I have a very old Genie 1/2 hp Screw Drive Garage Door Opener (GDO). It doesn't have a safetry IR sensor, even. The garage door is a single panel (not sectional). Recently, the tailgate of car inside was up, and when I tried to open it, door partially opened and then came down. I did this 3x before realizing the obstruction.

Since then the garage door doesn't close consistently. It will go down, and reverse as it is tripping the down limit switch. Sometimes, in the up position, when I try to close it, it will go for about a foot, then reverse by itself.

The door works well and seems to be balanced in manual mode. The rail looks like it aligned ok. I have adjusted the down-limit switch, but it doesn't seem to help.

GDO does not have screws for adjusting down force or up force. I am assuming the down force is adjusted by the nylon nut at the end of the screw (which has a coil spring in between the motor and the nut).

Any suggestions?

 

Will it go all the way down if you hold the button?

 

Yes, when I hold the wall switch button down, it seems to close completely more consistently.

 

Ok, now I'm going to ask you some really dumb questions.

Take a very close look. Some times people will try to by pass the eye beams by installing them some place with them taped together. Make sure yours is not one of them.

Next, I know you said there is no force adjustment but it REALLY sounds like that is your problem. If your sure the door is not binding take a good look at your opener. Sometimes the adjustments will not be labeled and/or recessed in the cover so as not to get bumped. Since yours is a 1/2 HP screw drive, it really doesn't sound that old (other than not having eye beams). I have even seen older chain drives that have force adjustments. Maybe you can take a picture of the back and/or list the model number?

 

Older genies..and pro install models adjust the down force by moving the nylon nut on the end of the shaft.

Not sure if thats the problem..but thats what the Genie tech explained to me, when I couldn't find the electronic adjustment.

 

The GDO really doesn't have a safey eye-beam.

I have taken the cover off and I really don't see any screw adjustments (like newer Genies).

I will try to adjust the nylon nut again (I assume clockwise rotation provides more force) and see if it closes more consistently. Thanks.

 

Also, is your screw drive nice and lubed? Maybe add a squirt of WD-40

You following me Gunguy?

 

The model for my Genie GDO is SC9500 12A.

I lubed it with WD40 (with pretty messy results on the garage floor and the garage door). The GDO is much quieter now when running, but still having the intermittent reversing problem.

I tried to tighten the nylon nut at the end of the screw, almost all the way in, but doesn't resolve the problem.

By the way, when I open and close the garage door several times, I can see white smoke coming out of the cylindrical capacitor. I think the motor must be trying to work hard, but there is some type of obstruction...

May be time to get a modern GDO.

 

Yep....time to move into a newer opener. Its prob at least 10-15 yrs old, since it has no sensors. Not sure when they were required.

 

FIRST, never use WD-40 as a lubricant, its is a penatrant (Ment to break rust and such) you are just going to do damage to anything you put it on as it will actually dry out the components. Also stay away from Silicone based lubes, they will actually attract dust and debris, and case you way more trouble then its worth. The best bet is to go to your local Garage Door dealer or Big Box and pick up Garage Door Lube (GDL) and use that on all metal moving parts, including springs and rollers and such. There actually is lithium grease available for screw drives that I would recommend using.

I think that when the door hit the car, that it bent the screw slightly in the screw-drive, something along those lines. Those wheels that you are adjusting sound like they are the limit wheels that tell the door how far to travel.

Also with you mentioning that the capacitor *smoking* there is a good chance that the circuit board and/or the motor is gone on the operator. I was in the industry for over 10 years and only once saw a motor need replacement in a residential operator, so I would lean towards the CB, and if the CB does need to be done, I would look at replacement of the operator itself as it is lacking the photo-eyes, and thats something that would have saved you in this situation.

CHEERS

-Ian