# Craftsman Garage Door Opener Adjustment Problems



## 5knives (Jan 30, 2016)

Hi,

Today my Craftsman GDO Model 139.53925DS started giving me problems.

First, it wouldn't stay closed. It would close all the way and then once it hit the floor it would start to reverse. This happened a few times so I figured ok, I have to adjust the closing limits/force. But as I was pressing the remote to get the door to stop opening, it did a nice little buck and the trolley decided to come off of the screwdrive at the door side. 

I released the door and I was activating the GDO and trying to get the trolley to hook up with the drive. Now, the GDO will only push the drive closed. When I press the button, whether on the remote or keypad, all the GDO will do is turn the drive as if to close the door. It will not reverse it (open). I started playing with the limit and force adjustments and sometimes it would allow the trolley to reverse halfway and other times it wouldn't allow it at all, just kept closing. Not every adjustment seems to make a difference so I need an idiots guide to figure out this adjustment. The sensors are aligned and working properly and I'm doing this without the door attached because it will only move forward and would rip the bracket from the door if I kept it attached.

Plus the GDO is overheating so I can't keep running it to figure out the problem. Hopefully someone can walk me through this.

Thanks in advance


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## Snoonyb (Jan 30, 2016)

5knives said:


> Hi,
> 
> Today my Craftsman GDO Model 139.53925DS started giving me problems.
> 
> ...



The initial door response was, in part correct, however it should have returned to the full open position.

So, now the fun begins. With the door detached from the trolley, operate the operator and adjust the trolley to operate within defined limits, and repeat several times to verify.

What type of hardware and door do you have?

Solid panel side jamb mounted hardware.
Hinged panel header mounted or trolley.


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## JoeD (Jan 30, 2016)

A very common problem with those openers is the plastics gears inside. Take the cover off you know instantly.


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## 5knives (Jan 30, 2016)

Snoonyb said:


> The initial door response was, in part correct, however it should have returned to the full open position.
> 
> So, now the fun begins. With the door detached from the trolley, operate the operator and adjust the trolley to operate within defined limits, and repeat several times to verify.
> 
> ...



I have a hinged panel header mounted. 

When you say adjust the trolley, this is where I'm having trouble. The trolley is no longer on the screwdrive. Previously if the trolley came off, I could just operate the opener and it would reattach itself when the screwdrive went in the reverse (door up/open) direction. But now for some reason the screwdrive will only go down (door close). If I press the button as it's spinning, it will stop the motor. Then if I press it again it will continue closing. It never goes in the reverse door up direction. So since the trolley is off at the door side, it won't reattach itself to the drive. 

I've never had this happen before. I'm sure it has something to do with the limit/force adjustments but I can't figure out how to adjust it correctly. It just wants to keep closing. Plus, since it keeps overheating, I have to give up for 30 min to allow the motor to cool down. So it's starting to get frustrating.


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## 5knives (Jan 30, 2016)

JoeD said:


> A very common problem with those openers is the plastics gears inside. Take the cover off you know instantly.



I will check that tomorrow. But it doesn't sound like it's trying to move the door and can't because of stripped gears. It just never even tries to reverse.


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## Snoonyb (Jan 30, 2016)

5knives said:


> I have a hinged panel header mounted.
> 
> When you say adjust the trolley, this is where I'm having trouble. The trolley is no longer on the screwdrive. Previously if the trolley came off, I could just operate the opener and it would reattach itself when the screwdrive went in the reverse (door up/open) direction. But now for some reason the screwdrive will only go down (door close). If I press the button as it's spinning, it will stop the motor. Then if I press it again it will continue closing. It never goes in the reverse door up direction. So since the trolley is off at the door side, it won't reattach itself to the drive.
> 
> I've never had this happen before. I'm sure it has something to do with the limit/force adjustments but I can't figure out how to adjust it correctly. It just wants to keep closing. Plus, since it keeps overheating, I have to give up for 30 min to allow the motor to cool down. So it's starting to get frustrating.



I'll 2nd that.

Take a moment to address the door, which should be "in balance," which in the case of your door should be able to be lifted and be at rest between 2 and 3 panel widths above the floor. If not the springs need to be adjusted.

Next is to reengage the trolley with the screw drive so that you can essentially start over in the installation and set-up procedures.

In the mean time I'll try and pull up a PDF for that operator.


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## Snoonyb (Jan 30, 2016)

SEARS doesn't recognize the model # listed.


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## 5knives (Jan 31, 2016)

Snoonyb said:


> SEARS doesn't recognize the model # listed.



Here's a link to an online manual I found.

http://www.manualslib.com/products/Craftsman-139-53925ds-2862045.html

I'm going to try and play with it a little more today. How do you recommend rengaging the trolley onto the drive when it will only turn to close? I hope I don't have to disassemble the entire track.


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## JoeD (Jan 31, 2016)

The two adjustments are not actually pressure adjustments. They are travel limits. If you try to drive the door too far it sets off the limits. The end of travel adjustments are tied to the motor spinning. When the gears strip the travel adjustments get all of whack and stop the door at weird places.


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## 5knives (Jan 31, 2016)

I'm going to try and manually turn the screwdrive to bring the trolley all the way back to the unit and then attach the door in the open position. Perhaps with the soor attached, the force adjustments will allow it to open and close correctly. This could take a little bit.


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## 5knives (Jan 31, 2016)

JoeD said:


> The two adjustments are not actually pressure adjustments. They are travel limits. If you try to drive the door too far it sets off the limits. The end of travel adjustments are tied to the motor spinning. When the gears strip the travel adjustments get all of whack and stop the door at weird places.




My unit has 4 adjustments. 2 for the limit (open/close) and 2 for the force (open/close). I removed the cover for the screwdrive and that gear is fine. I have not removed the cover for the entire unit to check the other gears. I just don't understand why the motor will only turn to close the door. It won't turn in the direction to open. I have to get the car out of the garag for more room to work.


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## Snoonyb (Jan 31, 2016)

5knives said:


> How do you recommend rengaging the trolley onto the drive when it will only turn to close?



We need to clarify terms, because this implies that the trolley has been driven off the header end of the tract.

Pulling the lanyard down will disengage the trolly from the screwdrive and no matter what you do with the operator, the door will not be affected, except that it can be manually opened and closed.

You can disconnect the door from the trolley by removing the clevis pin where the "J" arm connects to the trolley.For your safety, do this with the door in the closed position.

Slide the trolley in the direction of the operator and reengage it with the screwdrive, and conduct the adjustment procedures addressing limits. The trolley will give you a visual representation of where in is travel it is. 



5knives said:


> I hope I don't have to disassemble the entire track.



If you are not successful in curing this by adjustments, you may need an electronic part.


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## 5knives (Jan 31, 2016)

Snoonyb said:


> We need to clarify terms, because this implies that the trolley has been driven off the header end of the tract.
> 
> 
> If you are not successful in curing this by adjustments, you may need an electronic part.


 
That is correct. The little plastic trolley part has been driven off the screw drive. The J arm is detached from the trolley using the pulle cord and is also removed from the door. The problem is the screw drive will only turn in 1 direction, to close the door so it will just push the trolley off again. I can't seem to figure out how to get the screw drive to reverse so I can get the trolley back towards the unit. So I'm going to try and manually turn the screw drive to bring the trolley all the way back to the unit. Then reattach the door and see if the adjustments do anything.

What electronic part do you think I would need?


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## Snoonyb (Jan 31, 2016)

I can't identify a plastic part associated with the trolley, which should be metallic and about 4"long. It must be a centering guide.


At this point I'd just use the door manually and schedule service.
However, be mind-full of the age of the operator, repair vs. replacement.


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## 5knives (Jan 31, 2016)

The screw drive goes into the plastic piece (which is about 4" long) and then the trolley/J-arm attaches to the plastic part to ride along the screw drive.

The unit is about 6 years old I think. It's strange because it gave no indication there was anything wrong. The limit seemed to go out of adjustment yesterday and within 3-4 activations of the remote, the trolley was driven off the rail and now the unit only turns in 1 direction. I'm hoping I can fix it just with an adjustment or reset. If not, I'm not paying $100 for a service call when I can get a brand new warrantied unit for not much more. I just don't want to replace everything. Hopefully just the unit can be attached to the existing drive.


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## 5knives (Jan 31, 2016)

Whether I can get it fixed or I wind up buying a new unit, I appreciate all of the help so far.


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## slownsteady (Jan 31, 2016)

If you buy a new opener, install the whole thing. Since you don't know what broke it, you don't know if the same thing will break the new one. 
have you tried to let the drive travel all the way to the end? If it did jump a few sprockets on the gear, it might need to find it's own limit before it can reverse.
I would not hook up the door until I got the drive and trolley to cooperate.


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## 5knives (Feb 2, 2016)

Good news fellas (or ladies). I got it fixed.

I took the cover off the unit and observed what was happening during operation. Or should I say what _wasn't_ happening. It turns out the bracket which holds the up/down distance controls cracked. So as the unit was working it was shaking the bracket around and the distance guide gear wouldn't make contact with the motor gear so it wouldn't rotate. This in turn would not allow the adjustment tabs to make contact with the positioning tabs to complete a circuit during a revolution. So, the adjustments were doing nothing. And since the close/down tab was never getting touched, the unit wouldn't recognize the door was closed or the trolley was at the end of the drive, so it would just keep moving forward. I'm sure some of my terminology is off but it's the best way I can describe it.

So after a little disassembling, some super glue, and a drywall screw, the unit is back together and functioning properly. Thanks for the help along the way.


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## nealtw (Feb 2, 2016)

Good for you.:beer:


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## JoeD (Feb 2, 2016)

Totally understand the description of issue. Thanks for letting us know.


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## Snoonyb (Feb 3, 2016)

It always feels good, to be smarter than what you are working on.


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