garage door opener troubleshooting?

Question

I hope someone can help me.
I have a Craftsman 1/2 HP Garage Door Opener that simply stopped working. I opened my garage door and when it came time to close it, all I could hear when pressing the remote control was a click click sound and nothing moved.
Do I need to replace the whole thing?

I bought the house in 1998 and the garage door was already installed (I don't have the instruction manual to help me with troubleshooting).

Thanks for all the help anyone can give me.
Nathalie

Answer 1

If the opener makes 10 clicking sounds when you try to close the door, then the source of the problem is your safety sensors. The infrared "photo eyes" are located on each side of the doorway, about 6 inches above the ground. Each sensor should have a small LED indicator light. For your opener, one light will be yellow/amber (the "transmitting sensor") and the other should be green. The yellow light should be on all the time, as long as it is receiving power. The green light will turn on when it is receiving power, and when it can "see" the signal sent out from the other side. If the yellow light is on, but the green light is out, reposition the green lighted sensor until the green light comes on steady. If the yellow and green lights are both out, then check the wires leading to both sensors for a break or short. You can't always see the break, so you may need to replace the wires anyway to be sure.

If the opener only makes two clicks, but nothing else happens (no movement of the door, no motor noise, etc), then check the small indicator LED on the overhead unit near the red "Smart" button. The LED is likely flashing 5 times, pausing, and flashing 5 times again. If so, your opener took a power surge/lightning strike that knocked out the circuit board. Replacement of the board (extrememly easy to do, but must be ordered through Sears) is your only option.

Answer 2

I assume you have pulled the release handle and manually closed your garage door by now. If not, you should first do that and make sure you don't have a problem with your door.
When the door is down, push your closer button and see if the holder moves down without the door attached (Note, you may have to hit the button a second time if it didn't move from previous attempts).
If it moves without any problems, you seem to have a door problem. If it doesn't move, you have an opener problem. If you feel comfortable working on it yourself, unplug and pull the cover and look for broken parts. Or, call Sears to come out and fix the opener.

Answer 3

Sears sell a kit that replaces the worm gear and drive gear. I just did this replacement for a friend. I think she spent around $60 for the kit and I did the labor for free. Now it works great. If you take off the cover and see a lot of white nylon shavings, that's what the trouble is. If you lived nearby, I would come over and help. Email me direct and I'll help you the best I can.

Answer 4

Does it close using the button in the garage wall? If so, just change the battery in the remote and see what happens.