Why would my garage door reverse for no apparent reason almost immediately after starting it?
I have a 1/2 HP Craftsman garage door opener with part # 41A5021-3B. Last weekend the door started reversing for no apparent reason almost immediately after starting it. The sensors have solid green lights. I oiled all the hinges and rollers and nothing appears to be hindering the path of the rollers. I do not know if cold weather could cause this problem - it started happening after temps went to 10 degrees. When I disconnect the door from the opener it opens and closes fairly easily when done manually. Then when I reconnected the door and tried to close it with the opener the motor started to make a loud clicking noise and then the chain quit moving and the sprocket on top of the motor stopped turning. Now when I try to use the opener the motor comes on but nothing moves. Do you think I burned out the motor and do you think I need to replace it? What are my options - do I need to replace the whole unit or just order a new motor or can it be fixed?
Expert
Maestro
Based on the series of symptoms you have described the most likely problem is a failure in the worn/drive gear assembly. Your motor is probably okay since you can still note it trying to move, but the worm/drive gear probably locked up, which is why the sprocket will no longer turn, and now none of the motor power can make it through to the door lift mechanisms.
Any contracting of the door or thickening of lubrication due to the cold could have added load but likely there was already some wear and freeplay that had allowed something to bind, or the door travel limit settings to skip out of time, so that the door was reversing when it should not have. Once you released the door weight from it, the added freeplay likely allowed something to finally come apart altogether.
The numbers you provided are actually for a Craftsman Logic Board and not the model number. The model number should start with a "139" prefix and is likely labeled on the opener itself near where you found the board number. It would also be on any literature you received with your opener. If you can find the complete model number you can use it to pull up a part diagram online at the Sears Parts site. The diagram should help you see which parts might be at fault and how they fit and work together. You can also price or order parts from that same site so hopefully that will allow you to determine if you want to repair or replace the opener.
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