Garage door will only go down...
- Thread starter Jeevsie
- Start date
NickDanger
2,500+ Posts
Dunno, but I find that cleaning the sensors at the floor on either side that keep you from crushing fluffy exorcises most of the gremlins in mine.
I also found that increasing the power on the unit for the down cycle worked out a kink like yours. There is usually an adjustment for that on the back of the unit. My theory was that the rails had shifted over time and the door was hitting a little glitch that tricked the door unit into thinking there was an obstruction, thus sending it back up.
I also found that increasing the power on the unit for the down cycle worked out a kink like yours. There is usually an adjustment for that on the back of the unit. My theory was that the rails had shifted over time and the door was hitting a little glitch that tricked the door unit into thinking there was an obstruction, thus sending it back up.
Nick is right-- sounds like your sensors are broken or dirty. The fail-safe mode is to automatically go up, where the door is less likely to damage something or injure someone, rather than down. If you hold the button it will go down, because the manufacturer's assumption is that you are overriding the fail-safe and presumably watching to see if there is any danger.
Sensors. First check to see if they are aligned. One or both should have a light on them. The receiving sensor light will go out if a signal from the transmitter is 'seen'. If no light, clean them up and try to align.
Power. It is possible there is an obstruction being sensed like Nick said, but I would think the override would not work in the case of a sensed obstruction. Is your opener track single piece or is it in sections? If the sections are not even, the 'trolley' could be striking the next section and reverse for that reason.
Door Springs. Any broken? The extra load could cause odd behavior as well. The newer torsion springs that mount over the garage door have appx. 7-12 year life. If one broke, the heavier load may be causing you opener to reverse as well.
I've had the good fortune of seeing a few of these and fixing/installing garage door openers/springs for friends and family.
Good Luck.
Power. It is possible there is an obstruction being sensed like Nick said, but I would think the override would not work in the case of a sensed obstruction. Is your opener track single piece or is it in sections? If the sections are not even, the 'trolley' could be striking the next section and reverse for that reason.
Door Springs. Any broken? The extra load could cause odd behavior as well. The newer torsion springs that mount over the garage door have appx. 7-12 year life. If one broke, the heavier load may be causing you opener to reverse as well.
I've had the good fortune of seeing a few of these and fixing/installing garage door openers/springs for friends and family.
Good Luck.
NickDanger
2,500+ Posts
I don't think it will work at all if the wiring to the sensor is disconnected.
I didn't know you could "override" the sensor with the door button.
My crazy door will frequently go about an inch and then just stop. So, you have to hit it a second time to make it go back up and then a third time and it will go all the way down. Since it always ends up going down if the sensors aren't mucked up I haven't worried much about it. I find spider eggs and dust and other assorted gradoo on the sensors every once in a while.
I didn't know you could "override" the sensor with the door button.
My crazy door will frequently go about an inch and then just stop. So, you have to hit it a second time to make it go back up and then a third time and it will go all the way down. Since it always ends up going down if the sensors aren't mucked up I haven't worried much about it. I find spider eggs and dust and other assorted gradoo on the sensors every once in a while.
Nick,
Yeah, if the wiring to the sensors is busted, then the system automatically failsafes to the "moving up" mode when the button is pressed. At least it does on mine. I can override it by hitting the button again and holding it down, so it moves in the downward direction.
Same thing if the sensors are misaligned, or even if there is something truly blocking them. I am still able to override the sensors by holding the button down, and close the door.
Yeah, if the wiring to the sensors is busted, then the system automatically failsafes to the "moving up" mode when the button is pressed. At least it does on mine. I can override it by hitting the button again and holding it down, so it moves in the downward direction.
Same thing if the sensors are misaligned, or even if there is something truly blocking them. I am still able to override the sensors by holding the button down, and close the door.
NickDanger
2,500+ Posts
When I built my garage, it started off as a 2 door until I found out I could not get my suburban in without tearing off my mirrors. They switched everything over to a one-door system and spliced the sensor wires (poorly). It was pretty simply to fix, but I can't remember if it worked at all. I think I have a Genie. I'll have to remember to tell my wife about the override. It seems that every time it wants to quit because of dirty sensors I'm out of town and the wife just can't seem to remember to pull the release cord to get the door down.
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