Shop Products
Houzz Logo Print
stanld

sears garage door opener intermittent problem

stanld
17 years ago

To: Don the Garage Guy

I have a very frustrating intermittent problem with my Sears Model 139.53924 2 year old screw drive opener. After a half dozen service calls from both Sears and independent garage door service people the problem comes back.

The unit intermittently opens about 6-8 inches and stops.Try several times and it may close and then it opens. The garage door opens manually with very little resistance and is properly balanced. Sears as told me the problem is in the door and the garage door specialists tell me there is nothing wrong with the door! Both the up/down force and limit adjustments have been tried to no avail. Sensors are clean and aligned. Spring and some hinges have been replaced. I suspect something is wrong with the logic board which Sears appears to have overlooked in their service calls. Is there some simple fix or is it possibly in the logic circuit? Don the Door Guy PLEASE advise!! Thanks.

Comments (9)

  • Don_
    17 years ago

    stanld call this number 1-800-528-5236. This will get you to a Technical Service Representative with the manufacturer of Sears openers. They will do their utmost best to help you. It will help if you have your model number off the opener - starts with 139. and can be in the garage when you call.

  • stanld
    Original Author
    17 years ago

    Thanks Don for your help. This factory help line ( I believe Chamberlain) has been discontinued for sometime. I guess Sears feel their door openers are functioning better than ever! An intermittent problem like mine I feel can not be solved via a phone call and pushing buttons while listening to music. I would like a Sears service tech install a new logic board and then see what happens. If it does not work take it out and lets go from there. I am fed up with spending $75 a service call repeatedly without the problem solved. After all a new opener costs $150-$200. Maybe Sears thinks they are ( I hope a Sears Technical Rep reads this message) selling to the public razor blades. Sell you the opener at a reasonable price and with the Craftsman label compared to other independent retailers and then ripping you off with service. Reminds me of the automobile dealership service!

  • doorguy06
    17 years ago

    stanld have you tried raising the door yourself the first six to eight inches off the ground? See if it feels heavy and then gets lighter. What are you forces set on?? When you say you try several times to close it and it then it opens: Does this mean you hit the wall button and nothing happens or you hit the wall button, it closes and then reopens itself again and stops six to eight inches.

    The only other thing I can think of (assuming the garage door guys you had check the door out know what they are doing, not to discredit anyone, but you would be suprised)is possibly a wall button shorted. Disconnect the wall button wire from the opener, this will eliminate the wall button and the wire. Use your remotes and see if the door works fine. You might have a bad wire or wall button causing the door to stop.

  • danq
    17 years ago

    I have a similar problem. I don't know a fix, but when I cycle power to the garage door opener it will work normal again.

  • patriot2415
    16 years ago

    My remotes just stopped working. How do I re-program?

  • don_1_2006
    16 years ago

    If both your remotes quit at the same time you have a receiver problem. No amount of programming will fix this problem. But what the heck. On the back of your opener near where all those white wires go you will find the smart/learn button. Press and hold the button on one of your remotes and then press and immediately release the smart/learn button. Do this for each of your remotes. They are now reprogrammed.

  • scaly_2007
    16 years ago

    Hi Don. Did you ever solve your garage door problem. I am having a similiar problem, but my door won't close. I have disconnected the door from the the bracket .. no chain interferance. I have taken cover off mechanism, and all the gears look and move well. The mechanism moves about 8 inches, then returns to th "up' postion .. Any Help would be marvelous .. Dave

  • don_1_2006
    16 years ago

    If the main light on the motor unit turns on 10 times when the door reverses it is the door sensors. Make sure they are pointed at one another. If this isn't the case then turn the down force a quarter turn and try. If this still doesn't do it you could have a bad RPM board which is a small printed circuit board just in front of the motor.

  • rlt1968_verizon_net
    13 years ago

    "The unit intermittently opens about 6-8 inches and stops."
    That's what mine does (mostly during cold weather).
    We have two. One works okay and the other is the stopper..

    Seems like it's got a weak motor maybe.?. I see capacitors listed in the manual. I wonder if these are AC motor start caps? Or is this a DC motor??

    Or, is there a current sensor? I see there is a 'resistor' listed in the parts too. Maybe it's part of some current limiter circuitry that shuts off the motor.?.

    I wonder if anyone has solved this problem.. Since it's been around for so long.?.

    Thanks,
    Rich