Garage door opener going out?

[Jay Sco]

My opener started acting batty today, wondering if anyone has had a similar experience.

I took my car out and it closed just fine, came back about 20 minutes later and it wouldn't open by remote.
Came in through the house and tried the wall button, nothing.
Got on the ladder to insect it, everything looked good. Unplugged it and plugged it back in (that's the universal reset isn't it?).
It worked! But it was super slow. Cycled (up and down) a few times and suddenly it jumped back to normal speed.
Tried a few more times and it's working fine.

So was it a freak thing, or do they get weird before they die?
Don't know how old it is, I think it's 06+-. Screw type, Genie I believe, looked it up to program my remote a couple months back.

 

[Mattlt]

Try running it so it doesn't have to lift the door. ie. pull the disconnect pin or completely disconnect the lift arm from the door. (Disconnecting the lift arm has the advantage of still allowing the up-down limit sensors to work - if you just pull the ping I believe the screw would just keep spinning.)

I've had problems with my Genie screw drive in the past, usually when it starts getting cold. Also make sure the photo eyes are clean and aligned properly. Last time my door was acting up I spent a long time lubricating and messing around with the opener and door, only to discover the eyes were dirty!

It's possible your door is jamming or it just needs lubrication.

 

[upndown]

Genie doesn't have a reset..What type of grease are you lubricating it with? If it's too thick, in the cold it will bog down that motor!

If it happens again, check your wall button..there should be a red light, also check your sensors, red and green light. If off you may have a sequenser or motor capacitor going bad.

If it does happen again, do what you did before, unplug and replug! could be something as simple as a loose connection or a bad outlet!!

Sorry for all the maybe's, but those are simple things I would look at first..Good luck

 

[Jrad235]

Unfortunately, the new Genie products(97 and up) have really gone downhill from the 70's/80's. More than likely the windings in the motor are failing and/or the circuit board is toast.

We replace these all week long. Chamberlain/Liftmaster isn't as good as it used to be either, but miles above what Genie is now.

There aren't many parts inside the new ones that you can replace. If it happens again, better to just chuck it for a Liftmaster.

FYI, the older Excellerators would do that when unplugged. Run slow until it reset itself then speed back up.

 

[James-W]

I have a Chamberlain belt drive unit and it works OK. I have heard from a couple different people now that Liftmaster is probably about the best quality opener around, but I wasn't aware of that at the time I bought this one. If I had known Liftmaster was a better opener, I would have maybe made a different choice. But all things considered, the Chamberlain opener is working just fine, at least for the time being it is.

 

[upndown]

Excellerators were a *************!! Designed to start slow, speed up, then slow down at end. Sometimes yes..Most times no

 

[upndown]

James, both are made by Chamberlain Mfg. Same with Sears

 

[sed6]

My xcelerator is a POS also. Genie just sent me a new control board after mine crapped out after just 5 yrs. Fortunately I have a lifetime warranty and it cost me nothing.

 

[James-W]

James, both are made by Chamberlain Mfg. Same with Sears

I wasn't aware of that, thank you, that is good to know. It doesn't surprise me to learn that, many companies manufacture more than one brand. For example, General Electric builds GE appliances. They also build Hotpoint appliances. Hotpoint is their "low end" products line and GE is their "high end" products, that is if you want to call GE appliances "high end" products.

Anyway, a couple friends had mentioned to me that Liftmaster was a better quality opener, I wasn't aware they made by the same company.

By the way, isn't Dewalt tools now owned by Black and Decker? Seems I heard that someplace. I have always liked Dewalt tools, but Black and Decker tools I never really cared for.