My garage door won't work on generator power. The model is 139.53998D. The operation is normal on commercial power. Why?

Jimmy K EXPERT January 27, 2009

With the door closed, pull the emergency release rope on the trolley so you can operate the door manually. Raise the door to the level where the door stops. Raise and lower the door and see if you can make it bind.

Increase the up force about 1/2 inch and try the door on generator power.

The door should operate fine on the voltage you read. Check the voltage at the plug the opener connects to when the opener is running.

This is a very unusual problem, it will require some testing and looking at all possibilities. Something unusual is happening and it doesn't really make sense.

There might be something the logic board is seeing in the generator voltage. Try to find a filter to remove the noise from the electricity, the generator might be putting out some noise the logic board doesn't like.

joebradley2 February 14, 2009

I've checked all the wiring (I'm an EE) and it looks good and I've checked the track and mechanism for any binding. I'm now looking into an economical line filter (noise/hash filter). If this all gets too expensive, I'll have to live with manual operation of the garage doors when on generator power. I'll let you know if I come up with anything. joebradley2

gccdavid March 09, 2009

I just submitted a question about a similar problem. My generator tech says this is not unusual and that the "sensitivity" of the opener has to be adjusted. I have asked what that means. I agree that it probably needs a line filter. Please respond if you have found anything reasonable. gccdavid