Any GARAGE DOOR OPENER experts out there???

[redgtxdi]

Well, my wife called me out to the garage this morning saying that the garage door wouldn't open. I told her I'd be right out to fix it. (I assumed something was in the way of the sensors and that was her problem). NOPE!! Hit the button & nothing happened!

Finally figured out that the garage door opener had pushed right past the "closing trigger" and basically shut the garage door REEEEEEAL good! So I pulled the little "L" arm thingy off (pull a couple cotters & a couple pins & the "L" arm comes off). When I got that last pin out the pressure finally........"POW".......released.

Now I don't see anything obvious, so I unplug & plug the power cord back in & hit the button & it works. Goes all the way to the close trigger & stops. "OK", I say & hit the button again. NOTHIN'!!!! And it'll only go one time. If I unplug/replug the thing back in, it'll close every time, but it won't come back open. That's all I can do and to get it to do it I have to unplug/replug.

Obviously the motor works, but something's jacked up. Wife says "Just go buy a new one" but I know the PITA it's gonna be to spend a friggin' Saturday replacing the stupid power head. (Mind you, if I do I'll be smashing it into pieces with a sledgehammer & then sending the pieces to 'Genie' w/ my least respectable english attached in a note!)

:|

 

[FoBoT]

maybe the remote needs new batteries

 

[Baked]

I'd just call a professional and let them figure it out. Would suck if the door came down on your fingers and cut them all off like spare ribs.

 

[ChefJoe]

Is it a screw drive or a chain drive model ? It sounds like whatever sensor is supposed to make it stop opening is triggering too easily... maybe. I think you should adjust any settings you can related to that and then buy a new one (they're only $100-200). http://www.geniecompany.com/GenieCompany.aspx?cid=495


When you first said "pow" I thought you had one of the springs go out on you.... that's very dangerous.

 

[redgtxdi]

No, no springs went out on me. That'd have been no-bueno, although my springs are safety springs so the sound would only be a scare, still I'd rather not go there. The "POW" I spoke of was just the "L" arm finally releasing tension on the door itself once I got the pin released!

It's a Genie screw drive.

I'm hoping I can get away with just buying a new one but replacing the motor only???????

Think that'll work???


(I see some 'heads only' on ebay for around $50ish but wondering if it's worth the risk)

P.S. I notice the new stuff is this "intelligode" stuff so I assume I'd need new remotes too, eh???

 

[Pepsi90919]

the problem is the wife. if she never tried to open the door this never would have happened.

thus, eliminate the wife

 

[redgtxdi]

Originally posted by: Pepsi90919
the problem is the wife. if she never tried to open the door this never would have happened.

thus, eliminate the wife

:laugh: That's what *I* said!!! LOL!!!


Only from Pepsi!!

 

[redgtxdi]

OK.........Now I've got pics to show what I think I might have found wrong............

(Electronics gurus might especially dig this?)...........

Here's a shot directly on the card that I found showing the only signs of something 'foul' having happened. Take note of the burn marks on the board itself below that big blue cap. (I'm no electronics guru so I have no idea what all those little thingies are, and I'm assuming that big blue sucker horizontally up top is, in fact, a capacitor)........

Pic #1 of the card itself

Next up here's a vertical shot of it. I thought this showed the burn trails a bit better. Maybe it'll show if it truly came form that cap or something else in the neighborhood there????............

Pic #2 of the card vertically

Lastly, I just took a step back so you could kinda' see the whole layout. The card I took pics of is the one on the left.......(if it wasn't already obvious).

Pic #3 of the whole friggin' motor

If anybody has any questions about it or wants me to look at/for something or take another pic from somewhere let me know.

Thanks for lookin' if you cared to........

 

[smack Down]

You found out what burnt up. What burns up and what causes the excesive voltage isn't allways the same.

 

[redgtxdi]

Good point!

I think it might have had to do with a few recent lightning storms we've had here in So Cal. Although that outlet is on a GFCI (or whatever you call it) circuit, apparently that didn't save it.........or maybe that had nothing to do with it at all.

Garage door opener worked great for 10 years. Guess that's all she gets????

Note that the motor in the thing works just fine.........it's just whatever relays tell it to reverse-drive aren't doing their communicating. And so........once again........it's not the hardware.......it's the freakin' inferior, cheap-a$$ electronics!!

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!! :|

 

[woodie1]

nm

 

[BoomerD]

http://www.geniedoor.com/content/troubleshooting-guides.htm

http://www.geniecompany.com/GenieCompany.aspx?cid=316

 

[theslickvik]

I actually had the same problem with my genie crap a few years back. Its the wiring some electrician told me. I spared myself the pain of fixing it myself and told Lowe's to do it. Make sure that your Genie is not made in MEXICO. I repeat not MEXICO. For some reason the mexican garage door openers tend to have a longer life. (No i am not trying to make a point its just a fact) My current one was made in Taiwan. Hopefully I can get a couple more years out of mine than the last one

 

[lizardboy]

Originally posted by: theslickvik
Make sure that your Genie is not made in MEXICO. I repeat not MEXICO. For some reason the mexican garage door openers tend to have a longer life. (No i am not trying to make a point its just a fact) My current one was made in Taiwan. Hopefully I can get a couple more years out of mine than the last one

Confusing.

 

[MrPickins]

Originally posted by: redgtxdi
Good point!

I think it might have had to do with a few recent lightning storms we've had here in So Cal. Although that outlet is on a GFCI (or whatever you call it) circuit, apparently that didn't save it.........or maybe that had nothing to do with it at all.

Garage door opener worked great for 10 years. Guess that's all she gets????

Note that the motor in the thing works just fine.........it's just whatever relays tell it to reverse-drive aren't doing their communicating. And so........once again........it's not the hardware.......it's the freakin' inferior, cheap-a$$ electronics!!

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!! :|

Just as an FYI, gfci outlets aren't surge protectors, their function is to cut power if there is ever a short circuit to ground (i.e. when a hair dryer falls into a full tub).

They can switch fast enough to save a person from electrocution (~25 miliseconds)

IIRC, they work by monitoring leakage current.

 

[skrilla]

Originally posted by: ChefJoe
When you first said "pow" I thought you had one of the springs go out on you.... that's very dangerous.

True. About 6 months ago I used the keypad to open my garage door. It got 3/4 the way up, I heard a LOUD grinding noise, and then the thing slammed shut. I mean SLAMMED. The noise had all my neighbors looking out their windows to see what happened. If I would have decided to creep under the opening garage door I probably would have died.

I had the springs replaced, and then the board started malfunctioning. It wouldn't go down, and stay down. I adjusted everything and it would work for a week and then go to hell again. I debated getting parts on ebay.

Finally I just had someone install a new opener. Wasn't worth the hassle.

 

[redgtxdi]

Thanks guys!!

Sorry I didn't see your posts 'til this morning!! (Thought the thread died last night, but then I remembered........This is ATOT.........land of the cheap & home of the brave!)


Ya, I need to jot down my #'s and get a hold of Genie. The thing's exactly 10 years old so I'm about 99% positive they'll tell me I'm juuuuuust outta' luck, but oh well!! I messed with it a little again this morning, but no joy!!

Sucks 'cuz I'm sure that motor could be good for somethin' without all the elecrtronics crap!!! Grrrrrrrr!!!