My trusty Genie Pro 83 began acting erratically this afternoon. I tried several combinations of wireless remote, wall switch, etc. At first neither the remote nor the wall switch worked. Thinking it might be a relay or solenoid in there, I unplugged the unit. When I plugged it in, the door would open (or close) but just the once. This persisted for a couple of cycles. I found that a spare remote worked the thing just fine, but the wall switch wouldn't work.
Right about that time, the motor head let out all of its smoke. A quick unplug and a squirt of fire extinguisher, just to be on the safe side, ensued.
Now, I'd rather not have to replace the whole damn thing: track, screw, brackets, etc. if I can help it. That spells money and in my condition, I'm not sure I have enough elbow grease to do it, even with help. But it appears that the compatible motor head is no longer available (and I'm not sure what to do with it anyway).
Thinking that it had to be something rather large to let out as much smoke as it did, I popped the cover and there's a large motor starter capacitor in there. There seemed to be a fair amount of black schmutz on the contacts and a bit here and there around the edges of the contact end. I couldn't find an obvious leak point though. I pulled it and that part is still available.
It's a nuisance and, for the moment, a security issue until I can get a manual interior lock on the thing. So, what do I need to know? Am I SOL and just wasting my time with the capacitor? Is there any kind of generational compatibility between the current Genie motor heads and the existing screw/rail/etc?
Any and all input much appreciated. Time is a factor.
Question
tomteriffic
My trusty Genie Pro 83 began acting erratically this afternoon. I tried several combinations of wireless remote, wall switch, etc. At first neither the remote nor the wall switch worked. Thinking it might be a relay or solenoid in there, I unplugged the unit. When I plugged it in, the door would open (or close) but just the once. This persisted for a couple of cycles. I found that a spare remote worked the thing just fine, but the wall switch wouldn't work.
Right about that time, the motor head let out all of its smoke. A quick unplug and a squirt of fire extinguisher, just to be on the safe side, ensued.
Now, I'd rather not have to replace the whole damn thing: track, screw, brackets, etc. if I can help it. That spells money and in my condition, I'm not sure I have enough elbow grease to do it, even with help. But it appears that the compatible motor head is no longer available (and I'm not sure what to do with it anyway).
Thinking that it had to be something rather large to let out as much smoke as it did, I popped the cover and there's a large motor starter capacitor in there. There seemed to be a fair amount of black schmutz on the contacts and a bit here and there around the edges of the contact end. I couldn't find an obvious leak point though. I pulled it and that part is still available.
It's a nuisance and, for the moment, a security issue until I can get a manual interior lock on the thing. So, what do I need to know? Am I SOL and just wasting my time with the capacitor? Is there any kind of generational compatibility between the current Genie motor heads and the existing screw/rail/etc?
Any and all input much appreciated. Time is a factor.
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