I had the 3800 liftmaster door opener installed on my newly built garage with new 16x8 overhead door. The unit having had the rpm sensor replaced out of the box ran 10 days with no problem. Now the door cocked and the rails bent because the cable opposite the unit came off the drum. Installer repaired rails corrected door position and reinstalled cable back on drum. He operated unit several times when again the cable jumped off the drum opposite the unit. He blamed the liftmaster design and removed the unit and refunded my money. I don't believe this was the problem. Did anyone have this model that caused a simular problem? Any help is appreciated.
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liftmaster 3800 model problem?
- Thread starter binhunter
- Start date
andersen24
Well-known member
I installed mine a little over a month ago and have had no problems what so ever! A friend of mine who works for a garage door company helped me put it in and told me they are the best thing since sliced bread and I have to agree. He did tell me you have to make sure everything is lined up correctly that they have less forgiveness then a typical overhead. I would try another vendor.
montecarlo31
Well-known member
- Joined
- Feb 27, 2010
- Messages
- 52
I would have another installed come out. Where are you located? I found a installer on liftmaster's site that was a gold or whatever dealer. They did a great Job. He said he's done well over 100 of them, most in higher end homes and has not had one call back.
I had the same problem when I tried to bypass the cable tension sensor.
I installed the 3800's 1-8' door, 1-16' door, about 2yrs ago. The 16' door started to have a problem of not going down (auto reverse). It was because of slack in the cable (that is why there is a sensor for it). So I thought I was smarter than Liftmaster and bypassed the cable tension sensor which resulted in the same problem of cable off the spool. I have not fully solved the problem yet. But I have come to the conclusion that the door is binding on the way down. When I try to roll the door down by hand it binds at the very beginning. When I finish my floor I am going to remove the rollers form the door and lube or replace them. My door worked for a couple of years so I think mine is a maintenance thing. I think you have to have a properly function door for a 3800 (installed correctly) to work.
I installed the 3800's 1-8' door, 1-16' door, about 2yrs ago. The 16' door started to have a problem of not going down (auto reverse). It was because of slack in the cable (that is why there is a sensor for it). So I thought I was smarter than Liftmaster and bypassed the cable tension sensor which resulted in the same problem of cable off the spool. I have not fully solved the problem yet. But I have come to the conclusion that the door is binding on the way down. When I try to roll the door down by hand it binds at the very beginning. When I finish my floor I am going to remove the rollers form the door and lube or replace them. My door worked for a couple of years so I think mine is a maintenance thing. I think you have to have a properly function door for a 3800 (installed correctly) to work.
SgtRauksauff
Well-known member
My first thought is that maybe the cable tension isn't quite right.
On the one I installed a few weeks ago, instructions were to:
1. Install the spring with zero tension.
2. tighten/wind the left-side pulley by hand, then tighten the pulley setscrew.
3. tighten the spring one turn to maintain tension on the cable.
4. tighten/wind the right-side pulley by hand, and tighten the pulley setscrew.
5. tighten the spring the proper number of turns as shown in the manual.
the door seemed to be perfectly balanced, it took a little effort to raise it, but anywhere along its travel, if I let go, it stays. I was very careful to make sure the horizontal part of the track was as square as I could make it. We ended up getting it down to about 3/8" from perfect.
only after that part was done, did the liftmaster go on, and we haven't had any problems.
What part of the rail got repaired? maybe the joint between the curve and the vertical part isn't quite right?
is your door a 2-spring or single-spring door? check to see if they're both tensioned teh same? maybe the side opposite of the opener is a hair looser than the other side, so it unloads too much when the door hits bottom?
Maybe the up/down limit settings need to be re-learned, and/or the force settings?
good luck..
On the one I installed a few weeks ago, instructions were to:
1. Install the spring with zero tension.
2. tighten/wind the left-side pulley by hand, then tighten the pulley setscrew.
3. tighten the spring one turn to maintain tension on the cable.
4. tighten/wind the right-side pulley by hand, and tighten the pulley setscrew.
5. tighten the spring the proper number of turns as shown in the manual.
the door seemed to be perfectly balanced, it took a little effort to raise it, but anywhere along its travel, if I let go, it stays. I was very careful to make sure the horizontal part of the track was as square as I could make it. We ended up getting it down to about 3/8" from perfect.
only after that part was done, did the liftmaster go on, and we haven't had any problems.
What part of the rail got repaired? maybe the joint between the curve and the vertical part isn't quite right?
is your door a 2-spring or single-spring door? check to see if they're both tensioned teh same? maybe the side opposite of the opener is a hair looser than the other side, so it unloads too much when the door hits bottom?
Maybe the up/down limit settings need to be re-learned, and/or the force settings?
good luck..
I had the same problem, and it was solved by raising the ends of the tracks slightly, so that the door is sitting at a slight downward angle at rest. Remember, these garage door openers dont push the door down, the simply guide it as it drops down. And if the door won't drop on its own and the opener spins the cable drums the cables will unwind. That's what the tension sensor is for.
dmeadow
Well-known member
I had the same problem, and it was solved by raising the ends of the tracks slightly, so that the door is sitting at a slight downward angle at rest. Remember, these garage door openers dont push the door down, the simply guide it as it drops down. And if the door won't drop on its own and the opener spins the cable drums the cables will unwind. That's what the tension sensor is for.
I installed mine myself and had a similar problem. I don't recall entirely, but I think there was an issue with the way the tensioner was working and the door was binding a bit. Once I resolved those it worked fine. The Liftmaster is sensitive to these things, but once it is set up it works reliably.
I think your "professional installer" may not be familiar with them. Sounds like he quit without understanding what the problem was.
tdkkart
Well-known member
The LiftMaster opener does not push the door down like other openers. With a 16ft wide door it would be very easy for the door to bind and have one side get behind the other. If this happens, and it would only have to 1-2", the cable will indeed come off the drum.
As others have mentioned, he door has to be able to go from all the way open to completely closed while rolling under it's own weight. No binding whatsoever.
As others have mentioned, he door has to be able to go from all the way open to completely closed while rolling under it's own weight. No binding whatsoever.