Garage Door Spring Adjustment

dutchman

KI7KSV
Location
Boise, Id
Anyone know how (or know someone that knows) to adjust the spring on an overhead garage door? The garage door on the house we're moving into is acting a little funny. The two remotes and wall button open the garage just fine, the issue is closing the door. When I use either of the remotes the door starts to close and then stops, goes back up, and the lights on the motor start blinking like something tripped the floor sensors. I've made sure there's nothing blocking the sensors. I can use the wall mounted button to close the door, but I have to hold it down or it acts just like when I use the remotes. I'm thinking that the tension in the spring might need adjusting. Anyone have any ideas or expertise on garage doors?

Thanks.
 

193kyle

Well-Known Member
Location
Chattanooga, TN
If the door reverses and the lights blink it is a sensor issue. Either the sensors are just barely aligned or you have a loose wire somewhere.
 

sixstringsteve

Well-Known Member
Location
UT
I'm pretty sure it's your sensors, not your springs. Are the sensors pointing exactly at each other? I've also had issues with the sunlight hitting them just right, causing them to have interference.


edit: Dang, Kyle beat me to it. He would know better than me anyway.
 

dutchman

KI7KSV
Location
Boise, Id
Update: decided to run another load of stuff over last minute. I took a look at the sensors. One has a green light lit and the other has a yellow light instead of the green. Does that mean the sensors are misaligned or that one of the sensors is going bad?
 

193kyle

Well-Known Member
Location
Chattanooga, TN
The yellow is your sending eye, the green is your receiving eye. As long as the unit has power, the yellow light will be on, the green one will only be on if it is receiving a signal from the sending eye. Try wiggling the green one back and forth, if the light goes out or flickers you need to re-align them. If that checks out try wiggling the wires where they go into the sensors(photo eyes). If the lights go out or flicker, you may need new photo eyes. I see a lot of wires break right where they go into the photo eye.
 

larrybenny

larrybenny
I just repaired my garage door with the exact same issues (a Liftmaster). Downloaded a trouble shooting guide from online. My problem was the limit switch way out of adjustment. Then I found that the plastic gears that operate the switch were skipping due to the main motor shaft bushing being worn out. The parts were avail online for $30.00.
 
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