Craftsman Garage Door Opener Troubleshooting

Owning a craftsman garage door opener feels good as it is one of the best brands. Every product has its own limit in terms of performance. You will get problems after a certain period. That’s why I have made this helpful Craftsman Garage Door Opener Troubleshooting Guide for you.

Craftsman garage door openers are a popular choice in the market for their performance and durability.

But once in a while, you may face some issues with the performance of this door opener. To ensure a better product life and damage prevention, you should troubleshoot any of the issues as soon as possible.

Here you can find the solutions to some of the very common problems with craftsman garage door openers. 

Craftsman Garage Door Opener Troubleshooting

Craftsman Garage Door Opener Troubleshooting

Door not opening

When you find the door opener cannot open the garage door, try to follow these steps to troubleshoot,

  1. Check if there is power in the outlet where the device is connected. Plugging in another device can help you ensure that.
  2. Check if the fuses are blown or circuits are tripped, then fix them if needed.
  3. If the bottom of the garage door is frosted, then it would be stuck to the ground. So, remove any ice buildup if there is any.
  4. Now take time to rest and open the garage door. If the garage door has not been in use for a long time, it would take some time, so, be patient.
  5. Make the door free of any sort of obstruction from opening. 
  6. Increase the force if you still find that the door does not open. Do this by rotating the knob labeled “up” clockwise. The knob is usually placed on the right side of the door opener unit. 

Remote control not working properly

Often you may find your craftsman door opener is working fine with in-panel controls, but not exactly responding to the remote control. You need to troubleshoot the issues in your Remote control then. To do that, check the following signs to fix,

Check the lock feature

If the lock feature of the door opener is activated, it will prevent the door from opening. So, your remote control may be perfectly fine and functioning, and all is needed to disable the lock feature. 

The battery of your remote control

Replace the batteries to check if the remote control itself is functioning or not. If new batteries do not seem to work either, then look for the issue with the control. 

Operate with the in-panel control of the door opener

This way, you will be confirming whether or not the remote control is the trouble-maker and needs a fix. If you can smoothly operate with the door opener’s control panel, then nothing is wrong with the unit itself, it is your remote control that needs the fix. 

Reprogramming the remote control

To fix the remote, you can reprogram it by yourself. We are here suggesting a method using the motor unit of your door opener. Here is what you need to do,

  1. Press the “learn” button of your motor unit and release it immediately. 
  2. Then press the remote button and hold it until you see the door opener lights blink. Make sure that the batteries are not very old that they might be dead. 
  3. Then release the button. This should reset the remote. Test it to check if the garage door opens with the remote control. 

Reversing after opening halfway through

The craftsman garage door openers are designed to reverse to prevent any accidents or damage to the door. When the door opener closes the garage door, it reverses back in case it assumes there is any obstruction to closing the door. Otherwise, if it forces close, it may damage the garage door, or worse, may cause an accident. 

If you find the door closes and reverses back again without any understandable reason, perform some troubleshooting methods to fix the issue. 

Look for any obstruction

Look for any object lying around the ground that prevents the door from closing completely. The safety sensors cannot detect anything shorter than 6 inches in height. Thus, if there is any short object as such, that will make the door bounce back after closing. 

Adjust the travel limit

Sometimes, if the travel limit is set to higher than the distance of the garage door, it causes the door to close and reverse. Because, after reaching the ground, the door bounces back assuming the ground to be an obstruction. In that case, you need to lower the travel limit for the garage door opener. 

There are two kinds of models for craftsman garage door openers- one that uses analog dials to regulate the travel limit (which you will find in the older versions) and the other one that uses digital problem buttons to regulate. 

A related guide: Liftmaster garage door opener troubleshooting guide

Craftsman garage door opener keypad troubleshooting

If you are having problems with your keypad or need to reset the program, then you need to check this video. This only guide helped thousands of users regarding keypad issues.

For the electronic models, you can resolve the issue by following these steps,

  1. Find the programming buttons at the back or sides of the door opener unit.
  2. Press “adjustment” and keep holding until you see the up button to flash, or you hear the beep.
  3. Press the up button and keep holding it, until you see the garage door is in an open position.
  4. Then press the adjustment button to confirm the command. You will see the garage opener light flash twice. The down button will also flash now. 
  5. Press the down button and keep holding it until the garage door closes completely.
  6. Now, press the adjustment button to confirm. The door opener lights will flash twice, and so will the up button. 
  7. Press the up button for a second. It will make the door open fully, and the down button will flash.
  8. Finally, press the down button for a second so that the door closes to its complete distance. 

If you have an older model of craftsman garage door opener that uses analog dials to regulate, check below how you can adjust the travel limit,

  1. Find the adjustment dials of the door opener, usually placed at the back or side of the unit.
  2. Twist the dial counterclockwise about ¼ of the perimeter of the dial. 
  3. Check if it works. If not, repeat the previous step to your instincts to decrease the travel limit. 
  4. If you find you have lowered the distance a little too much, just twist the dial counterclockwise to increase the length a little bit. 

If you want, you can test the safety reversing feature by placing a small piece of wood under the door and closing it, then see if the door reverses back by being prevented by the woodblock.  

Overheating of the unit

If you find your craftsman garage door opener gets overheated, hums, or stays rigid, there might be a problem with the mechanism. You can check if the diagnostic led flashes five times. On the newer models, it is shown by the 1-5 code, which means- the up arrow will blink 1 time, and the down arrow will blink 5 times. 

You can troubleshoot it by disconnecting the door opener from the garage door, and for that, you can pull the emergency cord and lift the door manually. Now, look for any obstructions under the door or at the tracks. Sometimes, there are broken springs or any other object stuck to the door tracks. Remove them as necessary. 

There is another solution to this issue. You can simply unplug the craftsman garage door opener from the outlet and let it rest for about half an hour. This will cool down the motor and then try to check if the unit works fine or not. 

A complete list of error codes. Find it here.

Link credit: https://www.searspartsdirect.com/

Common Questions on Troubleshooting a Craftsman Garage Door Opener

Q: Why is the light of my garage door opener is blinking?

A: if the light of your garage door sensor blinks once, it can be a sign of an open, broken, or disconnected wire in your safety sensor. Sometimes, you might see the light blink twice if the sensor wire is shorted, or the black and white wires are exchanged. But if you find the Door Opener Wires aligned in order, then you might need to replace them.

Q: Is there any reset button in craftsman garage door openers? If yes, where is it located?

A: Usually, you will find the reset buttons in your craftsman garage door openers labeled as “learn” or “home”. This is generally placed on the same side as the door opener’s antenna and beside the LED light. 

Q: How do I know if the motor in the door opener is overheated? 

A: there are a few symptoms of overheating issues. The most common one in the led light flashes five times. Other than that, if there is an issue with the rpm sensor, the led also blinks five times. If you find the door to open to some length and stop right there, that is a sign of an rpm sensor issue. However, if the door does not move at all, it might be caused by the motor. 

Conclusion

When you get a new garage door opener, we highly suggest you hold on to that user manual that comes with the device. Sometimes, there are a lot of tips and quick fixes suggested for the probable issues of the craftsman garage door opener. Besides, ensure to check your equipment regularly to prevent damages and accidents. 

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Hi, I’m Abdulla! Your go-to tech troubleshooter! Sharing my knowledge so that you can fix your tech issues with ease. Let’s make fixing things easy and fun!

6 thoughts on “Craftsman Garage Door Opener Troubleshooting”

  1. The yellow light on the wall switch is blinking. The opener and light won’t work from the wall switch. Opener works fine with car remote and key pad.

    Reply
  2. With my automotive door opener I have to stand next to the door in order to open it I’ve change the batteries does it make any difference can you help me

    Reply
  3. I changed the battery on the outside key pad but still no lights or function. The door works well from the inside the garage opener

    Reply
  4. I have 2 openers. one will program to a new remote. 2nd one does not reprogram. When it is time to match with remote, it does not click or light flash Is it is the unit itself?

    Reply
  5. I have 2 openers. one will program to a new remote. 2nd one does not reprogram. When it is time to match with remote, it does not click or light flash Is it is the unit itself?

    Reply

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