Garage Door Opener Issues

Well, as most things go with time, they tend to fail. One case is my Craftsman garage door opener.

Its been getting noisy over time but I didn't realize how much until it completely failed Monday morning. If I didn't look in the rearview mirror and saw darkness. Got out and I hear the motor running, but the door had only moved about 3".

Well, looks like I have problems, but I'm on the way to work, so lets open and close manually and have a look later.

Well, this is what I found when I got home.



The gear that is driven by the worm gear has eaten itself alive. Upon further research, this gear needs to be lubricated regularly, which it obviously has not been. I've lived here almost 4 years and I've only greased the rollers and lubed the chain.

So off to Sears service center I go. Well, guess what, Sears cannot help unless you have the model and serial number. This happened to me about 12 years ago at this same place. Why should it be different now? I get online on ebay, theres a seller there that has the gears. I call his #. He asks "Do you have the optical eye at the bottom of the door?" yes, I do. Then tells me "its the same gear from 1984 to today". Why can't sears figure that out?


I ordered the kit, it arrived in 3 days. My next post will illustrate replacement and chain adjustment.

Call Center (chat) Fun.

Okay so last November, I replaced my well worn Sidekick III with a TMobile G1.

How is it? Its ok, but its one of these deals, where its a computer first, and a phone second.

I have had friends complain about calling me sometimes and having error messages like "Number is not in service", and then they'll call right back, and I'll be fine again. I also get dropped calls, and times when I wont even get a call, yet friends will call and it rolls straight to voice mail.

So I got online today and chatted with a Tmobile rep. Heres a copy of the chat. Note how she really doesn't directly address my issues, rather just updates my "system". I think when my contract is up, I'm going to seek another provider. I've been with Tmobile for 5 years, and customer service is declining rapidly.

You have been connected to Demetria E.

Demetria E: Hi Redassaggie00 , welcome to T-Mobile live help. I’m Demetria and I will be happy to help you. Please give me a moment to review your question.

Demetria E: For your reference, my ID number is xxxxxx.

Redassaggie00 : ok thanks

Demetria E: For security purposes, can you please provide me with the last four digits of the account holder's Social Security number for verification? Once your account is verified we will be more than happy to research this issue further.

Redassaggie00 : XXXX

Demetria E: Thank you.

Demetria E: How long have you been having the problems.

Redassaggie00 : about 4 or 5 months

Demetria E: Redassaggie00, do you receive an error message?

Redassaggie00 : every now and then, my friends will call my cell

Redassaggie00 : and it will say that my number is out of service

Redassaggie00 : and these are people that have me stored in their phone books

Demetria E: Can you place a test call to the device at this time?

Redassaggie00 : you want me to call my cell phone?

Demetria E: Yes, that is correct Redassaggie00.

Redassaggie00 : ok

Redassaggie00 : calling now from my office

Redassaggie00 : its ringing

Demetria E: Thank you.

Redassaggie00 : this doesn’t happen all the time

Redassaggie00 : but several times a week

Demetria E: I am going to update the service, Redassaggie00.

Redassaggie00 : what service is that?

Demetria E: ON my end, power the device off and back on again.

Redassaggie00 : ok

Redassaggie00 : what service are you updating?

Demetria E: The network, Redassaggie00 have you powered the device off and back on again?

Redassaggie00 : I see

Redassaggie00 : yes I have

Demetria E: Thank you, please make another test call to your mobile number.

Redassaggie00 : its ringing

Demetria E: The service, is working, Redassaggie00?

Redassaggie00 : yes

Demetria E: So at this time the service you can receive calls?

Redassaggie00 : I was able to receive calls before

Redassaggie00 : just every now and then, at least weekly, I would get callers complaining about the number being out of service

Demetria E: Okay, at this time Redassaggie00, the service is working, I have updated the network and you should not be experiencing the problem anymore.

Redassaggie00 : so every time the network is updated, do I need to go onto chat and ask for my number to be updated?

Demetria E: No, it will be fine, but if you want to make sure you have a strong network connection, I would like to make a suggestion, that you power the device off at least every 72 hours, for at least 10 seconds then power the device back on again.

Redassaggie00 : I see

Redassaggie00 : last time I contacted tech support

Redassaggie00 : they informed me that G3 coverage near my home was low

Redassaggie00 : and the I wouldn’t receive calls, but people would leave voice mails and I’d get those, then

Redassaggie00 : the phone automatically switches between 3G and edge

Redassaggie00 : and kills the battery. Is there a solution?

Demetria E: Yes, I see do you have any additional questions, or concerns.

Redassaggie00 : yes

Redassaggie00 : I’m concerned that Tmobile has not resolved the 3G coverage issue in my area

Demetria E: We are currently working on the issue Redassaggie00.

Demetria E: Is there anything else we can assist you with today?

Redassaggie00 : apparently not.

Redassaggie00 : Thanks.

So there you have it. We'll see what the next few days bring.