I'm sorry,mine is an older 3800 from 2007.I just have the standard wall control unit that came with it.
LM8500 Wall Controller Failure.
- Thread starter Dakota00
- Start date
I'm sorry,mine is an older 3800 from 2007.I just have the standard wall control unit that came with it.
FANTM58
Well-known member
Feeling anxious,,, I have 4 still in the box, waiting for my house/shop to be finished.
wssix99
Well-known member
After consulting an electrical engineer, I have purchased an Equivalent Series Resistance Meter and will be testing my original capacitors. If they are going bad, the ESR should be going up from the 130 mOhm spec. I am told that monitoring this value should tell if they are going bad over time, or not.
I am not going to do my test until mid-September when I will have replacement capacitors in-hand. I ordered some low-ESR replacements (if I need them) but they are on back-order... (stay tuned)
OCD
Well-known member
Mine went wonky last night... I was in the garage at about 1 am and the door opened on its own, controller was completely dead after that...
2level
Well-known member
OCD
Well-known member
Yes, I mentioned it in the email... Waiting for a reply. Going to call them too tomorrow...
OCD
Well-known member
Mine opened the door, and then completely stopped working... It wouldn't even close the door by pressing the button... I had to use a remote...
2level
Well-known member
OCD
Well-known member
All my remote openers work fine, except of course the myQ app...
The receiver for the regular remotes are in the opener, it works fine... The 888LM controller that died only sends a signal to the modem for the myQ app system...
The receiver for the regular remotes are in the opener, it works fine... The 888LM controller that died only sends a signal to the modem for the myQ app system...
The receiver for the supplied remote is in the 888LM not in the 8500 opener. If the receiver was in the opener the "Learn button" would be located on the opener, instead it's on the wall controller.
If your remotes are still working and the wall controller is dead, something doesn't make sense?
OCD
Well-known member
Opps...
The 888LM came with the MYQ set up I bought... I do not have a 8500 opener...
The Tool Tyrant
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Wow, I'm glad I read this thread! I was about ready to replace my 21 year old Stanley screw drive opener that finally went south. Instead, I found a used motor on e-bay and machined a new half (obsolete) lovejoy style coupling and now I'm good to go again. Maybe Liftmaster will have this issue figured out by the time mine heads south again.
wssix99
Well-known member
We'll have this licked before any new units purchased today go south. ...my life depends on it...
kwschumm
Well-known member
I was planning on buying five for a new house and shop. Is there any other good jackshaft opener? If not then ONE 8500 will go on the door with the 4 post lift (for clearance) and I'll unplug it when not in use.
ben5243
Active member
I just installed one of two 8500s last night. Already anxious about the wall controller failing and it's only been 12 hours. I did check the back of my wall controller and it says manufactured 3/17 so I'm hoping the reliability issues with the super-capacitors are worked out.
I'm also a little confused about which unit has the "receiver". You guys are saying the wall controller is the receiver because it has the learn button on it, but my motor unit came with a small yellow antenna hanging out of the bottom. Do all of your 8500s have an antenna on the motor? Perhaps they have moved the receiver to the motor because I've heard some units work by remote without the wall controller, but others do not.
I'm also a little confused about which unit has the "receiver". You guys are saying the wall controller is the receiver because it has the learn button on it, but my motor unit came with a small yellow antenna hanging out of the bottom. Do all of your 8500s have an antenna on the motor? Perhaps they have moved the receiver to the motor because I've heard some units work by remote without the wall controller, but others do not.
I hope people start contacting Liftmaster, voicing their opinion. Letting them know that they were planning to buy their opener but after reading about the failing controllers that they have decided to go with a different brand.
The antenna is for the wireless light fixture. All 8500s need the wall controller for the remote to work.
The antenna is for the wireless light fixture. All 8500s need the wall controller for the remote to work.
The Tool Tyrant
ALLIANCE MEMBER
I'm not shy...I sent their customer service a link to this thread this morning. Let's wait and see if they chime in here.
elm_street
Well-known member
I have a LM8500 in my detached garage that is about 2 months shy of 4 years old. You will never guess what happened a couple of weeks ago.
I was doing some futzing around in the basement one Sunday afternoon and the wife was reading a book on the deck that has a view of the garage. She pokes her head in the house and says "did you open the garage?". Nope, I wasn't anywhere near the remote we keep in the house.
I haven't called in yet because I was trying to find my proof of purchase and because it magically started working again. It has since crapped out again, this time not opening the door. The one thing I noticed is that when the 888lm stops working the LED behind the push bar isn't lit. I also noticed the overhead light being on at night a couple of times in the weeks before the door opened on its own.
Based on this thread I am going to call in without the proof of purchase and see if I get the same good customer service people here seem to be getting.
We are currently using the garage door in manual mode, the manual release on the opener is pulled but the opener still has power.
I was doing some futzing around in the basement one Sunday afternoon and the wife was reading a book on the deck that has a view of the garage. She pokes her head in the house and says "did you open the garage?". Nope, I wasn't anywhere near the remote we keep in the house.
I haven't called in yet because I was trying to find my proof of purchase and because it magically started working again. It has since crapped out again, this time not opening the door. The one thing I noticed is that when the 888lm stops working the LED behind the push bar isn't lit. I also noticed the overhead light being on at night a couple of times in the weeks before the door opened on its own.
Based on this thread I am going to call in without the proof of purchase and see if I get the same good customer service people here seem to be getting.
We are currently using the garage door in manual mode, the manual release on the opener is pulled but the opener still has power.
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ben5243
Active member
If that's correct, what kind of garbage engineering is this system? The wall controller wirelessly talks to remotes and the internet gateway, but not the remote light? And if it dies, remotes can't talk to the motor directly but the light can? And when you press the light button or the wall unit senses motion, it signals the motor unit to signal the light?
It sounds like they were playing pin the tail on the most overly complicated system with the worst failure mode possible and they got a bullseye.
The Tool Tyrant
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Just think about it...how small a percentage of their users are on the GJ, and how many folks here have had issues! Damn, I'd hate to have to answer the phones in their customer service department.
OK, I have a 3800 not an 8500, but here's what I know. My 3800 has TWO wire antennas hanging down from the motor. One for the remote in the car and one to tell the remote light to turn on. There is a purple learn button on the motor itself. There is ALSO a button on the wall module that is labeled prog, that places the opener in program mode. In my case I can guarantee you that the receiver for the vehicle remotes is inside the motor ON THE 3800, because right now my wall unit is disconnected and my vehicle remotes work. It's possible that liftmaster moved the vehicle remote function to the wall unit on the 8500, I can neither confirm nor deny that. Can you guess why my 3800 wall unit is disconnected?
Last month I found my door open three times. Knowing how these things work, I was confident that the problem was either the wall unit, wiring between the wall unit and the motor, or the motor unit electronics. I thought I might have a mouse chewing on the wires but they looked fine. I disconnected the wall unit and guess what, no more phantom opening for the last 5 weeks.
I bought the 3800 right before the 8500 came out, was that 5 years ago? Then about 1.5 years later went to buy a second 3800 for the door 4 feet away. I ordered the 3800 and the seller sent me an 8500. I sent it back as I knew the 8500 used different remote frequencies than the 3800 and I wanted to have 1 remote for all 3 of my doors. Long story shortened, the 3900 was still being sold so I bought that one. The 3800 and 3900 are IDENTICAL except that they have different part numbers and the 3900 doesn't come with a light or wall panel. Instead it comes with a pushbutton like DOORBELL that simply shorts the wires together when you press the button.
My 3800 uses the 398LM wall module which is what was causing the fantom opening. The 398LM works similar to the safety photo sensors. Power and signal are on the same two wires. The wall module pulls power from the wires and charges up some caps. When it needs to command the door to open, it shorts those two power wires together. During that brief time it's using power stored in those caps. The motor unit senses the shorted wires and opens or closes the door. It's a little more complicated than that, because there's some intelligent pulses going on, to indicate to turn the light on, lock, program, etc.
I don't care if mine is under warranty or not, I'm simply going to be installing a doorbell. If the 8500 does truly use the wall module for the vehicle remote, then that really blows for those with the 8500. Looking at the pictures of the 8500 wall module posted above, one of the circuit board traces looks suspiciously like an antenna trace....
Last month I found my door open three times. Knowing how these things work, I was confident that the problem was either the wall unit, wiring between the wall unit and the motor, or the motor unit electronics. I thought I might have a mouse chewing on the wires but they looked fine. I disconnected the wall unit and guess what, no more phantom opening for the last 5 weeks.
I bought the 3800 right before the 8500 came out, was that 5 years ago? Then about 1.5 years later went to buy a second 3800 for the door 4 feet away. I ordered the 3800 and the seller sent me an 8500. I sent it back as I knew the 8500 used different remote frequencies than the 3800 and I wanted to have 1 remote for all 3 of my doors. Long story shortened, the 3900 was still being sold so I bought that one. The 3800 and 3900 are IDENTICAL except that they have different part numbers and the 3900 doesn't come with a light or wall panel. Instead it comes with a pushbutton like DOORBELL that simply shorts the wires together when you press the button.
My 3800 uses the 398LM wall module which is what was causing the fantom opening. The 398LM works similar to the safety photo sensors. Power and signal are on the same two wires. The wall module pulls power from the wires and charges up some caps. When it needs to command the door to open, it shorts those two power wires together. During that brief time it's using power stored in those caps. The motor unit senses the shorted wires and opens or closes the door. It's a little more complicated than that, because there's some intelligent pulses going on, to indicate to turn the light on, lock, program, etc.
I don't care if mine is under warranty or not, I'm simply going to be installing a doorbell. If the 8500 does truly use the wall module for the vehicle remote, then that really blows for those with the 8500. Looking at the pictures of the 8500 wall module posted above, one of the circuit board traces looks suspiciously like an antenna trace....
ben5243
Active member
Just think about it...how small a percentage of their users are on the GJ, and how many folks here have had issues! Damn, I'd hate to have to answer the phones in their customer service department.
I'm just guessing but a pretty large percentage of 8500 owners probably got their units from a local installer and when they have failures only some might call liftmaster. Most probably call their installer, they come out, verify the unit is bad and some probably even charge the owner for a new controller plus service call.
I bought mine from a local installer when I bought new doors and installed both myself but he said he installs tons of them.
Is the 8500 the only opener that uses these control panels? They are probably seeing failures across the board. But when there are no injuries, most companies just redesign it, deny it and move on.
Jazzman442
Well-known member
I am getting ready to have my 2 garage doors High Lifted. I am in need of 2 jack shaft operators. I sent an email to Liftmaster explaining the issue and I references this site. Waiting to see what there response is.
Any one know a better operator?
Any one know a better operator?
bjl95mustang
Active member
I tried to get a new updated controller. They want you to now trouble shoot it. Check wiring, reset remotes, etc. Than you have to wait for a day or 2 and see if it happens again...
kwschumm
Well-known member
Based on the failure rate in this thread it would probably be a good idea to buy a spare one for WHEN they fail.
Vintage Veloce
Well-known member
I have three of these openers as well as the MyQ. I wonder if I will get an alert that the door is open for one of these failures? Has anyone experienced the failure and gotten (or not) an alert via the MyQ app?
elm_street
Well-known member
I finally got around to calling in today. I got asked if I could disconnect the wall controller and then try reconnecting it. I stated that I had tried that and the controller seemed to work for about 10 days before it stopped working again. I was put on hold for a couple of minutes and when the guy came back on the line he said they are shipping a new controller out to me.
Overall a fairly painless processes. The new controller should get here mid-late next week. I took the one I have off the wall and popped out the circuit board. One of the caps looks very slightly bulged on top but not too much. That is the only thing that looked a little off on the circuit board.
And to answer Vintage Veloce's question above, there are reports in this thread about the app not reporting an open door when the controller craps out.
Overall a fairly painless processes. The new controller should get here mid-late next week. I took the one I have off the wall and popped out the circuit board. One of the caps looks very slightly bulged on top but not too much. That is the only thing that looked a little off on the circuit board.
And to answer Vintage Veloce's question above, there are reports in this thread about the app not reporting an open door when the controller craps out.
cajunfirehawk
Well-known member
As a redundant backup, for those already running these like my self: I had an issue with my kids (still do but read on) because they are a lil lazy and they would rather open my air conditioned garage where my car is stored and walk into my house rather than walking to my front or back door so I had to come up with a way to lock them out of my garage; simply go to amazon and buy a wireless remote control outlet, mine is made by etekcity, plug the module into the receptacle where your opener motor is plugged into and plug the motor into the module and you can control the power to the opener motor, this also serves as a redundant lockout for the lm888 failure, one slight down side, when you restore power to the motor, its takes a few minutes for the 888lm to "reboot" other than that, no mystery door openings! YMMV
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axeman713
New member
I was about to have a door put in, in a few weeks with the LM8500..
I'm confused on the issue. Is the issue just the controller? Can I just buy an upgraded one or a more simpler one?
I'm confused on the issue. Is the issue just the controller? Can I just buy an upgraded one or a more simpler one?
The issue is the controller. Purchasing the upgraded controller also suffers from the same issue as the supplied controller that comes with the 8500. Going with a simple "push button" controller, you wont be able to use the remote for your vehicle, the wall mounted light and motion sensor will not work plus the MyQ system as well.
The Tool Tyrant
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Liftmaster customer service reply...
Hey Gang, I sent an e-mail to their C.S. last week and I just received the reply below...
Thank you for contacting Chamberlain Technical Support. We genuinely apologize for the delay in response. Due to the unexpected overflow of emails we are currently unable to reach our response time but are working as quickly as possible to catch up. Below is a response to the inquiry you recently submitted on our website.
Thank you for the information Tom. I would like you to know we are addressing the issue as we speak. I do apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused you. Thank you kindly and have a great weekend. .
If you need further assistance or have questions, please feel free to email me back. If you would prefer that I call you back, please email me the best phone number and time to reach you.
Well...there you have it...time will tell.
Hey Gang, I sent an e-mail to their C.S. last week and I just received the reply below...
Thank you for contacting Chamberlain Technical Support. We genuinely apologize for the delay in response. Due to the unexpected overflow of emails we are currently unable to reach our response time but are working as quickly as possible to catch up. Below is a response to the inquiry you recently submitted on our website.
Thank you for the information Tom. I would like you to know we are addressing the issue as we speak. I do apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused you. Thank you kindly and have a great weekend. .
If you need further assistance or have questions, please feel free to email me back. If you would prefer that I call you back, please email me the best phone number and time to reach you.
Well...there you have it...time will tell.
kbuhagiar
Well-known member
Hello Folks,
I just re-read the entire thread, but I couldn't find any reference to a cutoff date of manufacture for the defective 888LMs.
I have two of the controllers, one is dated 9-15 and one is dated 3-15.
Anyone have a ballpark idea about how long the bad batch was produced?
Thanks.
I just re-read the entire thread, but I couldn't find any reference to a cutoff date of manufacture for the defective 888LMs.
I have two of the controllers, one is dated 9-15 and one is dated 3-15.
Anyone have a ballpark idea about how long the bad batch was produced?
Thanks.
2level
Well-known member
There is no cutoff date because the issue is not so much a "bad batch", but a bad design that has yet to be corrected, IMO.
I received a replacement wall controller Aug. 2017. The 2015 production models appear to be the same as the Aug. 2017 version, including the capacitors -- which were probably not ever the real problem anyway.
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They obviously have redesigned a part on the board. Hopefully that sorts us out. There is another controller that does not have the MyQ feature. I wonder if that has the same capacitor that has been implicated as being the problem or part of the problem.
I just re read a few posts and it seems that the capacitor might not be a bad part but rather part of a poor design.
I just re read a few posts and it seems that the capacitor might not be a bad part but rather part of a poor design.
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