I have a self-inflicted (just like most of them ) problem with my garage door. It’s Wayne Dalton I believe
I-drive opener rite on the grade door header. My door had problems before with closing not all the way and acting up a bit, but after some lubrication is started working just fine. Last week when I was in the hurry to get out of the house, it left about 1.5 ft gap and stopped on closing. I tried reversing it with external remote, it went all the way up and on the way down stopped at the same spot. I checked any obstructions – none. When I tried to use emergency release I noticed that cables were all tangled up around the end caps of the “spring pipe” not sure of terminology. I was forced to cut the cables to release the door because it was stuck in one spot & would not move up or down. I know it’s not very safe to mess with those things, so what level do I have to be in order to handle it myself or I need to pay like $300 to fix it.
Thank you for your suggestions,

 

That seems to be the single biggest problem with those openers/doors, the cables. Was the plastic guard over the spool in place??? They must be there!!!!! When the door jams, for whatever reason, without the cable guards, the cable will unwind all over the place. And it takes a while to untangle the mess. I have done a number of Wayne Dalton doors and will never do another. It is a good system, BUT all things must be there. Even then it still may be a tangle.

Sorry, no easy solution, and no platitudes. Good luck with Wayne Dalton, I have rarely been able to contact a human there.

 

Thanks, and it's too bad you had a bad experience with getting a hold of them. I actually had a better luck with them than with my warranty company that says opener is covered but door and cables are not so you are sol.
I know there is a lot of tension or at least should be on those cables. Is there any way to release the tension, change the cables and re-tention it again?
Thanks,

 

Wayne Dalton has a winding mechanism that is fairly easy to use. Instructions should be available on their website, but not much else. For single doors it is on the right side facing the door. You need a power drill with a 3/8 socket. Loosen locking bolts, and unwind to "0". If you get to this point, get back to us.

 

Cool,
Thanks for your help !

 

Thanks again for your help. I have my back shot for the last two weeks so I just had a guy (from original install company) come in and replace the cables for me. He is convinced that springs are broken and the motor is probably dead??? Sounded like he was trying to sell me a new opener. Anyway I told him to just replace the cables and that's it. He did, but now I don't want to screw something up by trying to operate the opener. How should/could I proceed?
When my son it trying to lift the door by hand it resists the movement, but when he tries to turn the shaft/pipe by the opener it shows some movement, you just can't pull the whole door by hand like that. Any ideas?

Thanks!

 

When your son tries to open the door by hand I assume the opener is disconnected/emergency release. When you say it "resists the movement" is it impossible to move or is it just heavy or difficult?

 

Thanks a lot for your response!
We just went to thew door and determined that all (or almost all) of the resistance was caused by a bent track or something on the right hand side of the door. After i gave a couple of whacks at the track and lubricated it with WD40. It moves freely (at least from about 25" off the floor) now with the lock disengaged of course. So I am guessing the springs are fine ha?

 

In addition to looking for straight tracks look where the front/outside of the door meets your house framing. Look for scuffs or areas polished smooth from the door rubbing. On one door I've had to install shims behind some of the door track mounting brackets to space the door a little bit further from the house to keep the door from dragging as it opens & closes.

 

thanks again,
I will check for those, but what should I do about the opener itself. Can/should I just try turning it on or do I need to calibrate something first? I remember it took me awhile last time to readjust the opening closing of the mechanism/opener itself. It seems to be easily confused of what it's doing.

 

My back is a little better, so I am back to it
Just as I expected it was a bunch of BS the repair guy gave me. I freed the top roller/wheel from whatever it was catching on. Now in the disconnect mode even I can lift it
I pressed the "magic" button, inside the wall remote, held it until it flashed the opener light 3 times and door went up and down a couple of times then stopped in the bottom position as it should. I am still having a little problem with door stopping about a foot to 1.5 ft away from the very top of the door. I am checking there are no obstructions and while the mechanism/system in the "learning" mode after i press the "magic" button, it goes all the way up and down just like it should. Not when I control it with the remote though. Any ideas?

Thanks!