Harry P. Posted May 10, 2014 Share Posted May 10, 2014 I have a Genie Intellicode screw-drive opener... it won't open the door anymore. Even if the door is disconnected, the opener will only run for a second or two and shut off. Is this a problem with the transformer? Anyone have a similar problem and know how to fix it? It's not the open and close settings... no matter where I set them, the opener will only run for a second or two (with door connected or disconnected). If there is a relatively easy fix I'd rather do that than buy a whole new opener. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cobraman Posted May 10, 2014 Share Posted May 10, 2014 Harry, search youtube. If there is a fix it will be there. I fixed several things around my house by watching videos there. Good luck ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ace-Garageguy Posted May 10, 2014 Share Posted May 10, 2014 Good luck, and i hope you find it's a common problem with a simple solution. In general, without having a unit on the bench and testing the circuits as it's powered up, diagnosis is pretty much hopeless. If it's run by a logic chip that's died, you're probably out of luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
High octane Posted May 10, 2014 Share Posted May 10, 2014 Those garage door openers don't last forever Harry. You may need to "pop" for a new one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry P. Posted May 10, 2014 Author Share Posted May 10, 2014 I think I figured out the problem. I'll do a check tomorrow morning. If I'm right, it's an easy fix. I'll let you know... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freakshow12 Posted May 11, 2014 Share Posted May 11, 2014 Mine did 3k damage to my truck so I don't like fixing them. Lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Geiger Posted May 11, 2014 Share Posted May 11, 2014 (edited) I have two garage door openers that are haunted. One of them works all the time, but you need to hold the button in the entire time of operation. ( you should be able to just push it once and watch the door go up or down) The second one, which is the one closest to the house, has no doubt gotten the most use. It works when it wants to. There are times it works flawlessly for a day to a week. Then it will go up a short distance and stop. Other times I just hear a click at the unit and nothing. There's nothing wrong with the physical unit like a worn or damaged gear, it's the electrics on mine. There is a sticker on mine from the company that installed them for the original owner. I'm beyond fiddling with them so I may just make a service call. Edited May 11, 2014 by Tom Geiger Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry P. Posted May 11, 2014 Author Share Posted May 11, 2014 Tom, I've been doing some research online. If the unit doesn't run at all (just a click), it's probably the starting capacitor gone bad. A replacement costs roughly $15. If the unit runs, but the door only moves a few inches either way and then shuts off (and assuming the auto-reverse sensors at the bottom of the door are operating correctly and the door itself moves smoothly if you disconnect the opener and raise/lower the door manually), it's most likely the RPM sensor. That little gizmo measures the motor RPM and shuts off the unit if it senses anything wrong... but apparently the sensor itself can go bad and give out false "trouble" readings. A replacement costs about $10-12. Based on the symptoms my unit has, and what I read online, I'm going to replace that RPM sensor and see if that was the problem. If so, I just saved the cost of a whole new opener... and if not, I'm only out a few bucks (plus a new opener, of course!). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete J. Posted May 11, 2014 Share Posted May 11, 2014 Harry, one point. These things have about a 10 to 15 year life span. How old is it and are you wasting time fixing something that hasn't got that much useful life left in it? Yea, I know. We all like the challenge of fixing stuff, but is it really worth the effort? If it is ten or more years old, go get a new one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ace-Garageguy Posted May 11, 2014 Share Posted May 11, 2014 I'm surprised you could find parts for it. That in itself is pretty amazing, what with the tendency for many products these days to be designed as un-servicable and disposed of when they quit. Having replacement parts available just MIGHT mean the company that built it thinks it's a pretty good unit, worth repairing. i say go for it, and most positively good luck!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry P. Posted May 11, 2014 Author Share Posted May 11, 2014 Harry, one point. These things have about a 10 to 15 year life span. How old is it and are you wasting time fixing something that hasn't got that much useful life left in it? Yea, I know. We all like the challenge of fixing stuff, but is it really worth the effort? If it is ten or more years old, go get a new one. I hear you. It is more than ten years old. But I think I'll try that $10 fix first... it seems like a very cheap, easy fix if that's the problem. If that doesn't work, then yeah, I'll just go ahead and replace the thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry P. Posted May 11, 2014 Author Share Posted May 11, 2014 I'm surprised you could find parts for it. That in itself is pretty amazing, what with the tendency for many products these days to be designed as un-servicable and disposed of when they quit. Having replacement parts available just MIGHT mean the company that built it thinks it's a pretty good unit, worth repairing. i say go for it, and most positively good luck!! I actually found many sources for the parts. Including ebay, naturally! And all sorts of garage door parts places that stock the part. I also found several garage door/opener forums, believe it or not! I tell ya, these days there's an online forum for everything!!! I love the internet! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikemodeler Posted May 11, 2014 Share Posted May 11, 2014 I'm like you Harry, up for a challenge! A couple of years ago my old Sears garage door opener was giving up and I decided to buy a new one. After re-thinking that decision, I got out the ladder and crawled up to see what was wrong with it. Turns out a couple of worn out plastic gears from not having any grease on them was the problem. Wrote down the model and serial numbers, went to the Sears website and saw that the parts were in stock at the local outlet! $20 and about an hour later and my door was working fine! Twice a year a I climb up the ladder and slap some white lithium grease on the gears and she purrs like a brand new unit! My unit is from the pre-safety beam days so as long as I can keep it running, I will. Best of luck in your repairs! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
High octane Posted May 11, 2014 Share Posted May 11, 2014 I hafta agree with Pete, as eventually you'll have to "pop" for a new one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Geiger Posted May 11, 2014 Share Posted May 11, 2014 Thanks Harry! I have two of the very same unit, so I think I'll order up one of each part, and I can swap them back and forth to see what gets fixed! I used to do the same thing with two Plymouth Breezes! Mine are Sears units installed by the original owner that I bought the house from. I don't know how old they are, but the house is 18 years old. They are electric eye units. As far as ordering stuff on-line and especially on eBay, it's gotten too easy and we're taking it for granted already! I have an Iphone 4 and only have one charger cord for it. I like to charge it on my night stand since I also use it as my alarm clock. Then I have to remember to take it with me in the morning and put it in my computer bag... and of course I'd forget. So the other morning I'm sitting in a meeting at work and per usual practice we all have our laptops open and on the company wifi. It was a day that I forgot to charge the phone at night, and then forgot to bring the cord. So here I am at work with a phone giving me 10% charge messages, by 9am! So I just logged onto eBay and typed in "Iphone 4 cord" and instantly a whole mess of stuff came right up. I found I could buy a dozen of the cord for $9.99 with free shipping, but I wanted the electric plug part, so that put them at $2.99 each. I figured I needed 3 of them, so I put in that quantity and found that I'd get a dollar off for ordering three. So for $7.99 complete, I did the deed and paid for it all within minutes, not moving from my meeting. Three days later they showed up and I'm a happy camper. Things are just too easy these days! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete J. Posted May 12, 2014 Share Posted May 12, 2014 (edited) Tom, you units aren't that old. I was working at sears when the electic eyes came in and that was less than 10 years ago. If you need parts Sears probably carries them. Sears has parts on the Sears.com web site under the Parts Direct tab. FYI the Craftsman brand door openers are mostly Chamberlin units. They also make Liftmaster units. Edited May 12, 2014 by Pete J. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
my80malibu Posted May 12, 2014 Share Posted May 12, 2014 Tom, I've been doing some research online. If the unit doesn't run at all (just a click), it's probably the starting capacitor gone bad. A replacement costs roughly $15. If the unit runs, but the door only moves a few inches either way and then shuts off (and assuming the auto-reverse sensors at the bottom of the door are operating correctly and the door itself moves smoothly if you disconnect the opener and raise/lower the door manually), it's most likely the RPM sensor. That little gizmo measures the motor RPM and shuts off the unit if it senses anything wrong... but apparently the sensor itself can go bad and give out false "trouble" readings. A replacement costs about $10-12. Based on the symptoms my unit has, and what I read online, I'm going to replace that RPM sensor and see if that was the problem. If so, I just saved the cost of a whole new opener... and if not, I'm only out a few bucks (plus a new opener, of course!). Harry have you checked the windup springs on your Door to see if one is broken? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry P. Posted May 12, 2014 Author Share Posted May 12, 2014 Only one spring, it's fine. The door can be raised and lowered manually with no problem. It's not the door... it's the opener. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
High octane Posted May 12, 2014 Share Posted May 12, 2014 Well, were you able to fix the opener? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
my80malibu Posted May 12, 2014 Share Posted May 12, 2014 I think you are out of luck on this one. I have been told that the door opener parts are difficult to purchase. For safety reasons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry P. Posted May 12, 2014 Author Share Posted May 12, 2014 Well, were you able to fix the opener? According to what I learned by doing some online research, I think I've narrowed the problem down to a bad RPM sensor. Tomorrow I'm going to call the Genie help line. They will go through a complete, live, trouble-shooting session with you on the phone, in real time... all you have to do is be standing at the opener and follow their instructions. If their diagnosis is also a bad RPM sensor, problem solved. I'll post the results tomorrow. I think you are out of luck on this one. I have been told that the door opener parts are difficult to purchase. For safety reasons. I found a ton of online sources for replacement parts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Hall Posted May 12, 2014 Share Posted May 12, 2014 (edited) Never had a problem w/ a garage door opener, but I've had to have a garage door repaired. Same door--twice in the same year I damaged the garage door at my condo in Colorado Springs in '00---first backed my Bronco through it late one night, 2nd time a few months later drove my then new Jeep in with ski racks on top and didn't let the door get up all the way... Edited May 12, 2014 by Rob Hall Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry P. Posted May 12, 2014 Author Share Posted May 12, 2014 Ouch... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ace-Garageguy Posted May 12, 2014 Share Posted May 12, 2014 Tomorrow I'm going to call the Genie help line. They will go through a complete, live, trouble-shooting session with you on the phone, in real time... all you have to do is be standing at the opener and follow their instructions. What planet do you live on? Customer service like that was outlawed on Earth many years ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry P. Posted May 12, 2014 Author Share Posted May 12, 2014 What planet do you live on? Customer service like that was outlawed on Earth many years ago. I'll let you know how it goes... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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