2-car garage door won't open but five inches under certain circumstances. Closes just fine.

However
(1) If I open from the inside wall switch, it always opens.
(2) But if I open from the remote control, it often stops after 5 inches.

You'd think it's the remote but when I use the outside remote that is
mounted to the wall, it does the same thing, so it's not the remote per se.

Replaced the remote batteries anyway.
Same thing.

The springs are big fat dual springs, which are about five years old or so.
If they're "sagging", I don't see any physical evidence of that weakening.

There was an original red paint line which the manufacturer painted onto
the unwound spring which is now a spiral when wound, understandably so.

I had painted a thin white line across the wound springs when they were installed and that line doesn't appear to have moved. It's still straight.

I air blasted the rollers and track and greased but it made little to no difference and I cleaned the mechanism inside the garage door opener.

What appears to be what's happening is the garage door opener, which has to
be twenty years old if not older, is suddenly "needing" more time to start.

Can that be?
Is there an adjustment in the garage door opener itself for pulse time?

Since the door opens fully if it has "more time" on the switch,
is there any way to make a remote 'stay on' longer than just a pulse?

Ron, the humblest guy in town.

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RonTheGuy <ron@null.invalid> wrote:

2-car garage door won't open but five inches under certain circumstances. Closes just fine.

However
(1) If I open from the inside wall switch, it always opens.
(2) But if I open from the remote control, it often stops after 5 inches.

You'd think it's the remote but when I use the outside remote that is
mounted to the wall, it does the same thing, so it's not the remote per se.

Replaced the remote batteries anyway.
Same thing.

The springs are big fat dual springs, which are about five years old or so. If they're "sagging", I don't see any physical evidence of that weakening.

There was an original red paint line which the manufacturer painted onto
the unwound spring which is now a spiral when wound, understandably so.

I had painted a thin white line across the wound springs when they were installed and that line doesn't appear to have moved. It's still straight.

I air blasted the rollers and track and greased but it made little to no difference and I cleaned the mechanism inside the garage door opener.

What appears to be what's happening is the garage door opener, which has to be twenty years old if not older, is suddenly "needing" more time to start.

Can that be?
Is there an adjustment in the garage door opener itself for pulse time?

Since the door opens fully if it has "more time" on the switch,
is there any way to make a remote 'stay on' longer than just a pulse?

I've seen lots of erratic behavior with a Genie keychain remote when
the conductive rubber buttons get lint between the rubber pad and the
circuit board. Not likely to be any help, but it's an easy thing to clean.

Anything that causes contact bounce in the switches on the buttons can
make the receiver stop, since the control program is usually close to
start, close again to stop, close to reverse direction.

hth,

bob prohaska

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bob prohaska wrote:

RonTheGuy <ron@null.invalid> wrote:

2-car garage door won't open but five inches under certain circumstances.
Closes just fine.

However
(1) If I open from the inside wall switch, it always opens.
(2) But if I open from the remote control, it often stops after 5 inches.

You'd think it's the remote but when I use the outside remote that is
mounted to the wall, it does the same thing, so it's not the remote per se. >>
Replaced the remote batteries anyway.
Same thing.

The springs are big fat dual springs, which are about five years old or so. >> If they're "sagging", I don't see any physical evidence of that weakening. >>
There was an original red paint line which the manufacturer painted onto
the unwound spring which is now a spiral when wound, understandably so.

I had painted a thin white line across the wound springs when they were
installed and that line doesn't appear to have moved. It's still straight. >>
I air blasted the rollers and track and greased but it made little to no
difference and I cleaned the mechanism inside the garage door opener.

What appears to be what's happening is the garage door opener, which has to >> be twenty years old if not older, is suddenly "needing" more time to start. >>
Can that be?
Is there an adjustment in the garage door opener itself for pulse time?

Since the door opens fully if it has "more time" on the switch,
is there any way to make a remote 'stay on' longer than just a pulse?

I've seen lots of erratic behavior with a Genie keychain remote when
the conductive rubber buttons get lint between the rubber pad and the
circuit board. Not likely to be any help, but it's an easy thing to clean.

Anything that causes contact bounce in the switches on the buttons can
make the receiver stop, since the control program is usually close to
start, close again to stop, close to reverse direction.

hth,

bob prohaska

I think you are on the right path. I would open the receiver and clean
any contacts it had as well as check the caps in it. If there is any interruption in the start of the closure effort, it will abort.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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On 1/23/2023 12:33 PM, RonTheGuy wrote:

2-car garage door won't open but five inches under certain circumstances. Closes just fine.

However
(1) If I open from the inside wall switch, it always opens.
(2) But if I open from the remote control, it often stops after 5 inches.

You'd think it's the remote but when I use the outside remote that is
mounted to the wall, it does the same thing, so it's not the remote per se.

Replaced the remote batteries anyway.
Same thing.

The springs are big fat dual springs, which are about five years old or so. If they're "sagging", I don't see any physical evidence of that weakening.

There was an original red paint line which the manufacturer painted onto
the unwound spring which is now a spiral when wound, understandably so.

I had painted a thin white line across the wound springs when they were installed and that line doesn't appear to have moved. It's still straight.

I air blasted the rollers and track and greased but it made little to no difference and I cleaned the mechanism inside the garage door opener.

What appears to be what's happening is the garage door opener, which has to be twenty years old if not older, is suddenly "needing" more time to start.

Can that be?
Is there an adjustment in the garage door opener itself for pulse time?

Since the door opens fully if it has "more time" on the switch,
is there any way to make a remote 'stay on' longer than just a pulse?

Ron, the humblest guy in town.

Here's a possibility: bad electrolytic capacitor in
the receiver power supply (inside the ceiling mounted
opener motor housing). What *may* be happening: the
direction relay (up or down) in the receiver is
"chattering" (not fully transferring, allowing the
contacts to bounce far more than usual) when activated
by the remote due to pulsing voltage from the supply.
The same pulsing voltage, when applied to the relay by
the wall switch is applied for a longer time, allowing
the relay to fully transfer.

You have to know what you're doing to safely diagnose
and repair this. Openers can bite your fingers HARD,
and testing live (120VAC) circuits while on a ladder
presents it's own possible hazards. If you have the
skill, you can do it safely.

Good luck.
Ed

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On Mon, 23 Jan 2023 09:33:49 -0800, RonTheGuy <ron@null.invalid>
wrote:

2-car garage door won't open but five inches under certain circumstances. >Closes just fine.

However
(1) If I open from the inside wall switch, it always opens.
(2) But if I open from the remote control, it often stops after 5 inches.

You'd think it's the remote but when I use the outside remote that is
mounted to the wall, it does the same thing, so it's not the remote per se.

Replaced the remote batteries anyway.
Same thing.

The springs are big fat dual springs, which are about five years old or so. >If they're "sagging", I don't see any physical evidence of that weakening.

There was an original red paint line which the manufacturer painted onto
the unwound spring which is now a spiral when wound, understandably so.

I had painted a thin white line across the wound springs when they were >installed and that line doesn't appear to have moved. It's still straight.

I air blasted the rollers and track and greased but it made little to no >difference and I cleaned the mechanism inside the garage door opener.

What appears to be what's happening is the garage door opener, which has to >be twenty years old if not older, is suddenly "needing" more time to start.

Can that be?
Is there an adjustment in the garage door opener itself for pulse time?

Since the door opens fully if it has "more time" on the switch,
is there any way to make a remote 'stay on' longer than just a pulse?

Ron, the humblest guy in town.

If lighting is also controlled by the remote, you might check the
bulbs used. Some CCFL substitutes will interfere while 'on'.

RL

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Disconnect your door from the trolley and lift it by hand. If it's hard to lift -- solve that problem. You may be demanding too much power from the drive unit.

You may be bypassing that by holding the wall button -- it's a failsafe feature on some openers.

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