on one side? Are the tracks secured and not moving as the weight changes with less panels? Can you losen the hinge bolts that connect the top panels to the next lower section and shift the panel slightly? Is this the wood filler strip on the outside of the door? Replace with the rubber style. You have me intrigued now.

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A BFH might wook also…….

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Hey, my kind of tools!!! I’ve got a master operator license for one of these.

Rock, the “trim” the door is hitting against is nailed to the main frame of the door jam. It’s on the outside. It was late last night when I was working on this, so now that I have discovered the problem, I’ll be able to look a little more closely in the daylight. More info this evening!

You should be able to adjust the track/guide on that side of the garage to pull the door away with out removing wood.
Look for where the mount is attached to the wall and then loosen the bolt and pull the track back to get clearance.
I had to do mine recently, (same problem)I think I mentioned in an earlier post.
Good luck