Overhead Garage Door - Fix it again or junk it?

[Don2222]

I have that double track system for my shed door. It's used when there is limited overhead clearance for the door, as in my shed. Why they have it on your setup puzzles me.

I have limited room overhead in this garage too. the double track system works much better and smoother so I am glad to have it.

I painted the plywood tonight so I can put the electric eye on permanent now after it dries overnight.

 

[Don2222]

Hello

Got the new wall portion painted, luckily I had the same original paint!

The old electric eye looks ancient even though it was one of the 1st LED models. LOL

Now I can put both mounting bolts in the electric eye extension bracket.
Lost a day rebuilding the damaged studs and mold on the old wallboard but with the electric eye bolted into 15/32" PT plywood it is secure and will not fall. LOL

It is approx 18" off the floor which is standard bumper height so all of the car must be in the garage before it closes. I had it lower like it recommends in the manual before. The car was just barely in the garage and the door handle scraped the paint on the back before it hit the bumper and reversed!

At 18" it will not happen again!

 

[woodgeek]

Personally, I'd hang a tennis ball on a string so it hits the windshield where I want to park (if I had a short garage), rather than use the 'eye'. Using the eye motivates you to start closing the door before you shut the car off, not ideal, so you don't have to restart it if you are not parked in the right place.

The lower eye height is recc'ed in case there is a child laying on the floor, who might be injured by the force required to trigger the autoreverse. Why there would be children laying there...I dunno. Grandkids playing unsupervised?

 

[Don2222]

Personally, I'd hang a tennis ball on a string so it hits the windshield where I want to park (if I had a short garage), rather than use the 'eye'. Using the eye motivates you to start closing the door before you shut the car off, not ideal, so you don't have to restart it if you are not parked in the right place.

The lower eye height is recc'ed in case there is a child laying on the floor, who might be injured by the force required to trigger the autoreverse. Why there would be children laying there...I dunno. Grandkids playing unsupervised?

I do like the idea of a tennis ball. I had one but it fell down. It does wok well.
No small kids or grand kids around here.

 

[Don2222]

Hello

Finished the final safety eye wiring today!
I put a wire tie on the base of the extension bracket to hold the wire firm. Then went up the wall and behind the stud. Then behind the small wall on the right side into the closet that holds the oil tank. Then along the ceiling joist up to the door to the garage and then back into the garage and down to right above the door opener unit.

I ran both wires from each electric eye unit. I could have spliced them into the old wiring, but these wires were heavier and it is better to have no splicing! Only took several hours to complete! See pics

Glad that job is done!

Manual states you can use a good quality car wax to keep the exterior protected against bad weather! ! !

Does anyone wax their garage door when they wax their car? ? ?

 

[heat seeker]

Naw, I don't wax either door or car. My doors are powder-coated aluminum, should be a pretty durable finish. No chalking yet, three years old.

 

[Don2222]

Naw, I don't wax either door or car. My doors are powder-coated aluminum, should be a pretty durable finish. No chalking yet, three years old.

That's good.

Here is a nice video showing a 0.5 msec pulse with a 6 msec period approx 6.0 volts high that goes thru the safety eye. So a jumper will not replace that pulse therefore the only way to jump it, is to build an oscillator circuit just like that!

There is a trick of holding the button in to force the door to go down without the sensor connected but it may not work on all models of door openers. If you jump terminals 1 and 2 that will force the door to go down without the sensors.

In fact, there is a specific trouble code that is given when the wires to the IR are shorted or open.

Internally on the PC board, this "Protection System" is part of the processor that also controls the motor. The safety features must be present for the motor to operate, else you are returned with an LED error code:

# flashes - Problem
1-The Protector System wire open or totally misaligned
2-The Protector System wire shorted or black/white wire reversal
3-Door Control or Multi-Function control Panel wire shorted
4-IR sensor slightly misaligned (dim or flashing sensor LED)
5-Motor overheated/Possible RPM sensor failure -- unplug to reset
6-Motor circuit failure -- replace RX/LX board
Rapid-Chamberlain transmitter with the correct format code being received
(opener not necessarily programmed to respond)

I would guess that you may thank the manufacturers association attorneys and the litigious good citizens of our country for this "protection" from ourselves.

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[heat seeker]

That's an excellent demonstration of what goes on there! Thanks for posting!
My openers give a text messages on the switch module, such as sensors misaligned (also if something blocks the sensors for a while), low battery (the openers have internal batteries to operate the door during power failure), and who knows what else. The opener itself has LEDs that indicate whether it's charging the battery, etc. It's a far cry from the old style openers that worked with simple transmitters. These new ones have rolling codes to foil illicit openers, also. Oh yeah - it the door's been open a while, the lights go out. But, if something breaks the beam (like someone entering the garage) the lights go on for a while again. The lights will also go on if you enter the garage with the door closed, due to a motion sensor in the switch module.

What I really wish it would do is clean the bugs off my windshield!

 

[TheMightyMoe]

Brush weather stripping is the way to go.

 

[Don2222]

Hello

Brush weather stripping is the way to go.

sounds good

Here is the secret to the Intelicore Foam (A nice made up term! LOL) There is a strip of Silicone in the middle of the door that provides a Thermal Break! Mike Do it Right (Holmes on Homes show) would luv this!

That is what boosts the foam to the whopping R18.4 in a 2" Thick Steel Foam insulated door! ! !

See pic below with yellow arrows. I bet the inside of the door will not be cold in the winter!

Click to Enlarge:

 

[Don2222]

Hello

Nice shot of new door all finished!

 

[EastMtn]

Hello

Nice shot of new door all finished!

That looks like a picture out of a model home bruchure. Nice job!