Chamberlain garage door opener learn button not working

Before we get into why your garage door opener button is not working we should cover a few things. First and foremost, this may seem silly but we realize many customers do not understand the difference. Garage door, garage door opener, and  garage door remote are not interchangeable terms. They are all 3 completely different things. You can have a garage door with out a garage door opener.  You cannot have a garage door opener without a garage door. Also you can have a garage door opener but no remote.  However you cannot have a remote without a garage door opener.

What Is A Garage Door Opener?

So what is what?  The door is obviously the structure that blocks the opening when it is closed  and travels up and down in the tracks. The garage door opener is the electronic device that hangs from the ceiling and connects to the door with a “J arm” and a bracket. The garage door remote is the wireless hand held transmitter that operates the garage door opener.

Your Garage Door Must Be In Good Working Order

In order for a garage door opener to work properly and to last your garage door must be working properly. SO you want a garage door that travels up and down by hand easily, with out binding or feeling stiff. If your garage door is binding, stiff , heavy to lift or hard to pull down by hand, then you have a problem. If your garage door is any of those things address the garage door issue with a professional garage door technician.

How Does A Garage Door Opener Work?

Easy answer right? You hit the button it goes up, you hit the button it goes down. Well in order to repair a garage door opener you must understand what happens in between the button push and movement.

Whenever you push a button there is a sequence of events that takes place.

1. Signal From Wall Button or Remote Goes to Logic Board
2. Logic Board Sends Signal to Capacitor
3. Capacitor Jump Starts Motor
4. Motor Turns Gear & Sprocket
5. Sprocket Turns Chain/Belt
6. Chain/Belt Pulls Trolley
7. Travel Limits Tell Motor When to Stop

Remember, knowing what happens allows you to see what part of the process is breaking down. Which will allow you to begin the trouble shooting your specific issue.

Pro Tip:  Perform a google search for your owners manual using the model number, this will be very helpful in troubleshooting basic issues. It will also help find replacement part numbers.

Garage Door Opener Button Not Working

There are 3 things involved in getting the signal from the wall button to the opener. The wall button, the wire, and the logic board. If your wall button is not working one of the 3 could be the problem. Before we do any detailed troubleshooting here is a quick checklist.

4 Things To Check When Wall Button Is Not Working

1. Power source (tripped breakers or GFCI outlet)
2. Wall Button
3. Low Voltage Wire
4. Logic Board

Troubleshooting For Garage Door Opener Button Not Working

Things you will need:

1. Phillips Head Screwdriver
2. Wire Strippers
3. A Corded Electrical Device You Know Works
4. Low Voltage Wire
5. Staple Gun

Step 1:  

Test the outlet. Unplug the opener. Take a corded electrical device that you know works and plug it into the outlet your garage door opener was connected to. Grab a cellphone charger and plug your phone in.  If the charger works. Move on to step 2.

Garage Door Opener No Power

First, check your breaker box.  If the breaker is not tripped we need to check to see if that outlet is on the same circuit as a GFCI outlet. Start in the garage and check all of your outlets for a GFCI outlet ( those are the outlets with the reset and test buttons.) When you find one press the reset button. Don’t forget to check any utility closets etc. If you do not find  one in the garage, it could be in the house check the walls that are on the other side of the garage. Once you find the right one re-setting it will most likely fix your problem.

If neither of these things do not work do not call a garage door repair company contact an electrician to fix your issue.

Step 2:

Test the wall button . First remove the wall button using a screwdriver. Next test the wires by touching them together, there is no danger it is a low voltage circuit. ( If you have anything except a yellow learn button LiftMaster opener this test will work. ) If the wires and circuit board are good your opener will operate.  So, if when you touched the wires together the garage door opener worked then your wall control is bad.  If it did not skip to step 3.

Replacing the wall control:

If you have determined you have amber bad wall control and you need to replace it this is easy and inexpensive, you can do this yourself.

1. Find Part number in owners manual
2. Order The Part
3. Replace wall control.

Again, if you do not have the original owners manual you can download it online. If the part is not made anymore then you may be out of luck. Usually though a quick google search will find the replacement part number. Just check pictures to make sure it looks like the one you have.

Quick Note:

If your garage opener is a LiftMaster, Chamberlain, or Craftsman polarity matters. Meaning when you have to connect the wall button on these brands it matters which wire goes where.  If you did not pay attention when  you took the wires off of the old wall button check the back of the opener. Just match whatever wire is in the red port to the screw on the wall control that says red wire. DO the same for the white port and the screw that says white wire.

Step 3:

Test the wires. If you have a yellow learn button LiftMaster opener or when you touched the wires together in step 2 and nothing happened here is what to do next. First, check to make sure the wire connections are secure on the back of your garage door.  If the connections are good, grab some low voltage wire from your local hardware store and some wire strippers.

Then, make a little jumper wire and attach it to the wall button. Next jump on a step stool and connect the wall button to the back of the opener using the other end of your jumper wire.  Now, press the button. If the garage door opener worked you have a wiring issue.

Simply replace the wire using the same low voltage wire you bought from the hardware store. In the case you do not want to have wire stapled to your wall or ceiling, call an electrician they can run new wire behind the wall.

Garage door opener button not working still.

If the garage door opener button did not work and you do not have a yellow learn button LiftMaster or Chamberlain garage door opener, then you have a bad circuit board and should move to step 4.

With a yellow learn button opener, if the wall control LED lit up when you hooked up the jumper wire but nothing happened, bad logic board. If the LED light on the wall control did not light up, bad wall control. Follow the instructions in step 2 for replacement.

Step 4:

Replace the logic board. So, you have reached the worst case scenario, it wasn’t a power issue, it wasn’t the wire or the wall button either. That means you have a faulty logic board. In order to replace the logic board, simply google the part number ( it will be printed on the logic board. Next, perform a google search for the brand model # and part # just look at the pictures to make sure it is exactly the same as the one  you have. When  replacing the logic board they are plug and play. However, make sure to unplug the garage door opener before taking it apart or replacing it.

Depending on the age of your opener when it comes to a logic board, it is usually a good time to go ahead and upgrade that unit. DO some research on what would be the best garage door opener for you and call a company out to take care of that for you.

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