Why won't my opener work with a new worm gear installed?

expert EXPERT January 07, 2008

If you mean the worm gear turns but the lift mechanism is not working then you might have something assembled incorrectly that is not allowing the gear to engage the rest of the drive. If the worm gear itself does not turn, but you can hear the motor trying to work, then there might be a bind on the motor shaft or worm gear itself. There might also have been a pre-existing problem with the door or lift mechanism that is now preventing movement and possibly contributed to, or caused, the problem with the previous worm gear assembly.

First you will have to determine if the motor itself is receiving a signal to engage. As mentioned, you should hear a hum as the power reaches the motor. If not you might need to test for power at the motor but you might want to consult a professional at that stage as the capacitors can hold a lot of charge and might be accidentally discharged if you test incorrectly.

If your motor appears to be working you will essentially need to disassemble the system again, starting by disconnecting the door and trying the motor, until you reach the point where the motor begins to operate again. At that point you have removed whatever tension or binding was causing the problem so it will be the area you need to check carefully for incorrect assembly or a failed component.

If you remove everything and the actual motor shaft will still not spin, and you have confirmed power is reaching the motor, then there has been a failure inside the motor itself and it would need to be replaced.