I can't tell the age by the model number but you should find a date on one of the labels on the opener.

Well I got home and tried it with no luck. I pulled that plug out and it looked OK. I tried tweaking the receiving sensor (the one that is out) and nothing. The light on the other sensor remains on. Is that the one that is supposed to go out when it is blocked? Nothing happened when I placed my hand over it or the receiving sensor.

I think at this point the sensor bit the dust. One of the sensors is the sending unit and the light is always on. The other is the receiving unit and its light is only on when the sensors are properly aligned. The receiving unit is also almost always the one that fails first. Check around for that manufacturers date and if it is close to 10 years old replace the entire opener.

I just wanted to put an FYI out there:

My opener Craftsman model 139.53990D [3/4HP]

I was having most of the problems posted here.IE door does not close fully and reverses, having to turn up the closing force all the way...etc, etc.

First I checked the sensors, their plugs, alignment, changed out the opener. Just about gave up and...thought about something. The door closing creates a motion/vibration...hmmm.

I looked at the connections on the chain drive unit and saw that if the wires are not twisted tight or soldered before inserting into the connection then movement of the wires sent a signal that the sensors are blocked. So far everything works great. The door opener before had the same wire connections and and I beleive that I encountered the same problems up until now.

Regards,

Madmag19

my genie garage door opener will not close unless i hold the button down. i tried to make sure the sensors were aligned. all i get is a red light on one sensor flashing three times over and over.
any ideas how to fix problem?

Okay,
I've read the previous posts here and see where you are overriding the sensors when you press and hold the wallmount button for the gdoor opener.

My door all of a sudden stopped going down. It would start the movement, but then immediately go back up.

I have checked the sensors - i have an amber light on one and a constant green light on the other.
I've attempted to adjust the force on the downward motion of the door and nothing happens.

NOW - if I hold the button down, it goes down and then back up once it hit's the floor. I did notice that when it hits the floor the tracks looks as if it's bending before it bounces back up. I attempted to put the force back to where it was before and still nothing different.

Any suggestions? the opener is only 3-4 years old.

Thanks
Kim H

to follow up with my first posting...

I detached the receiving eye sensor.. the green light didn't change at all. It seems the green cover is what I was seeing, if you cup your hand around it - it's not really "glowing" anything. So I'm not sure it's really working. Do I need to replace the sensors?

I have a genie garage door opener,,what voltages should I have at sensors,,think a sequence board went out during a storm???it will close by holding the button (wall,,but not with remote,,it blinks 4 times,,stops and then blinks 4 times again????help me please,,see no way on site to ask questions???this computer stuff is new to me

I am attempting to repair a neighbor's Craftsman 1/2 hp opener. It is having the classic "will not close" problem. I have looked through these posts and figure that I will need to replace the entire unit but wanted to ask a couple of questions first. First she had replaced the sensors and when I came along, I did not realize that there was a send and a receive unit. How do I identify one from the other? Is there a difference electronically between the two? Secondly, I have one dim light on one sensor and no light on the other. The one that is dim actually goes out when I connect the second sensor. The voltage on the sensor posts (at the drive unit) is only about 3V and the mating door's unit is producing about 6V. Any suggestions before I replace the entire unit? Thanks. LVTurner

Here's a great test that I just used on a Craftsmen GDO and bingo !!!!
For the people with dim sensor lights or intermittent opening.
Take a hair dryer or heat gun and warm up the dim lit sensor.
I just did and the light was on in a minute or so.
Door working again = BAD SENSOR!
The cooler temps here are causing it to work in the afternoons when warm etc......
Craftsmen/Sears has a great parts dept and the parts will arrive in a day or so. I've replaced my drive gears 3 or 4 times already using this service.
http://www.searspartsdirect.com/partsdirect/index.action?psid=26128416&sid=PSx20071217x00001a

Kenny S>

Make sure and write down the model # of your unit.
Located on the DOOR side of the opener near the bulb.
Enter that on the site's search function and the sensor part comes up in a diagram. Then the search will allow you to check if it's available at a local sears center or repair store.
Better yet.......I found a SEARS repair center 4 miles from my house, so I'm off to pick up the kit.
Sensors are only sold as a kit for 38.99
Kenny S>

Sensor update:
I just got back from the sears store with my sensor kit.
I located the bad sensor (the receiving eye) and replaced it with the new one labeled the same.
cut and spliced 4 wires with standard red tubular butt connectors.
**** the supplied connectors seem to mean well but they are covered in non corrosive lubricant and just don't seem to work. Unless you have 3 hands! LOL!
Anyway , 5 minutes later and there's my bright green light!
Garage door is a go!
Hope this helps.....Kenny S

I have a Craftsman GDO 139.663956, how do I keep the light bulb on without opening the garage? Also, I have a 41A3621 GDO that has had the wall mounted receiver replaced with a Sears universal receiver (model # unknown) but when you push the "light" button on the receiver the light bulb won't come on.

Thanks

Hi all, I have a similar problem as described above. I need to hold down my wall button in order to close my 1/2 HP Craftsman garage opener. Open works fine. I plan to adjust the tension adjuster on the unit later today, but I wanted to ask a quick question as it appears that holding down the button = bad sensor problem. I have gone ahead and disconnected the sensors from the back of the unit, but I still have this problem.

Any other thoughts what it could be related to? I want to make sure I am going down the right path here.

Thank you.
--Mike

Mike,
I'm pretty sure the electric eye sensor has to be connected to make the door close, i.e., disconnecting it would not be expected to fix the problem. I've been having a similar problem with mine. The loose connection/vibration theory sounds pretty plausible to me. I think I'm going to tighten the terminals or maybe even put a spot of solder on there. I'll let you know how that works.

Well, that worked. I just took a screwdriver and snugged down on the terminal screws. The garage door closed with no problem.

Thanks Harold, I'll give that a shot as well!

I'm having the same problems described in the previous posts. I have to hold the button down to close the door. I also noticed that the sensors are both lit and when I pass my hand over the beam the green light goes out, so it is working somewhat... I did notice that the light stopped coming on a while back after crossing the beam. I am used to that feature and miss it... The little green light on the hard wired wall unit is fluttering also... Will check the connections tonight and see if that fixes it. If not, previous posts point to replacement of the sensors.

Glad to have found this forum. My door unit is the 139.53964SRT 1/2 horsepower with belt drive.

OK, purchased new sensors. The garage now will close on its own and with the remote. Though, I still can't walk by the beam and have the lights go on... So, I think it is something I will live with. I believe the light fluttering problem was due to the lock on the main hardwired switch unit... Somehow it was askew.

Will try this for your lights:

To turn this feature on, turn the lights on manually with the wall switch, then press and hold the LIGHT button for about 10 seconds until the motor unit light bulbs flash.

To disable this feature start with the lights OFF and everything else is the same.

I have two half hp craftsman gdo. on one the sensors have died the other is fine. is it poss to use a jumper and utilize the one set of sensors for both. I live in the boonies have no pets or small children for literally miles away. most in this part of country are retired ( thats why like it )or can i if they have line of sight reach accross both doors use them that way

I just experienced the problem of having an issue with my sears craftsman sensors. We had just done some remodeling of the garage, and suddenly one of the sensors stopped lighting, and the door would not close properly. I had no idea if we had damaged the wiring, knocked into and destroyed the sensor, or misaligned the sensor. The bracket is very stiff and I could not make any easy adjustments. I was looking at replacement sensor pricing on Amazon and found a review that REALLY HELPED. Take a TV REMOTE, point it at the non responsive sensor. If it blinks, your problem is alignment, not a faulty sensor or bad wiring. Lucky me, it blinked! Now all I have to do is remove the entire bracket thing and figure out how to get it aligned again...

I have 1/2 hp craftsman model 13953985D. Similar issue, i can only get the door to go down by holding the wall button until it gets all the way down. My sensors appear to be fine. Both are bright and when i break the beam one remains bright and the other flashes. I've checked the door with it released from the opener - operates free and easy. Also, verified and adjusted down force, no joy. Is it possible to have bad sensors even though they light up and look like they are working properly? any other thoughts? Thanks

I have 1/2 hp craftsman model 13953985D. Similar issue, i can only get the door to go down by holding the wall button until it gets all the way down. My sensors appear to be fine. Both are bright and when i break the beam one remains bright and the other flashes. I've checked the door with it released from the opener - operates free and easy. Also, verified and adjusted down force, no joy. Is it possible to have bad sensors even though they light up and look like they are working properly? any other thoughts? Thanks

I have 1/2 hp craftsman not sure of model, but it was installed when i purchased my house in 1995. Similar issue,as a previous post by "Randy". Door only opens part-way then will not close completely. Attempted tweaking senors and it will go up almost completely but not quite. Then when I re-adjust the sensors it goes back to barely opening again and not completely closing I did this at least 8 x's (with the door reaching different levels of opening, but cant quite get the alignment correct. My sensors appear to be fine. Both are bright and when i break the beam one remains bright and the other flashes. I've checked the door with it released from the opener - operates free and easy. Also, verified and adjusted down force, Is it possible to have bad sensors even though they light up and look like they are working properly? Also note that the tempatures have dropped to very low temps past several days. Colder than usual for us in North. Calif., Is there a fail proof way the tweak the sensor? Thanks for any suggestions.

I have a new Craftsman 1/2 hp 53985. I have a problem mounting the safety sensors and would like to not connect them. Anyone know of a way to use the GDO without attaching the 2 sensors?

Sorry you must use the sensors.

pressed remote garage door went up .pressed it to close it blinked like something was blocking the sensors.i noticed the yellow light on one side was out and so was the green on the other side.so in a matter of seconds the sensor stopped working.thank you.

Replaced worm gear in Craftsman 1/2 hp opener. Put everything back and door will only go down while holding the button in. Opens fine with a press and release. Press and release to go back down and door reverses as soon as you let go of the button and light bulb blinks. Lights on sensors are brightly lit, lights comes on if sensor beam is broken. Bad Sensor?

Yes I have a craftsman garage door opener 1/2 HP about a year old all the sudden it won't close w o holding button in, I know sensors///no lights at all so I got new ones still no lights on either, so I got my trustee volt metor, have juice at back of opener have juice on wires just before both sensors but still no lights and no close please help

Hello,
I have recently moved into a house with a Sears Carftsman 1/2 hp grage door opener, I don't know excatly the year but it looks fairly new (5 years max). I've resided in the house now for a little over 4 months, and my kids were playing outside with a ball, and apperently the ball hit one of the sensors and the light has gone out. The other sensor has a orange light (always been like that). Now I have great difficultly trying to close the door, it seems only when the sensor's (that was hit) light flashes green (for brief periods) only then the door will go down, sometimes the light gives out in mid closing and the system pulls the door back up.

Is there any way to fix this or do I need to buy new parts?

i have read all of the posts

My opener is working OK, but its light bulb is constantly on, never be able to turn off. How could I fix it?
I was suspect its control circuit problem, but dont know the procedure how to trouble shot or replace it?

Anyone had experience can send me an idea? Should I have to replace the whole thing?

My model: craftsman 1/3HP, 139.53335SRT1
Parts #: 41A4315-7C

my email: qian.wei@sbcglobal.net

thanks

We also have a Craftsman door opener that won't close unless you hold the switch. There was no light from the sensors, so I replaced them. I got a light only briefly, and then dark, and they won't work. I double checked wire connections, but no luck.
Any suggestions from anyone?
Thanks very much.

If you have to hold down the switch then there is still obviously a problem with your sensors. Holding down the push button overrides the sensors. If you already replaced with sensors and your certain about he connections then the next step would be to replace the sensor wiring. If this has already been done then the problem is in the circuit board.

Bill

Here is a link that might be useful: Fowler Garage Door Service

Bill, thanks. I'll look for a short in the sensor wiring. I'm afraid if it is a circuit board failure, it will mean a new opener. The motor's strong, but it is more than 15 yrs old.

Dan

I have a chamberlin garage door opener and just recently, it closes, gets to about 6-8" from the garage floor and re-opens itself.
It will eventually close completely and if I mess with the travel adjusters, it'll close for a few times then the problem starts again.

Disconnect the door from the opener in the down position. Operate the door manually and see if you can feel any resistant in the door in this "6-8". Also when your door reverses is the opener light flashing 10 times? Check those two things and post back. The answers will help in determining your problem.

well, I had previously adjusted the down adjuster and was unsuccessful so I returned that back to the original position and adjusted the up adjuster a quarter and so far it's bee working fine, 3 days.

Not sure why the problem occurred in the first place.

I have 1/2 hp craftsman 6 or 7 years old. Similar issue, i can only get the door to go down by holding the wall button until it gets all the way down. My sensors appear to be fine. Both are bright and when i break the beam one remains bright and the other flashes. I've checked the door with it released from the opener - operates free and easy. And it start happends only in the morning time

Albert, I'm not familiar with craftsman, but I do a lot of repairs on garage type doors at work.

Are the sensors located on the track of the door?

If so you need a straight edge or piece of string to check alignment of the sensors. They need to be pretty close.

The vibration of the closing door can break the beam if they are a little off.

Since you mentioned it happends only in the morning time. It could be condensation on the sensors lens also.

When you raise the door the cooler or hotter air from outside can cause this.
Try wiping them off and see if that helps.

wertach,
Thanks for your response,
Yes, the sensors are located on the track of the door and they are align, I have solid green and orange LEDs,
But only morning it happens, I've checked yesterday several times tonight, works fine.
May be sunshine somehow start affected?

The sunlight shouldn't affect it. I can't think of any way that it would.

"I have solid green and orange LEDs, "

But that doesn't mean that they are aligned correctly and the slightest vibration could throw them off. They can be close enough to make the LEDS light up while the door isn't moving.

Watch the LEDS while it is closing and see if they blink.

Use a string or straight edge if you have one that is long enough, or you can also use a laser level.

Using a string is easiest to describe, so I will use that example.

I hope you can figure out my instructions!

It's easier with two people but if you are doing it alone.

Tie the string below one sensor and pull it over the top of it, then over the top of the other sensor. The string should lay flat across both. Adjust if needed.

Then tie off to the side of one and pull across the other and adjust that axis also.

Repeat step one in case the adjustment moved the other axis.

I hope this helps.

OK, my problem is a little different. The door will not close with the remote when it is warm and/or sunny. It always closes fine with the remote at night or when it is rainy/overcast or the temperature is cold. It always opens properly with the remote. On sunny warm days, it will only close by holding down the wall button. The door, opener, remote, tracks and sensors were newly installed in October, and didn't start to malfunction until the weather warmed up.

Here's another wrinkle. Before I had the door replaced, it would go up and down all by itself. Last October, it decided to go down while I was backing out of the garage. Yay. That's why I needed to replace the whole thing. I'm beginning to think I live in some sort of garage door Bermuda Triangle.

You said "The door will not close with the remote when it is warm and/or sunny."

Is the remote stored in your vehicle? If so, that may be the problem. If it gets too hot that can affect it. Electronics do not like heat.

The up and down by itself could be caused by a neighbors remote or some other signal it the area.

If you had a two or more channel remote switching it to a different channel may have solved the problem.

OK. I have a Craftsman with a sending eye which does not glow. I cut the wire and attached the eye directly to the correct terminals. Still, no glow. Bad sensor?

Thank you.

After reading this thread about the sensors and no light on the wall remote, after checking and checking everything mentioned, I have finally found the problem...

The wires leading into the garage door unit, when wiggled the light comes on. Here in lies the problem. The soldered connections on the circuit board are loose from all the vibration over the years from opening and closing.

I decided to replace the whole system. It's not worth the trouble to disassemble and resolder the circuit board.

I was looking for a solution to my garage door only closing with the wall switch being held. I reviewed all the posted information and learnt that
"Holding down the push button overrides the sensors."

This was the crucial information. I have solved my problem. The sensors on the rail were not aligned.
Many thanks to the person who wrote those sweet words.

My garage door suddenly not close unless I press and hold wall control till it completely closes. Otherwise, it closes for like half of feet and then go right back. I found out sensor ambor light is on but green lite is off. The wires for the green light sensor was loose. I secured the wires and the green light stays on. I also use my fingers cleaned the sensor eye. Boom, it works again! Can't believe I can repair it