1. What horsepower garage door opener do I need to lift my door?
2. Which model is better, the chain drive, the belt drive or the screw drive?
3. Will your garage door opener open my eight, nine or ten foot door?
4. How do I test the automatic reverse system?
5. Why does my garage door reverse as it is closing?
6. How do I control my limit adjustments?
7. How do I make force adjustments?
8. Why does my garage door reverse as it is closing?
9. What do I do if my remote control does not open my garage door?
10. My remote control has 8 or 9 switches. How do I code it?
11. My remote control has a green light on the front. How do I code it?
12. My remote has a yellow light or no light on the front and no code switches. How do I code it?
13. How do I program my Wireless Keyless Entry System?
14. How do I program my Wired Keyless Entry System?
15. Why isn't my remote control and/or Keyless Entry System functioning?
(1)
What horsepower garage door opener do I need to lift my door?
Before installing a garage door opener, you should ensure that the door operates easily manually. The rule of thumb is that if a ten year old child can lift the door with little or no effort, the door is well balanced. If the door is hard to lift, you should have a professional authorized dealer check the springs and other hardware on the door before installing an opener.
Generally speaking, if you have a two car garage door, you can use either the one third (1/3) or one half (1/2) horsepower garage door opener.
Remember that the easier it is to open the door manually, the easier it will be for the garage door opener to open the door and that means the longer your garage door opener will last.
(2) Which model is better, the chain drive, the belt drive or the screw drive?
Each garage door opener has its advantages. The chain drive and belt drive are good in all applications, and the screw drive is best used on one piece doors that tilt rather than go up on a track. The screw drive runs a little slower than the other two garage door openers.
The belt drive is the quietest garage door opener and would be recommended for garages that have a room above them.
The chain drive is the garage door opener that we have been making the longest and offers dependable performance year after year. All of our garage door openers are very reliable and require virtually no maintenance.
(3) Will your garage door opener open my eight, nine or ten foot door?
The way the garage door opener comes out of the box it will open up to a 7 foot door. Our chain drive garage door openers can open up to 10 feet high with the proper extension kit. We have a kit for an 8 foot door and we have a rail assembly for 10 foot high doors. Both of these are optional equipment. Our screw drive and belt drive garage door openers can be extended to open an 8 foot high door.
(4) How do I test the automatic reverse system?
Your garage door opener has two safety
systems. The first and most apparent is the Safety Sensor System® which is
located 4 to 6 inches above the garage floor on both sides of the door. To test
the sensors, first open the door, then place a carton or an item that completely
blocks the infrared beam of the sensors. When commanded to close, the door will
not move more than an inch and the opener´s light bulb will flash for 5 seconds,
equaling 10 flashes. Removal of the carton or item will allow normal operation.
If the safety sensors become misaligned or obstructed, the garage door can be
closed by pressing and holding the wall door control button until down travel is
completed.
The second safety feature is a built-in automatic reverse system that will
reverse upon striking an obstruction, provided the opener and door are installed
and adjusted properly.
After adjusting the opener, always test the safety reverse system. We recommend
repeating this test monthly.
Place a one inch board (or 2 x 4 laid flat) on the floor, centered under the garage door. Operate the door in the down direction. The door must reverse upon striking the board. If it does not, refer to your owner's manual, contact us. Failure to pass the above test could result in serious injury or death.
Please remember to repeat this test once a month.
(5) Why does my garage door reverse as it is closing?
The first step is to make
sure that each sensor has a steady glowing LED light. If both lights are on,
but one appears to be flickering very slightly, chances are the sensors are
misaligned. To check for
misalignment, first obstruct the beam of the sensors so that they cannot see
each other. When the beam is blocked, the indicator light on one
of the two sensors will temporarily go out. This is the receiving eye.
Remove the obstruction so the light on the receiving eye comes back on. Then
loosen the wingnut on the back of this sensor. Move the sensor
around and make sure the green indicator light is bright and steady before you
retighten the wingnut. This can take a few attempts before it is back in
alignment.
If an indicator light is out on only one of the sensors, check for a possible
loose wire. The sensor wires are attached to the white and black terminals on
the back or side-panel of the overhead motor unit. Make sure the
wires are securely connected to the terminals. If everything looks okay here,
check the wires at the sensors. Move the wire around where it is
connected in the back of the sensor. If the indicator light comes on, you have
a short in the wires and/or sensor, and will have to replace the sensors.
If the problem seems to occur only during the daytime, check to make
sure the receiving eye is not in direct sunlight. If this is the case, remount
or adjust sensor back toward the side of the garage.
After any adjustment to the sensors, the opener itself or the door, test both
reversing systems.
To test the safety
sensors with the door open, press the remote control or pushbutton to close the
door. Break the beam using your hand or a carton. The door should immediately
reverse to a fully open position and the opener bulb will flash 10 times.
Next, place a one inch board (or 2 x 4 laid flat) on the floor, centered under
the garage door. Operate the door in the down direction. The door must reverse
on striking the board. If it does not, refer to your owner's manual,
contact us
Please remember to repeat this test once a month.
(6) How do I control my limit adjustments?
The limit adjustments are
accessed through the cover or end panel of your garage door opener by using a
flat head screwdriver. Refer to your owner´s manual for the exact location on
your specific model.
Each adjustment screw attaches to an individual switch, one for up and one for
down. Increasing the down, for example, allows the motor to run longer, moving
the trolley farther down the rail, and consequently lowering the door onto the
floor. Decreasing the down acts in reverse. The more you decrease, the less time
the motor runs, therefore stopping the trolley and the door before it completely
closes.
This same principle applies to the up travel adjustment. Turn the screw towards
the increase and the door will open farther. Turning the screw towards the
decrease button will have the opposite effect.
Things to remember during this adjustment phase:
-
One complete turn of the adjustment screw is equivalent to approximately 2 inches of travel.
-
Turning the adjustment screw the direction of the arrow always increases travel. Turning it the opposite of the arrow decreases travel.
-
The motor may overheat and shut off with repeated operation. Simply wait at least 30 minutes and try again.
-
Always test the safety reverse system after adjusting the opener. We recommend repeating this test monthly.
-
Place a one inch board (or 2 x 4 laid flat) on the floor centered under the garage door. Operate the door in the down direction. The door must reverse on striking the board. If it does not, refer to your owner´s manual, contact us. Failure to pass the above test could result in serious injury or death.
Please remember to repeat this test once a month.
(7) How do I make force adjustments?
Place a one inch board (or 2 x 4 laid flat) on the floor, centered under the garage door. Operate the door in the down direction. The door must reverse upon striking the board. If it does not, refer to your owner's manual, contact us. Failure to pass the above test could result in serious injury or death.
Please remember to repeat this test once a month.
(8) Why does my garage door reverse as it is closing?
All garage
door openers manufactured after January 1, 1993 include the federally mandated
Safety Sensor Reversing System®. These sensors are found 4 to 6 inches above
the garage floor and protect the door opening with an invisible beam.
If there is any problem with the safety sensors, the light bulb on the opener
will flash 10 times and the garage door will not close unless constant pressure
is applied to the wall button.
Both the sending and receiving sensors have a small LED light to help us align
and troubleshoot them. The LED on the sending eye will glow regardless of
alignment or obstruction. The LED on the receiving eye will go out when the
beam is obstructed, and it will flicker if out of alignment.
The first step is to make sure that each sensor has a steady glowing LED
light. If both lights are on, but one appears to be flickering very slightly,
chances are the sensors are misaligned.
To check for misalignment, first obstruct
the beam of the sensors so that they cannot see each other. When
the beam is blocked, the indicator light on one of the two sensors will
temporarily go out. This is the receiving eye. Remove the
obstruction so the light on the receiving eye comes back on. Then loosen the
wingnut on the back of this sensor. Move the sensor around and
make sure the green indicator light is bright and steady before you retighten
the wingnut. This can take a few attempts before it is back in alignment.
If an indicator light is out on only one of the sensors, check for a possible
loose wire. The sensor wires are attached to the white and black terminals on
the back or side-panel of the overhead motor unit. Make sure the
wires are securely connected to the terminals. If everything looks okay here,
check the wires at the sensors. Move the wire around where it is
connected in the back of the sensor. If the indicator light comes on, you have
a short in the wires and/or sensor, and will have to replace the sensors.
If the problem seems to occur only during the daytime, check to make sure the
receiving eye is not in direct sunlight. If this is the case, remount or adjust
sensor back toward the side of the garage.
After any adjustment to the sensors, the opener itself or the door, test both
reversing systems.
To test the safety sensors with the door open, press the remote control or
pushbutton to close the door. Break the beam using your hand or a carton. The
door should immediately reverse to a fully open position and the opener bulb
will flash 10 times.
Next, place a one inch board (or 2 x 4 laid flat) on the floor, centered under
the garage door. Operate the door in the down direction. The door must reverse
on striking the board. If it does not, refer to your owner's manual,
contact us. Failure to
pass the above tests could result in serious injury or death.
(9) What do I do if my remote control does not open my garage door?
The average range or distance for your garage door opener to respond from a hand-held remote is approximately 3-5 car lengths. If your opener does not respond from a lesser distance, you may have an interference problem causing poor range. Following are examples of what can be done to improve your range:
- Try a fresh battery in your remote control. A weak battery will transmit a weak signal, which produces poor range.
- Make sure your antenna is straight and pointing down toward the floor.
- Clear out the receiver and reprogram the remote control(s). Erase all codes in the receiver by holding the "Smart/Learn" button for 6 seconds. The adjacent LED will go out. Reprogram your remote to the opener. To do this, simply press and hold your remote control button, push and release the smart/learn button. The opener light bulb should go on and off indicating the code is learned. Release the remote pushbutton and test the remote to see if your range improved.
- If your door always closes, but you have to get closer to the door to make it open, your signal might be “blocked” by your door. Occasionally steel doors will act as a shield and the remote signal has difficulty transmitting through the door. For this scenario, adding a co-axial antenna to your opener and relocating the antenna outside should improve your range. Contact us for more information on our extension kit.
- Disconnect your pushbutton wires from the overhead motor unit and test your remote control. If your range improves, try relocating your pushbutton wires. If your pushbutton wires are near electrical lines, they may cause RF or noise. Moving the wires away from the source may help.
- Do you have more than one remote control? If so, is the problem persistent in all remotes, or just one? If the problem is with only one, change the battery and reprogram. If no improvement is noted, replace the remote control.
- Do you have two or more garage door openers? If so, is the range problem evident in one unit only and not the other? If so, unplug the opener that is working fine, and then test the range on the opener you have been having problems with. If improvement is noted, contact us
Various objects will occasionally cause interference. Some items that have been known to cause interference are TV cable, cable amplifiers, surge protectors, fluorescent lights, battery charging devices such as power tools & golf carts, and anything that utilizes a timer such as sprinkler systems, lights, and alarm systems. If you have any of these devices, you can unplug or disable the device temporarily to see if your range improves. If it is determined that something in the area is causing the problem, and it cannot be isolated or eliminated, please contact us for additional suggestions.
(10) My remote control has 8 or 9 switches. How do I code it?
(11) My remote control has a green light on the front. How do I code it?
(12) My remote has a yellow light or no light on the front and no code switches. How do I code it?
There are two models of the Wireless
Keyless Entry System, the 740CB and the 940CB. The 940CB is for use only with
Security+® garage door openers having an orange/red smart/learn button.
The 740CB will work with all openers manufactured since 1990 that have a yellow,
white, gray, or green smart/learn button. It will not work with
Security+® openers.
To program the keyless entry, first locate the smart/learn button. On our chain
drive models, this button is on the end farthest from the door. On our belt and
screw drive models, it is on the right side as you face the door from the
opener. You simply press and release the smart/learn button. You
now have 30 seconds to enter your four digit PIN number into the keypad and hold
the enter button for five seconds. Wait one minute and test the keyless entry
by entering your four-digit PIN number and pressing enter.
With some Security+® models, you can also program your Model 940CB
Wireless Keyless Entry without climbing a ladder, right from your Multi-Function
Control Panel. Simply enter your pre-selected code and press and hold the enter
button on your Keyless Entry. Then press and hold the light button and the
pushbutton on your Multi-Function Control Panel. The garage door opener lights
will flash to confirm that the Keyless Entry has been successfully programmed.
(14) How do I program my wired Keyless Entry System?
(15) Why isn't my remote control and/or Keyless Entry System functioning?
First, assuming that you
have more than one remote control or battery-powered keyless entry, determine if
all remote devices have failed, or just one. This is very important. If one of
three hand-held car remotes stopped working, but the other two are functioning,
the problem is isolated to that one hand-held unit. Before proceeding with
troubleshooting, there are two things to check first. Make sure
the battery in the remote is good. Second, make sure your lock feature is not
activated. If the LED light inside of the wall-mounted push button
is flashing, hold the lock button for two seconds to deactivate this feature.
There are two different types of remote controls. The older technology which
has dip-switches, and the “Smart” remotes without switches.
Determine what type of remote control you have before proceeding.
If your remote control has dip-switches, the first thing to check are the
settings of the switches. Compare the settings in the non-working remote to
another working remote, or to the switch settings on the overhead motor unit.
These must match identically. If you do not have another working remote, and
you have a yellow, white, gray or green learn button on your overhead motor unit
instead of code switches, simply hold down the button on the non-working
dip-switch remote and at the same time push and release the learn button.
If your remote control has no switches, locate the learn button on the back or
side panel of the overhead motor unit. This button may be red or green in
color. Push and hold down the button on the non-working remote and
at the same time push and release the learn button. Then let go of the button
on the remote.
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If this does not solve your problem,
please contact us... Ridgefield Overhead Doors, LLC.