LM8500 Wall Controller Failure.

[jmorriss]

I've been looking hard and can't find any others without getting into the commercial end of things from either Liftmaster or Overhead door (and I don't think you can just buy an overhead door one without the install).

For those of you interested, I submitted a question to tech support. 5 days later I hadn't heard anything so I called. They said the same thing on the phone as stated earlier in the thread, that the problem had been corrected as of May manufacturing. The lady on the phone was kind enough to provide me a written response as I requested:

Case Number: 20171016-XXXXXX
Product: 8500
Issue: Product Inquiry - I have a question about a product

Issue Detail: I am looking to purchase an 8500 for my shop, but am concern with the numerous reports of the control board and/or components failing, leading to a fail open scenario. Have the product issues been resolved?


Dear jmorriss,

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.

The 8500's receiver is located in the 888LM wall control, and was the source for most major issues with the unit, such as unintended operation and the garage door not activating. These issues have been resolved will all 888LM wall control units manufactured after May of 2017. When you purchase the 8500 from a dealer and have it installed, you can ask about the date of the 888LM, and request a newer one, or get a replacement through us.

The wall control, as well as other parts of the 8500 have a five year warranty, and the motor itself has a lifetime warranty.

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. Please use case number 20171016-XXXXXX.

Sincerely,
Katie

 

[kabinenroller]

I am following this thread because one of two my 8500's installed in my shop is randomly opening by itself. I plan to contact Liftmaster and explain my issue, the control panel was built in January of '15 but I did not purchase or install the operators until sometime in late '15.
I still think I will remove both control units and operate the doors with a push button. I do not use the doors often so the inconvenience is not as important as the security or the potential of having a door open in the dead of winter.

 

[markushofer27]

So...are there any other jackshafts that are worth consideration? Keep in mind I'll have high lift tracks and standard openers are a no-go.

Take a look at zap openers.

 

[jmorriss]

I am following this thread because one of two my 8500's installed in my shop is randomly opening by itself. I plan to contact Liftmaster and explain my issue, the control panel was built in January of '15 but I did not purchase or install the operators until sometime in late '15.
I still think I will remove both control units and operate the doors with a push button. I do not use the doors often so the inconvenience is not as important as the security or the potential of having a door open in the dead of winter.

If you contact liftmaster they will send you new controllers.

 

[bullnerd]

Damn, that *****. Some of you guys have beautiful shops and cars, I cant imagine worrying about them opening randomly!

I was thinking about buying two for my new Shop also.

What about buying just the motor unit (or using your existing) and adding after market controls? Is that a possibility? I have no idea, just thinking out loud.

I am also wondering if the Cap quality doesn't really matter? Its just the fact that its a poor board design like was mentioned earlier. Meaning, any cap, high or low quality would fail in this design.

 

[jmorriss]

Damn, that *****. Some of you guys have beautiful shops and cars, I cant imagine worrying about them opening randomly!

I was thinking about buying two for my new Shop also.

What about buying just the motor unit (or using your existing) and adding after market controls? Is that a possibility? I have no idea, just thinking out loud.

I am also wondering if the Cap quality doesn't really matter? Its just the fact that its a poor board design like was mentioned earlier. Meaning, any cap, high or low quality would fail in this design.

I intend to use a different internet gateway device with door sensors to monitor and control. Not sure which one yet, but something on a separate system that would notify me in the event of a failure.

 

[frank001]

I just came across this thread. In May of this year we were gone on a six week trip to Europe. My neighbor came by the house to take a look while we were gone and saw that one of garage doors was open. All the garage doors have LM 8500 openers installed about 2-1/2 years before the failure. She was able to close the door, but no way to tell how long the door had been open. Good thing my garage doors are not visible from the street.
When I returned , I called the installer and he replaced the wall controller. He seemed to know immediately what the problem was so he must have seen it before. The other two openers have been OK up to now. I thought this was an isolated incident until I started reading about it on GJ. I'll be calling LM a few times in the next few months to get a supply of spare wall controllers.



http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=284998&highlight=frank001

 

[Hollywood D]

Does this effect all liftmaster and chamberlain openers with the myq? It looks like most of them have the same opener control pad

 

[kabinenroller]

This morning I called Liftmaster and explained my issue with the door operating randomly. The women was very helpful and offered to send me two new 888LM control panels. ( I have two 8500's)
I asked her if they were the units made after May 2017, she said they destroyed the older units and are replacing them with updated controls.
I just received email confirmation of the order and should have the replacement units in a week or so.
Hopefully this will solve my problem and other 8500 owners will contact Liftmaster to request updated controls.
Liftmaster should have stepped up when the were first aware of this and supplied owners with new panels.
Can you imagine if a door was open and a thief or some weirdo had access to your home or family?
This is a real personal security issue.

 

[BIG-BRO]

This morning I called Liftmaster and explained my issue with the door operating randomly. The women was very helpful and offered to send me two new 888LM control panels. ( I have two 8500's)
I asked her if they were the units made after May 2017, she said they destroyed the older units and are replacing them with updated controls.
I just received email confirmation of the order and should have the replacement units in a week or so.
Hopefully this will solve my problem and other 8500 owners will contact Liftmaster to request updated controls.
Liftmaster should have stepped up when the were first aware of this and supplied owners with new panels.
Can you imagine if a door was open and a thief or some weirdo had access to your home or family?
This is a real personal security issue.

I am wondering if the inventory at distributors like WeShipGarageDoorParts and Amazon has cleared by now...?

 

[jmorriss]

I am wondering if the inventory at distributors like WeShipGarageDoorParts and Amazon has cleared by now...?

Even if it hasn't all this is a quick phone call to LiftMaster and you'd have the panel before it failed

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

 

[Dakota00]

Why do I have that feeling Lift Master is blowing smoke up our asses...
I believe these so called "updated" controllers are still the same failing crappy units and that no improvements were made. I feel they are feeding us a bunch of BS, telling people that these are the new and improved models to basically keep the mass calm and happy. Lets see in 2-3yrs from now if and when these "updated" controllers malfunction, will Lift Master still replace them? By that time majority of these 8500's owners who are currently experiencing problems will be pass the 5 year warranty mark. Then you're SOL!!

 

[cajunfirehawk]

Why do I have that feeling Lift Master is blowing smoke up our asses...
I believe these so called "updated" controllers are still the same failing crappy units and that no improvements were made. I feel they are feeding us a bunch of BS, telling people that these are the new and improved models to basically keep the mass calm and happy. Lets see in 2-3yrs from now if and when these "updated" controllers malfunction, will Lift Master still replace them? By that time majority of these 8500's owners who are currently experiencing problems will be pass the 5 year warranty mark. Then you're SOL!!

A replacement 888lm is $40 on amazon, so even iF you have to buy a new 888lm in 5 yrs, is $40 going to break you, really? It is not the jackshaft openers that are faulty from what is posted in this thread, it is the wall controller that has an issue...correct?

 

[Dakota00]

A replacement 888lm is $40 on amazon, so even iF you have to buy a new 888lm in 5 yrs, is $40 going to break you, really? It is not the jackshaft openers that are faulty from what is posted in this thread, it is the wall controller that has an issue...correct?

We paid good money for these openers. You think it's right that we should have to dish out $40 every 2-3 years which these controllers are lasting? My biggest concern they are faulty, unreliable and a huge security concern in which your garage door(s) can open by itself at any given time.

 

[kwschumm]

A replacement 888lm is $40 on amazon, so even iF you have to buy a new 888lm in 5 yrs, is $40 going to break you, really? It is not the jackshaft openers that are faulty from what is posted in this thread, it is the wall controller that has an issue...correct?

More than the cost of the wall controller is the security risk of having doors open randomly due to failures caused by bad design. You could replace them at your cost every year and still not be sure the doors will not randomly open. Peace of mind is worth a lot more than the cost of the controllers.

 

[2level]

Why do I have that feeling Lift Master is blowing smoke up our asses...
I believe these so called "updated" controllers are still the same failing crappy units and that no improvements were made. I feel they are feeding us a bunch of BS, telling people that these are the new and improved models to basically keep the mass calm and happy. Lets see in 2-3yrs from now if and when these "updated" controllers malfunction, will Lift Master still replace them? By that time majority of these 8500's owners who are currently experiencing problems will be pass the 5 year warranty mark. Then you're SOL!!

Yep. A scripted talking point by a marketing and/or customer service rep espousing "updated, it's fixed" is pretty much meaningless. My post-May 2017 LM-888 wall control appears unchanged from some pre-May 2017 controllers. If Liftmaster/Chamberlain management and engineering goes on record stating that the problems are solved, and explaining how, then we will have something to build on. An official bulletin on their website, and in their dealers' showrooms, is needed at this point.

 

[Dakota00]

If Liftmaster/Chamberlain management and engineering goes on record stating that the problems are solved, and explaining how, then we will have something to build on. An official bulletin on their website, and in their dealers' showrooms, is needed at this point.

Well that's just it. No official bulletin was ever released, to hold these guys accountable. In my books, they're still sending out the same defective controllers.

 

[wssix99]

I've finished my controller swap.

Comparing the two controllers, the new boards have gone through a revision since 2014. (Look at the chip at the end of the red line. This is the only area that I see, which is physically different with regard to electronic and component arrangement.)

View media item 76580
After waiting months for new supercapacitors to be shipped to me, which match the form factor of the originals, I was able to swap out the units in the old controllers:

View media item 76557
^We'll keep these around if the new ones from Liftmaster start acting up and I need a bridge while we work through whatever phase of legal/recall gyrations we end up in.

Some data:

I talked to an electrical engineer friend and was advised that a dropping ESR may be an indicator of these capacitors going bad. I had purchased a capacitor ESR meter to test my units just as they started failing, so I wasn't able to get a baseline of data with the capacitors going downhill.

I did measure the ESR of the capacitors (After using a 10 Ohm resistor to drain them. I understand direct-shorting this type of capacitor can cause them to explode or heat up and catch fire.) I removed from my old units and the ESR degradation seems to correlate to the level of poor performance of the units:

ESR = Equivalent Series Resistance https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equivalent_series_resistance

Original Hy-Cap 1F 2.7V Super Capacitor AC ESR Spec = 130 mOhm

I've read that ESR out of spec by 20% is bad and all of the ones on my remote units were way over. Further more, both capacitors on each unit gave the SAME reading with the more frequently used doors being worse. So, it definitely appears that something systematic is going on here and NOT related to anything random with the electrical components.

All doors were powered together at the same time, in early 2015 and started failing just shy of their 3 year power-on point.

Door #1 (Rarely opened): First to fail.
Both Capacitors - ESR = 440 mOhm (vs. 130 mOhm)
Failure Mode - Trigger remote lights to come on randomly

Door #2 (Opened several times a week): Third to fail.
Both Capacitors - ESR = 470 mOhm (vs. 130 mOhm)
Failure Mode - Door randomly opens and freezes part-way open. Lights dark. Auto shut-off feature does not work.

Door #3 (Opened every day): Second to fail.
Both Capacitors - ESR = 550 mOhm (vs. 130 mOhm)
Failure Mode - Door randomly opens and freezes part-way open. Lights dark. Auto shut-off feature does not work.


I replaced the Hy-Cap Capacitors with AVX Supercapacitors, model SCCR12B105SRB; ESR 150 mOhm. Maybe we'll see how they do, someday?

 

[Hollywood D]

Liftmaster has some alternative controllers that also work with the 8500. They don’t have al the fancy myq stuff built into them. I wonder if they would work without the threat of it failing some day.

 

[wssix99]

Liftmaster has some alternative controllers that also work with the 8500. They don’t have al the fancy myq stuff built into them. I wonder if they would work without the threat of it failing some day.

Here's a thread on the topic: https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=367543&highlight=liftmaster

I think the conclusion the community has come to is that the only controls that will work with these openers are the ones listed in the instructions and a regular bell switch. (The bell switch looses the auto-close timer and other features.)

 

[kabinenroller]

This morning I called Liftmaster and explained my issue with the door operating randomly. The women was very helpful and offered to send me two new 888LM control panels. ( I have two 8500's)
I asked her if they were the units made after May 2017, she said they destroyed the older units and are replacing them with updated controls.
I just received email confirmation of the order and should have the replacement units in a week or so.
Hopefully this will solve my problem and other 8500 owners will contact Liftmaster to request updated controls.
Liftmaster should have stepped up when the were first aware of this and supplied owners with new panels.
Can you imagine if a door was open and a thief or some weirdo had access to your home or family?
This is a real personal security issue.[/QUOTE

UPDATE:
Today I was working in my shop and noticed that my wall mounted red indicator lights was on, that means the overhead door on the other side of my building was open!! I checked and sure enough the door was open. The wall mounted control panel was on lock (green LED flashing) so no remotes can operate, I was the only person in the shop so that means the replacement control panel is acting up. This really upsets me, my shop is now subject to a security risk. The building has an alarm system and is within rifle range of my house but when I close and lock the doors I expect the building to stay secured.
Liftmaster will be getting a call from a very unhappy customer. My replacement control panels were manufactured in August 2017, so they have not solved this issue with the newer control.

 

[2level]

Liftmaster has some alternative controllers that also work with the 8500. They don’t have al the fancy myq stuff built into them. I wonder if they would work without the threat of it failing some day.

Here's a thread on the topic: https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=367543&highlight=liftmaster

I think the conclusion the community has come to is that the only controls that will work with these openers are the ones listed in the instructions and a regular bell switch. (The bell switch looses the auto-close timer and other features.)

A bell switch bypass also loses the all-important ability to use the car remote.

 

[Radix2]

UPDATE:
Today I was working in my shop and noticed that my wall mounted red indicator lights was on, that means the overhead door on the other side of my building was open!! I checked and sure enough the door was open. The wall mounted control panel was on lock (green LED flashing) so no remotes can operate, I was the only person in the shop so that means the replacement control panel is acting up. This really upsets me, my shop is now subject to a security risk. The building has an alarm system and is within rifle range of my house but when I close and lock the doors I expect the building to stay secured.
Liftmaster will be getting a call from a very unhappy customer. My replacement control panels were manufactured in August 2017, so they have not solved this issue with the newer control.

Could also mean that you have a different problem, not in the control panel at all...?

 

[kabinenroller]

Could also mean that you have a different problem, not in the control panel at all...?

I cannot see where else the problem could be, with this operator the control panel on the wall is the brains of the system. The operator it self does not have a receiver, the remote control buttons communicate with the wall mounted control box not the operator like a trolley type opener. Something is telling the control panel to open the door, like I mentioned the “lock” feature was in place when this happened. The two remote control units were in the section of building that the door allows acces to, there was no one even near that area. The only thought is the same thought I had when it initially happend: could the heli arc welder put out an electronic signal that the control panel is picking up? ( I was welding today) I have two of these operators on this building, the control panels are mounted next to each other so if one receives a rogue signal why does it not affect the second operator??
For now I have the mechanical dead bolt activated to make sure the door stays down.

 

[Rod N]

If you have the mechanical dead bolt locked will the motor not just stay on if activated?

I'm pretty sure the overhead units do not detect resistance when going up, only down.

 

[Dakota00]

Bringing this thread back to life...
A buddy of mine called tonight telling me he had issues with his 8500 opening the garage door by itself. I went over to diagnose the problem and sure enough another faulty wall controller. The kicker, the opener has been in service for only 6 months!

 

[driftpin]

I have two new controllers sitting on my workbench for replacement.

 

[Vintage Veloce]

If you have the mechanical dead bolt locked will the motor not just stay on if activated?

I'm pretty sure the overhead units do not detect resistance when going up, only down.

My 8500 does detect the upward resistance and stops.

 

[Vintage Veloce]

Had to be out of town for a couple days... this was my "just in case" fix.

 

[driftpin]

I installed one of two new Liftmaster 8500 door control units, the 888 LM, and it cured for now my issue I had w/the original one.

One of the issues was not being able to have the remote light Liftmaster 830 LM reliably be controlled by either the automatic door function or the 888 LM manual light switch. One of my 830 LM remote lights (the light is separate from the door motor, and is controlled by wireless, for those of you not Liftmaster 8500 owners) wasn't reliably working, once in-awhile, it would work, but I called the 800 service # & am being sent a replacement.

The other 830 LM light was giving me issues too, I had been trying LED bulbs in it, and they interfered w/the wireless signal. I replaced them w/traditional filament incandescent bulbs, and was able to program the system to work properly w/the door movement, and w/the manual light switch on the 888 LM wall control for the entire system.

I have Costco-FEIT four foot LED shop lamps in close-proximity to the doors, and they do not seem to be causing any signal issues w/the door openers or the remote lights.

 

[southview]

Anyone interested in a class action suit?

 

[48548]

Anyone interested in a class action suit?

It should be.... i was pissed when i came home to find out door open....

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

 

[driftpin]

I have two 8500's installed a couple of years ago, two new wall control units installed within the last few months. With the old or current controllers, I never had an unscheduled door opening.

 

[PoorOwner]

I have two 8500's installed a couple of years ago, two new wall control units installed within the last few months. With the old or current controllers, I never had an unscheduled door opening.

Why did you have to install new wall control for them?

 

[Wakepowell]

I am glad I found this thread! While I was traveling out of state this week I received a 5 am phone call from a neighbor telling me that my shop garage door was open. They were concerned since they rarely see the door open and never see the door open unless my truck or Tahoe is in the driveway. They walked over to investigate and when they entered the shop the motion sensor alarm went off. ADT called immediately and then the police arrived.

I am extremely grateful for good neighbors and police force! I have over a $1m in vehicles plus all my tools, parts, neon signs etc....in the shop. They closed the door, dead bolted it for me and reset the alarm until I could get home. Additionally, the police visited the shop on an hourly beat and kept me posted that everything was secure.

I've been scratching my head as to how the door could just open on its own. The wall control unit had been giving a high pitch squeal occasionally over the past month but I didn't give it much consideration. When I got home this evening I looked at the opener and did not see any error codes flashing. I cannot get the opener to function at all. Even using the buttons under the control panel. The wall control does not have any lights on and appears dead. From reading this thread I feel confident that the wall controller is the culprit. I will be calling Liftmaster in the morning.....

Additionally, I am going to place a manual lock on the door to prevent inadvertent openings. Thanks again for all the great information here!!

 

[HoosierMark]

Wakepowell, similar thing happened to me a couple of weeks ago. I have three wall units, two on ground level and one in basement. Went to basement early morning after working there the day before. Door was wide open. Wall unit had no lights and totally non functional. Read the instructions for testing ( I know read the instructions) it said disconnect the wires and touch them together. If door functions, then wall unit is bad. Yep, wall unit was bad. We did a very small weld job in the basement a day or two before and I wondered if some how a power surge got it. Welder was only 110 so I thought maybe it was on the same circuit but it is not. Plus other two wall units are working fine. I have a new replacement unit but I am out almost $70.

 

[48548]

Wakepowell, similar thing happened to me a couple of weeks ago. I have three wall units, two on ground level and one in basement. Went to basement early morning after working there the day before. Door was wide open. Wall unit had no lights and totally non functional. Read the instructions for testing ( I know read the instructions) it said disconnect the wires and touch them together. If door functions, then wall unit is bad. Yep, wall unit was bad. We did a very small weld job in the basement a day or two before and I wondered if some how a power surge got it. Welder was only 110 so I thought maybe it was on the same circuit but it is not. Plus other two wall units are working fine. I have a new replacement unit but I am out almost $70.

Pisses me off liftmaster doesn't stand behind their product.

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

 

[brianpgriset]

Has anyone just put a wifi operated outlet? I just put a LM8500 in my garage and I love it. I was going to plug it in through I wifi outlet for longer trips.

 

[Vintage Veloce]

Has anyone just put a wifi operated outlet? I just put a LM8500 in my garage and I love it. I was going to plug it in through I wifi outlet for longer trips.

Actually I just bought a z-wave outlet for mine but haven't installed it yet. This one seemed to be the best option:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07578W7KY/?tag=atomicindus08-20

My plan is to automatically disconnect the power overnight, so there would be no chance of it opening in the middle of the night at least. And I could manually turn it off for vacations, etc.

 

[kbuhagiar]

Has anyone just put a wifi operated outlet? I just put a LM8500 in my garage and I love it. I was going to plug it in through I wifi outlet for longer trips.

That's what I did, a WeMo controlled outlet for each of my 8500s. They provide little extra bit of security when we are away for an extended period of time.