Flaky Garage Door Opener: Sometimes it works; sometimes not

I would see if the mechanical track and supporting frame for the door that the door rides on has some sort of resistance. Has anything been bent or knocked out of alignment? Is the chain that pulls the door up been lubed or can you see if anything that would cause resistance has occurred?

When the door opened only part way, was this when your outside temperature was unusually cold? How old is the garage door opener? When was it installed?

You say that the garage-door remote control has a new battery? Has that battery also been proven to be good? Are the contacts in the remote control battery compartment clean and shiny? If not, try cleaning the contacts by rubbing with an abrasive like an emory cloth or emory board or an eraser.

Note that there is/are electrical contacts in the remote control button, too. If this remote is old or damaged, it can cause a problem. Perhaps you could replace the remote seeing that inside garage- door opener button works. Perhaps your remote is simply worn out?

However, if the inside button recently worked but only partially lifting the door, that could be a separate problem...or it could indicate that the motor is on it's way towards it's demise, too - especially if it's more than say 5 -7 years old. If not that, it's probably a lube issue or misalignment or adjustment of some sort. Perhaps there's an equivalent of a tension or speed ajustment knob that can be turned up higher??

Thanks so much for all those tips; the battery has been tested and the contacts are all good. It works with either the hard wired button and the remote most all the time. When it doesn't work, it doesn't respond at all so I think that eliminates the track problem. However, the motor is very old - probably 40+ years old so, as you suggested, that's probably the issue. I've had incredible luck with things lasting a long time (23 year old lawn mower, 45 year old dish washer) but it may be time to consider getting a new one. Do you have any suggestions for brands? Still it has been cold....
Thanks again.

Thanks so much for all those tips; the battery has been tested and the contacts are all good. It works with either the hard wired button and the remote most all the time. When it doesn't work, it doesn't respond at all so I think that eliminates the track problem. However, the motor is very old - probably 40+ years old so, as you suggested, that's probably the issue. I've had incredible luck with things lasting a long time (23 year old lawn mower, 45 year old dish washer) but it may be time to consider getting a new one. Do you have any suggestions for brands? Still it has been cold....
Thanks again.

You got 40+ years out a garage door opener? Mercy! That's about 3x times the average. If you are in USA, Sears does makes a decent garage door opener.

Garage-door openers are now safer, quieter and in some cases, faster. All models have an automatic reverse if there's an obstruction in the path, and some have outside keypads for entry.

FWIW, I would still try cleaning and/or lubing the chain and the garage track and seeing if there's anything blocking the pathway. Be aware that old motor will not do so well in the cold. After 40+ years, it might even be the remote itself isn't working reliably as they wear out, too. I doubt that it is ONLY that as the cause because you occasionally have trouble lifting even from the button inside.

Try clicking on the link to http://www.sears.com. A good place to read user reviews, Especially of Chamberlain.

Craftsman garage-door openers (made by Chamberlain for Sears). Craftsman 53990 3/4-horsepower chain drive, the Craftsman 53910 chain drive and the Craftsman 53985 chain drive. The pricier models tend to get more rave reviews by the users/owners, particularly the more expensive belt-driven Sears Chamberlane model.

Hard to tell about the lesser-priced models operation in cold weather with how sporadic the reviewers comments are here.

Try to find a brand of garage door-opener called "Sensible Home", and/or a model called "Genie", or Genie Excelerator perhaps. Home Depot sells these.

Thanks so much for your reply. All good information. It only wouldn't open once with the hard wired button and the remote is brand new - same brand as the original remote. It does work with the 2 different hard-wired buttons so it's really just the remote that it doesn't respond to. I'll investigate all the points you suggested and thanks for all the info; you are a wealth of it! Hope you have a happy healthy New Year!

The radio signal requires a sender (remote) and a reciever (the opener).

The failure of the signal to be recieved could be at either point in the system. Changing the remote points to a problem at the opener. At that age, failing components could be causing intermittent problems.

Temperature and humidity are the most likely culprits that can cause components to fail intermittently or connections to be corroded. You could try checking all the wire connections and sanding with emery cloth to remove corrosion.

You're very welcome. Happy New Year to you, too.

This is still a possibility but not an exclusive sure thing fix:

With the info you just provided if I were you I would see whether or not the infra-red "eye" or sensor for the receiver is dirty, fogged or blocked with something. Your remote COULD work from transmission of an infra-red signal or redio signal. Assuming the new remote is not to blame (hypothetically) then go to where the "eye" or sensor is located at the front of the unit and try shooting some compressed air around the sensor and/or try cleaning it out.

Hope this helps.

The fact that the door stops when going up indicates it could be a problem with the upper limit switch kicking in before it is supposed to. It should be a mechanical switch that is activated by something hitting it when the door is up.

I believe most garage door openers are radio signal and not IR since the IR wouldn't work from outside with the door closed.

duuuh..of course. ...radio signal is correct. Again..back to the age of the unit..at 40 yrs...it probably is better to get a new one. Repair seems unlikely unless you can adjust the limit switch or find the physical/mechanical reason for the malfunction.

However, if the problem is a radio receiver if the unit had finally given up the ghost, it's probably going to be not worthwhile dollar-wise to pursue replacing the receiver.

Hi Paradox,
I do think it could be that it's not receiving the signal so it does seem to be an electrical issue. Mechanically, it works fine, depsite its age. So it could be corrosion or contraction of the connections. It is winter here in N.E. so I'll have to check the antenna wire, etc. and clean the connectoins, and see if that cures it. Thanks for all your input.

Thanks again for the input. I tried tightening the screws between the receiver and the motor over the weekend - I had loosened them when I was looking for the dip switch positions when I got the new remote. That didn't do it; I'll try some of the other possibilites mentioned before I give up. It has been cold here with heavy snow so I had a piece of a maple tree come down in the last storm so I spent most of last Saturday with chain saw in hand. Patch, patch, patch!.

FIXED!!
I just wanted to say thank you for your input because it gave me the extra umph I needed to try once again to fix the garage door opener. I narrowed down the problem to the receiver because there didn't seem to be a problem with the motor. I took the receiver off the motor and pried off the back. I also checked out the antenna and then reconnected it and made sure the connections were solidly screwed in - and VOILA !! it works beautifully!
Thanks again to everyone for your encouragement and support!