Garage door poltergeist

SuellenB · 09-12-2007, 11:59 AM

I live in San Diego - no weather problems. Garage door is about 5 years old, Liftmaster Professional Line, 1/2 HP security plus screw drive. For the past couple of weeks, each morning the garage door will only open about a foot. A couple of hours later (and the rest of the day), it will work perfectly.

If we unhook the motor, we can lift and lower it with no problem. It has been lubricated regularly.

Weather only varies from middle 60's to upper 70's or low 80's in 24 hours.

Every single morning, the same problem. If we hit the remote, it will go up about a foot and then will come down a foot. An hour or so later, it will work perfectly all day.

Any suggestions would be GREATLY appreciated.

Doorguy06 · 09-12-2007, 05:34 PM

On the back of the opener you will see two dials (Blue in color) marked up and down force. They will have numbers going around them in a circular pattern 1-3-5-7-9. Turn the up force up a number or two. On these particular models the force adjustments are extremely sensitive for some reason and the manufacture has no explanation for it.

SuellenB · 09-12-2007, 07:51 PM

Dear Door Guy:

Thank you so much for the quick reply. My husband is already out there and has found the dial. We'll re-set it and see what happens in the morning.

Again, thanks,

Suellen

SuellenB · 09-14-2007, 11:16 AM

Thank you, thank you, thank you. Everything is finally working fine. I found the manual and it gave directions for changing the force, but the procedure was not connected to a problem, so we never would have connected the two without your help.

We have 2 dogs and 2 cats, so we also followed the instructions to make sure that the force was not more than was needed.

I had lunch with friends yesterday and told my story and one friend said that her husband tried to fix a problem with their 1-year-old electric garage door last week, using Gorilla Glue. A day later, she pressed the button to open the door and the whole thing exploded - shearing through metal and sending styrofoam flying. She was holding her grandchildren and was very shaken, thinking she could have been hit by flying pieces.

Again, thank you from both of us. You certainly saved us a lot of money and helped us understand the mechanics of electric garage doors as well.

Too bad my friend didn't have her problem before I told her my story. She probably would have been told they needed professional help - and I'm sure she would have been grateful for that info also.

This is a terrific website and I will certainly recommend it to myfriends.

Suellen Brown
San Diego, CA

PS: My husband really thanks you!

Doorguy06 · 09-15-2007, 09:51 PM

Your very welcome. I am glad all is well and sorry to hear about your friends door.

Crackers · 09-17-2007, 06:35 AM

HAHAHAHHAHA What kind of problem do you fix a 1 year old garage door with glue???? Glad everyone is OK.

With regards to your dogs and cats, the key to their safety is the sensor at the bottom of the door that prevents its closing if the beam is broken. It is not the adjustment that you made.

Doorguy06 · 09-17-2007, 11:41 AM

The adjustment she made has everything to do with safety. It is a second feature built in called the force adjustment. This is one of the two safety tests that must pass a home inspectors inspection. If what ever is under the door does not break that beam and the door closes then this feature senses that the opener is using too much effort to either open or close it and stops or reverses the door (Depending on whether you are opening or closing the door) to prevent damage to the door and whatever the door closes on.