Garage door sticks when I close it in cold weather

11 years ago

I've been having a nagging problem with my automatic garage door and I wonder if anyone has any suggestions (before I call in a repair person). The door opens fine. But when I close it, when the temperature is cold, the door will close about a foot, and then reverse itself and open, as if it hit an obstruction.

The only way I can close the door is to stop it as soon as it starts to reverse, and then immediately close it again. Sometimes I have to do this stop-start thing several times to get it fully closed.

Any ideas are appreciated. It's a fairly old unit, so I wouldn't be surprised if it just needs to be replaced. But I'm hoping there might be some things I can try to do to fix it.

Featured Answer

darren72
Original Author

11 years ago

No, I still haven't figured it out. A local garage door company told me to clean my optical sensors, which didn't solve the problem.

I didn't try randy427's suggestion because I'm just not familiar with the door, nor confident enough, to try.

The problem has actually gotten worse since I originally posted. I may try to play with it a little more, but I'm getting close to just having a new motor and hardware installed(that seems more cost effective than paying, say, 60% of the cost of a new one to have the old one repaired).

Comments (9)

randy427
11 years ago
Loose hardware, (chain, track, rollers) can cause enough vibration to make the obstruction sensor 'think' the door has hit something on the way down.
I'd detach the door from the trolley to make sure it is operating freely and without excessive wobble. It's also a good time to make sure the door is in proper balance with the spring. Then check the tension on the chain and operate the GDO without the door attached.
User
11 years ago
Darren, did you ever diagnose your problem. I have similar problems with my garage door, and can't figure it out. I'm tempted to replace my current Python II 1/2 HP opener with a full 1 HP (Sommer 800). I have a 20 X 8 insulated door, and I think my current opener is just too small.
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bus_driver
11 years ago
Pulling the emergency release handle and operating the door by hand will reveal how much effort is required to open and close the door. It also will reveal the points at which more effort is required. If the door can be operated smoothly through the full range by hand, the 1/2 Hp unit should be fine.
At my shop, the 14 x 20 door is operated by a 1/2 Hp unit and that door does not operate smoothly by hand.
bus_driver
11 years ago
darren, your posts do not offer any clues as to the brand name of your operator or the model number. Are you serious about wanting help with this problem?
darren72
Original Author
11 years ago
bus_driver, apologies that I didn't post the brand and model. Didn't realize you wanted to know that.

I tried your suggestion of pulling it by hand, but that's didn't help me trouble shoot the problem. So I called a garage repair company and they are coming out tomorrow. On the phone, the repair guy said that it might be a problem with the wires that connect the sensors to the motor. He thinks these tend to malfunction in really cold weather. We'll see.
bus_driver
11 years ago
"the repair guy said that it might be a problem with the wires that connect the sensors to the motor." He may genuinely believe that-- but I do not.
justbrae1
11 years ago
I just replaced a garage door opener with this same problem. Brand was a stanley, 1/2 HP opener.

Sensors were the problem.
bus_driver
11 years ago
You replaced everything or just the sensors? And how was it determined that the sensors alone were faulty? This is an area where I am still learning and it would be helpful to me to know.