Garage Door Opener

Mind if I hijack this one?

My door is suddenly stopping at random heights, and even then, not all the time. Sometimes it will be fine, sometimes it will go up 6 inches, sometimes 3 feet, etc.

I checked the sensors and have the green light / yellow light described earlier... I remember when we bought this house something the inspector noted was the closing force was set too high.

What else should I check before calling someone? I am not about to touch one of those springs...

Thanks!
 
What else should I check before calling someone?

Does it immediately come back down, after it stops going up?

Check the sensor eye is clean.
look for anything that could block the view of the eye, a glare or shadow on the glass or lens
Wire connections are tight.
Wheels are lubed and moving freely.
Disconnect the door, and raise by hand, easy, not binding, not heavy
 
No it doesn't come back down; it just stops.

I tried cleaning the sensors the other day but it didn't seem to do anything that affected the randomness.
 
Check your springs and see if it's broken. What size door is it? I could be something as simple as your spring has weakened over time and the motor up sensitivity is set very light. Also what brand opener is it so I know what I'm dealing with?

The only time a door will reverse on it's own is if it's coming in the down direction and something breaks the safety beam or the door comes in contact with something and will reverse. But it's always reverses in the up direction. Never in the down direction.

If the motor for some reason senses that the door is too heavy while opening it, it just stops. It doesn't try to close the door back down.

The safety sensors only come into play when the door is closing. The sensors have no affect on the door while it is opening.

If it's a LiftMaster/Sears/Chamberlain you might find something that looks like this in the picture. If so, adjust the up sensitivity a little and see if your door will open fully.
QJBBIeDm.jpg


One other thing I just thought of. Is it a screw drive type opener? If so, get some white lithium grease in a tube and apply it to the screw (the part that turns and moves the door). They've been known to get dry and cause the motor to think the doors in a bind.
7sIy2GRm.jpg
 
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I think mine did that before it stopped one time. Plastic gears inside were ate up and would bind, cost like $8 off amazon and under an hour to change. I was impressed by how wasted they were before they quit working.

Not much to them, if the door moves free manually I open it and take a look. So far one gear set and one solder joint.

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