Garage door opener rant

[thool]

I purchased a Craftsman (Chamberlain) belt drive garage door opener in 2012 to replace a tired Genie chain drive that was at the end of its life. Loved the opener, until it started getting confused about the door position: when it was closed, pressing the button it would open about 4 inches and then stop. Another button press and it would close all the way and bind. Another press and it would keep trying to close, binding it further.

I went through the whole setup again, and it simply wasn't allowing me to open or close it, even pressing the adjustment buttons. Turns out that a position sensor was giving bad readings. Cleaned it out and it worked fine...for a while. So after doing this 4 times, I called Sears and they said I need a new "motor with travel module" for $130. They don't sell the travel module itself, which is likely a $20 part. A new opener is $200.

So is 5 years the new norm for these things? It is wasteful to replace an otherwise good opener because a small part failed. Like having to get a new car because the ignition switch broke.

 

[tjdux]

Motor with travel module may be a stepper motor with position sensing technology built into the actual motor instead of an external 20 dollar item.

Guessing thats a fix to your failed part that hopefully wont fail again as quickly.... im only guessing though.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

 

[M-technik-3]

Have you tried to call Chamberlain? I just replaced two worm drives in two units both of them over 30 years old and they we priced right. $16 dollars for parts x 2 plus shipping vs 165 for new belt drive Chamberlain's.

Their customer support was very good.

 

[kbs2244]

I had the opposite experience with Chamberlain parts.
3 week delivery on a $4.00 part shipped from south of nowhere in the AZ desert.
Shipping label showed 2 days from the time the USPS got it.
So that is over 2 weeks just to pull the part off the shelf and put it in an envelope.
This was with a CC order with the PN supplied.

The tech support guys on the phones seem OK, but their back up people are not worth spit.

 

[thool]

Yeah, the travel module is a small plastic shell containing 2 slotted wheels and 2 optical sensors. It is a separate assembly that fits onto the motor shaft and is held in place with 2 Phillips screws. I wish this small assembly was sold separately.

 

[Greyhorse]

Tried amazon? I've had good luck entering part #'s before. I did a quick search and it came up with one for liftmaster.

 

[Mustang1167]

If you call chamberlain you will wait on hold a while (up to 45 minutes in my case) but when they finally answer you normally get a knowledgeable service rep.

 

[CJ7VFR]

Yeah, the travel module is a small plastic shell containing 2 slotted wheels and 2 optical sensors. It is a separate assembly that fits onto the motor shaft and is held in place with 2 Phillips screws. I wish this small assembly was sold separately.

Does it look like this? Sorry for the big picture.

Jim

 

[thool]

Similar to that, but different shape. It doesn't have that white clip, and the mounting holes are in different locations.

Sent from my Moto G (5) Plus using Tapatalk

 

[CJ7VFR]

Similar to that, but different shape. It doesn't have that white clip, and the mounting holes are in different locations.

Sent from my Moto G (5) Plus using Tapatalk

Can you get the part number for yours? The one in my picture is from the Sears PartsDirect website, and costs about 40 bucks.

With the correct part number maybe you could find the replacement part for yours if it is sold by itself and not with the entire motor assembly.

Also, do you have the model number of your garage door opener?

Jim

 

[thool]

I don't have those handy right now. I was on chat with Sears technical support and the guy on the other end said the part is not sold separately. I got the same answer from Chamberlain when I contacted them last year for the same issue. I am noticing the sensor like pictured above being available apart from the motor, so I suspect this is for more current openers, and I am stuck with an old one that isn't sold separately.

I suppose I'll keep looking on ebay to see if the one I need gets listed there. I hate to dump this perfectly good opener in the trash because of a small part I can't find.

 

[kbs2244]

Sears Parts is just phone answering service for the OEM parts department of what they sell.
If the OEM doesn't offer it, they won't either.

Check the return address on something ordered from them.
It will be the OEM address

In your case, I would check CL, or the curb, for another opener with the same color learn button and cannibalize it.

I have had good luck mixing and matching parts across Chamberlain/Sears models.

I use daily a newer model that had a blown logic board with a logic board from an older model. The learn buttons were different but the wire colors and socket pins matched.
So I guessed it was just a different way of doing the same thing. It has working fine for 3 years.

 

[CJ7VFR]

Sears Parts is just phone answering service for the OEM parts department of what they sell.
If the OEM doesn't offer it, they won't either.

Check the return address on something ordered from them.
It will be the OEM address

In your case, I would check CL, or the curb, for another opener with the same color learn button and cannibalize it....

That is pretty much why I was asking about the model number of the opener. I bet he can find something either on CL or ebay or somewhere.

I have also had luck using the model number of products I have to find alternative/upgraded parts on cross reference documents to fix said products. The last product I did this with was about a month ago. I have an older Floormate floor cleaner that I bought back in 1993 at Sams Club that needed the squeegee on the bottom replaced.

Because of the age of the floor cleaner I could not find any parts for it using the model number, not even at the OEM. But I was able to find a cross reference document that had all the different Floormate floor cleaners on it, and the parts that were interchangeable for them.

By knowing my model number, the year I bought the Floormate, and the actual part number off of the original squeegee, I was able to determine that a newer version of the part that is for the new machines would also fit my older machine. The color of the rubber squeegee part is a bit different, and the mounting hole locations, while being the same, are shaped a bit different, but it fits and works great.

So you never know what is out there!

Jim

 

[petee_c]

I have a chamberlain belt drive that is at least 11 yrs old (came with the house when we bought it...) Having similiar issues.

Sometimes goes up about 2' and then stops... sometimes you can press the button again and it will go down or up.

Need to look at it, but we don't have a vehicle parked regularly in that bay, so it's not high on the priority list.

 

[CJ7VFR]

I have a chamberlain belt drive that is at least 11 yrs old (came with the house when we bought it...) Having similiar issues.

Sometimes goes up about 2' and then stops... sometimes you can press the button again and it will go down or up....

Have you checked the springs on the door to see if they are still good? That can cause the issue you are talking about.

If you disconnect the opener from the door, you should be able to raise up the door by hand fairly easily if the springs are still good. If the door feels really heavy, or you have trouble raising it up by hand, the springs are shot.

Also, if the springs are good, you should be able to raise up the door by hand about half way, let go of the door, and the door should stay in place. If it wants to come crashing back down when you let go of it, the springs are bad.

Jim

 

[petee_c]

Have you checked the springs on the door to see if they are still good? That can cause the issue you are talking about.



Jim

Thx Jim, Good idea. I'll check the springs. Although I have a feeling it's a electrical problem with the opener


Sent from my LG-D852 using Tapatalk

 

[petee_c]

Springs are fine. I think my problem is electrical in nature. I think it was acting up last week when the weather was warmer.

OK yesterday, cool and overcast.

Sent from my LG-D852 using Tapatalk

 

[CJ7VFR]

Springs are fine. I think my problem is electrical in nature. I think it was acting up last week when the weather was warmer.

OK yesterday, cool and overcast.

Sent from my LG-D852 using Tapatalk

One other thing you can check is to see if the pulleys installed near the top of the door tracks are good. They are the ones that will have the lifting cables running on them.

Sometimes the bearings in the pulleys wear out, and the pulleys bind up as the cables roll over them when the door is trying to open and close.

Check the pulleys. They are not that expensive and you can change them out pretty easily with a few wrenches.

Jim

 

[gtae07]

Turns out that a position sensor was giving bad readings. Cleaned it out and it worked fine...for a while. So after doing this 4 times, I called Sears and they said I need a new "motor with travel module" for $130. They don't sell the travel module itself, which is likely a $20 part.

What's wrong with a $2 limit switch?

 

[nh_yota]

My parents installed a Craftsman belt drive opener about 5 years ago on a door that never had an opener. My only complaint about it is the wireless keypad *****. I'll punch in the code and it blinks at me then I need to punch in the code one or two more times before it opens the door. My parents both have wireless remotes in their cars but I don't live there so I'm stuck with using the keypad when I stop to visit.

 

[CJ7VFR]

What's wrong with a $2 limit switch?

What is wrong is that it only costs 2 dollars! Manufactures want to put in all the newest, latest technology into their products so they can charge more because the product is "better".

Then when you have to replace a part, they can charge so much for a single part that the consumer figures it would just be better to buy a whole new thing.

Stuff is throw away anymore. It gets more and more difficult to repair items, especially since they have more and more electronics in them. One of my neighbors has a garage door opener that has to be at least 30 years old. It still works great. He greases what needs to be greased, adjusts the chain when it sags a bit, and he has replaced a few worn out gears in it over the decades. But that thing is still going strong.

Jim

 

[thool]

What's wrong with a $2 limit switch?

A $2 limit switch doesn't give the opener the ability to do that awesome transition from moving to the gradual stop. Instead, the door just stops when it is at the limit. People must have complained and asked for some relief from these abrupt stops.

"Wow, your garage door opener is kind of loud and stops abruptly. How old is it?" "30 years old"

"Wow, your garage door is quiet and I like the slow-down thing it does at the end. How old is it?" "Just got it last year! The previous 2 I had did the same thing and we can't live without it now!"

/sarcasm

 

[finn]

My Liftmaster does the same thing, so it's not exclusively a Sears / Chamberlain problem.