Help (Genie Garage Door Opener)

[Wayne P]

I recently purchased a Genie H4000A-2 Garage Door Opener. Not even 60 days after installation I became a victim of "phantom operation". Starting at around 11pm one night the door opened and closed once by itself. Thinking that some stray RF signal tripped it, I went to bed. When I woke up the door was still trying to open, but would only open about 6 inches then close. It would repeat this once about every 30 seconds. I went to unplug the unit, but before I could reach the plug the door stopped moving, the unit was still trying to raise and lower it, but the door wasn't moving.

Upon doing some trouble shooting with Genie C/S, it turns out that the server board is no good. It was at this time that I noticed that one of the torsion springs for the door was broken, the guide cable is unwound and the door was, and still is, stuck in the down position.

Genie, after a week of going back and forth, consulted with their 'engineers' and took the position that garage door openers don't break springs. "They were old and they were going to break anyway". Therefore, the damage caused to my garage door is not covered by the warantee of their product.

This seems like BS to me. If it was under normal operation, I wouldn't complain. But if damage occurs during the malfunctioning of their equipment, shouldn't they be responsible for fixing that damage? Has anyone else run into this sort of problem or have advice on how to proceed with this matter?

Thanks,

Wayne

[Jack the Contractor]

Wayne, I guess the best advice I can give you is to call a garage door man and get your springs fixed and your door working. You will have to replace both springs, if you have two springs. The cost is probably not worth proceeding with the genie company. Garage door springs only have so many opens in them and if a set of springs last 7 or 8 years, you are very lucky.
I can understand your stress, but let it go and get the door fixed. Sorry I don't have better advice. I guess I am just too practical. Good Luck

[LI Tom]

A garage door opener WILL NOT be the cause for your springs breaking.

"They were old and they were going to break anyway"

This is true, but I would not have stated it that way.

The reason for you door opening on its own is not what you think. Genie motors are infamous for having this problem. Among other things , their remotes are terrible. The button is famous for sticking and depending on its mood, sending out a signal to the motor. So check that.