Question:
We have a Craftsman HP 1/2 garage door opener (It came with our home)
that stopped working. Don't know how old it is.
It says on the box: 120 v 6.0 amp 60w
Model 139.53615SR
The chain has more than several inches of slack on it, while the cable
on the other side of the pulley is tight as can be. When I activated
the opener it would only pull harder on the cable but the chain
remains slack. I'm afraid that with all that tension on the cable
that something could snap and that cable will go flying across the
garage, breaking things/people in the process. For that reason I
don't want to loosen anything.
Any hints/suggestions before I have to pay a large sum to have it
repaired or replaced?
Answer:
The chain may have skipped a tooth. See if cycling the opener several
times with the door disconnected will readjust it. If not, unplug the
AC, and loosen the tension adjustment to make the chain very slack.
This may allow you to move the chain over the sprocket teeth, but if
not, find the master link in the chain and pry it loose. You want
1-2" of slack in the middle of the chain with the door disconnected
because any less means that the chain is so tight that the motor will
have to work much harder, and bearing shaft wear will be much worse.
Disengage the opener and try to open the door by hand. Can you open it
with ease? Like one finger lift? If not look at the springs first.
When you can open/close the door with hand easily, then onto opener problem.
