Garage Door Opener tech help needed

9 years ago

New garage door opener on slab/one-piece door bucks and jumps like crazy when closing. The bracket arm does not appear to be at the correct angle because of where the rail head is installed on a bulkhead, rather than on the same wall as the door. That's what the manual shows, but my garage has a bulkhead. Anyone solve this issue or if you're an installer, any suggestions for re-engineering the attaching arm to get a more level angle to the arm?

Featured Answer

sdello

9 years ago

last modified: 9 years ago

when you detach the opener does the door operate smoothly and with no binding or tough spots? Try pulling it from the top where the opener connects and see if you can discern where the problem is.

Both ends of that connecting arm should be pinned and allow rotation so they should not be causing any jerking or binding.

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Comments (7)

flyr4fun
Original Author
9 years ago
here is the other picture that didn't post
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randy427
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
The GDO is mounted too high, causing it to push down too much on the door, instead of more horizontally, when it starts to close the door. You'll need to lower the drive unit about a foot or more to get it to push the top of the door in the direction of initial movement
flyr4fun thanked randy427
flyr4fun
Original Author
9 years ago
Thank you. I thought that might be an issue but the pro who installed it said all one-piece doors are jerky. I'll experiment with lowering it.
randy427
9 years ago
Also ensure the UP limit isn't adjusted to pull the door too far. If so, it will cause the door to jam against the doorframe top, which can also make for a jerky start when the door sticks there.
flyr4fun thanked randy427
flyr4fun
Original Author
9 years ago
We've checked the limits and the operation of the door to rule that out. I truly believe it's a geometry issue but the installer doesn't want to hear that, so I'll have to tweak it myself. Y'all have given me a good place to start by lowering the motor so it starts pushing more forward than down. I'm going to try that first and go from there.
sdello
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
the garage door springs should do the majority of the work and all the hardware needs to operate smoothly. a properly adjusted door should be balanced at midpoint and require minimal force to move either way. First thing is to make sure the garage door operates correctly by hand, then you can adjust the opener. My 0.02
flyr4fun thanked sdello