Garage door problem(s)

[dullard]

Symptoms:

1) In the winter, it didn't want to close fully and would stop 6" from the bottom and come back all the way up. Nothing was blocking the sensors. This behavior ended after a week and I thought it went away.

2) Recently, the door doesn't want to go down. I press the button and the garage door starts to go down, stops after 6" and reverses back to the top. But, if I press the button 3 times (start it, stop it about 6" down, and start again), it works perfectly and closes fully.

3) It may be my imagination, but the door may be opening up slower than before.

It uses two torsion springs that were replaced about 4 years ago. One appears to sag a bit. Are these symptoms that one spring just needs tightening? Or could there be other problems. I don't want to be raped by another garage door repair call (last one tried to sell me $1000 worth of lubrications, replacement parts, and warranties + $200 for just coming out to see it). I learned a lesson to ask prices BEFORE having them come out for their "free" estimate.

 

[spidey07]

I'd say the track is bent and that's causing friction, the door is sensing this as a little kid stuck under the door so it reverses. Or a wheel bearing is bad. This would all explain why you think it's slower.

Disconnect the drive mechanism and manually open the door, make sure it opens smoothly and with little effort.

 

[sherwinz28]

I had a somewhat simliar problem as it seemed the garage door would not close unless I held the button down to force it to close all the way. My problem was that during 4-7pm when the sun was setting the sunlight would hit directly at the garage door sensor block the beam from getting across. I found this out by blocking the sunlight and the garage door would finally close perfectly fine...weird.

I feel your pain with garage door fees...paid $500 for spring replacement. Avoided the other BS they tried to sell me.

 

[richardycc]

For #2, there could be a spider built a web around one of the sensor eyes.

 

[Squisher]

Sounds like a clutch adjustment, they wear out over time. But, before you start messing with the clutch, detach the door from the opener and raise and lower the door by hand and see if there are any problem areas. If everything feels fine, there is a usually an adjustment screw for the clutch. You have to look in your manual to find out where it is.

 

[boomerang]

Do you live in SE Michigan by any chance? My wife manages a garage door company.

http://www.oxfordoverheaddoor.com/faq.html

 

[Colt45]

put it in manual mode.. move it with your hand, see if the door sticks... probably bent track or something. if it moves fine, perhaps the safety thing is set too sensitive.

 

[Leros]

Originally posted by: spidey07
I'd say the track is bent and that's causing friction, the door is sensing this as a little kid stuck under the door so it reverses. Or a wheel bearing is bad. This would all explain why you think it's slower.

Disconnect the drive mechanism and manually open the door, make sure it opens smoothly and with little effort.

This sounds right to me. I've had to bend my track a few times to get the door to close.

 

[dullard]

Thanks for the advice. I'll test it manually in a few days.

 

[blurredvision]

Originally posted by: Leros

Originally posted by: spidey07
I'd say the track is bent and that's causing friction, the door is sensing this as a little kid stuck under the door so it reverses. Or a wheel bearing is bad. This would all explain why you think it's slower.

Disconnect the drive mechanism and manually open the door, make sure it opens smoothly and with little effort.

This sounds right to me. I've had to bend my track a few times to get the door to close.

Same here. Actually, my rear-facing garage door is currently getting confused and is doing this same exact thing. I just don't care enough to pay to have it fixed. I just tap the button a couple of times to stop it and get it going back the right way. Not worth hundreds of dollars to me.

 

[overst33r]

I'm having the exact same issue. I just increased the amount of force it takes to stop the door with the dials on the back of the motor (It works now with the dials set to 7kg). I've already replaced the plastic gear once inside the motor... At this point I'm just waiting on the spring to go...