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cciaffone

Sears GDO Not Fully Opening

cciaffone
15 years ago

It's an older (10 years?) chain drive model.

Very often, the door stops about 10-12 inches from

the bolt. But often is opens to within 4 inches

of the bolt where it belongs. No consistency!

But when the door does not fully open, I can then

trip the catch on the trolley and the door fully

opens by the springs, which tells me it's not

the tracks binding the door.

So, an intermittent, not-fully-opening Sears

chain drive garage door with no binding.

What causes that??

chuck

Comments (8)

  • don_1_2006
    15 years ago

    On the rear of the motor unit near where all those white wires go you will find the 'up force' control. Increase this a bit and see if it doesn't help.

  • cciaffone
    Original Author
    15 years ago

    Oh, way back I have tried to increase both the
    up travel and the up force. Still inconsistent.
    Currently up force set almost to max, up travel
    set so "WHEN IT WORKS" it goes up to 4" before
    the bolt. Again ... sometimes it works great;
    other times it stops 10-12 inches before the bolt.

  • don_1_2006
    15 years ago

    Try disconnecting the door and checking the balance. It should stay 3 to 4 feet above the floor with your hands off. I would also remove the cover and take a look at the limit switch operation and the condition of the drive gear.

  • cciaffone
    Original Author
    15 years ago

    Thanks Don. At 2-3 feet off the ground, the
    disconnected door holds steady just fine.

    I will check out the internals in the next few
    days. What should I be looking for??

    chuck

  • don_1_2006
    15 years ago

    If you watch the limit switch assembly you will see how it works and can see if that is part of the problem. The gear will be obvious if the teeth are starting to wear.

  • cciaffone
    Original Author
    15 years ago

    Cover is now off.

    All gears look great. Sharp and well lubed.

    The upper-limit contact WAS stopping the upward
    movement prematurely so I rotated the screw a bit
    and the door opens all the way now.

    I could understand this, but ... while the upper-limit
    was off, stopping the upward movement early,
    why then did the door open all the way sometimes???

  • sdello
    15 years ago

    only you who can physically see the mechanism can properly answer that question. Anything else is pure speculation.

    Glad it's working for you.

  • cciaffone
    Original Author
    15 years ago

    Then ... after working fine for a while ... last
    night it slammed up against the bolt and then would
    not go down. Jammed again. Everything inside looks
    like it's working OK, then oliversudden it either
    goes up too far, or not nearly enough.

    Maybe time for a new operator.