Sears Craftsman Garage Door Opener - Remote Close Fix

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Problem - I can open my garage door with the remote, but the remote will not close the door. To close the garage door, I have to hold down the button inside the garage until the door is closed all the way, otherwise it starts to go up again. However, when I want to open the door from inside or the remote I can just press the button and it will open without having to hold it down.

Solution – Because the door will close when the button is held down, I know the problem is not the motor. Because the door will open up with the remote, I also know I do not have a programming problem with the remote. So by process of elimination, the problem has to either be the sensors, a broken wire or poorly lubricated drive. The lowest cost option is to first verify the sensors are properly aligned. On the older craftsman both lights will be solid green if photo eyes are working and properly aligned. (On the newer craftsman operators one will be green and one will be yellow). If one is green and the other is not lit or blinking sporadically try loosening the wing nut on the back of the mounting bracket and readjusting the sensor. (The back of the sensor has a rounded bump to allow adjustment at whatever angle you may need. This also causes it to easily come out a alignment when bumped.) You will know it is properly aligned once the light on the sensor turns and stays green (or possibly yellow for newer models). Once you get a good signal, retighten the wing nut. If this doesn’t work try reseating the connectors by unplugging them from the back of the sensors and plugging them back in. If you verify the sensors are aligned and you still have the problem, try lubricating the drive. (By the way, the owners manual says you should this every year.) Also, if the door used to close properly and stopped, but was corrected by increasing the downward pressure (marked in “kg” on the top of the drive) the drive was getting worn and increasing the pressure is only a temporary fix when what you really need to do is lubricate the drive. I also recommend lubricating the drive as opposed to increasing the closing pressure to keep small children and animals safe.

One last solution, if the problem seems to only happen on sunny days, the sun may be interfering with the sensor operation. In this case, try to position your vehicle to cast a shadow on the sensors when pulling out of your garage by just ataying close to the opening just far enough back for the door to close, but close enough for the shadow of you car to cast a shadow over teh sensor.