# My Craftsman Garage door opener seems to have lost force.



## jazamm42 (Nov 12, 2009)

Hello all, What causes a garage door opener to stall out when opening or closing ? I've maxed out the limit switches and if you hold the controller button at the wall and don't release it, it will open and close but a touch and release of the control allows the motor to stall. It's a new home for us and some of the guide wheels were broken but I replaced them to make the tracking system at the door smooth and operational but the motor still stalls without continuously pressing the button. Any help for me ? Thanks !


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## Drabdr (Nov 26, 2007)

Well, hello there! Welcome to the TSG!

If you can hold the wall button down and the door closes, then I would look at the optical safety eyes (mounted down about a foot off the ground; at the door). At least with my opener, the door button will close the door, with the thought being that you can see if it is safe to close the door. But if the sensors "detect" an issue, it will not allow automatic operation.

So, depending on your opener and the sensors, you should have a green light on one of them, or a constant light. A red light or a blinking light would indicate a problem for _most_ I'm familiar with; it might be different for your particular type of opener.

What you can do is inspect the sensors and see if one of them is knocked out of line or if there is something suspect about them. If they look like they are in line but just not working, then you might can take them loose, and put head to head. They should work, and the door work with the button.

I would think you would want to determine if everything is OK with the sensors. So see if there is a green and/or constant light on.


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## Frank4d (Sep 10, 2006)

How old is the garage door opener? One thing that comes to mind is the motor start capacitor inside the opener unit.


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## K7M (Feb 27, 2000)

with the door closed, pull the release to manually operate the door. Lift the door and see if it operates freely by hand, insure it goes up square and one side doesn't try to go up before the other. If that is OK now try the opener without the weight of the door on it, there could be dirt, or excessive wear on the track causing a problem. , also check the belt tension if it is a belt driven operator.


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## jazamm42 (Nov 12, 2009)

drabdr was spot -on the eyes were not seeing Thanks!


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## Koot (Nov 25, 2007)

drabdr's advice was excellent. One additional comment that may help others experiencing this same problem or other problems with adjustments... After trying to make [some] garage door openers work by holding the wall button down or re-adjusting the Up/Down limits or Raise/Lower Force adjustments, etc., etc. it can mess up the opener's programming and the opener must be reprogrammed. (This also applies to openers with some age on them that needs to be re-adjusted.) With some openers these adjustments (Up/Down & Force) must be done totally manually by trial-and-error. However, there are some some openers that have the a "smart adjustment system", which is an electronic feature built into the opener that allows the owner to easily reset (and tweak) the Up/Down limits and Raise/Lower Force by going through a simple process where the adjustment controls on the opener are adjusted (turned) until the red LED lights on the opener [just] fades or goes out. When you turn the various adjustment screws until the red LED lights (on the opener) just starts blinking and goes out - the adjustment is perfect. A really neat (and very simple) feature that makes adjusting and tweaking all the adjustments a piece of cake.

For garage door openers with this smart built-in adjustment feature - there is a special process on how to do it...and the owners manual is really a necessity to have. But even if your opener doesn't have the smart adjustment feature it's always good to have the owners manual, which should be available online for most any brand or model.


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