HomeLink Headaches

[Scolirk]

Hey everyone,

We moved this week to a new house, we have 2 garage door openers here and neither are working with my HomeLink on my 01 740iL. I was able to get our old opener to work after a lot of trial and error last year, it was a 2012 or 2013 model Craftsman. The new ones are a Chamberlain PD222 and a LiftMaster 8500C. I've tried the following steps to try to get either to work, starting off with resetting the HL on the car by holding buttons 1 & 3 for 30 seconds.

• Press Motor Learn Button, Press E38's HL1 button 3 times for 3 seconds each.
• Press Motor Learn Button, Press E38's HL1 button for 30 seconds
• Press Motor Learn Button, Press E38's HL1 button 2 times for 3 seconds each then final time until motor learn light turns off
• Press E38's HL1 button at the same time as the remote while holding it next to HL panel in E38, then proceeding to try first step of motor's learn button followed by 3 3 second presses.

Nothing seems to work, and it's frustrating me. The only thing I found online was a change in HomeLink's technology in newer motors that has made older units like ours obsolete, so I'm looking for confirmation if that might be the true issue. Right now we've got 1 remote for the Liftmaster and 2 for the chamberlain, i'd like to keep all of them out of my car and use the built in system. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

[robo740il]

I assume you had the key in the ignition and turned to position 2?

If so, the your last sequence should work. (Make sure the Homelink indicator light flashes in step 1 before relaeasing the buttons on both the remote and the Homelink.)

[aom7]

Mine works like this:

(after resetting the unit), hold working remote against HL (keep car away from garage door!), press and hold HL1 (for instance), the light on the HL will blink rapidly, press an hold the garage remote and keep holding it down until the light starts blinking slower (about 3-5 seconds).

Then go to the garage opener, press the LEARN button, then go back to the car, and press HL1 and hold down for a few seconds, let go and press it again... and do it one more time if need be (at which point, the door should start moving). If it doesn't, repeat this step.

IF NONE of this works, then you're going to need an adapter/interpreter which will take the signal of the HL and convert it to the newer signal.

I had to do this for my gate motor, none of my homelink devices would program to it.

[Qsilver7]

Hey everyone...We moved this week to a new house, we have 2 garage door openers here and neither are working with my HomeLink on my 01 740iL. Nothing seems to work, and it's frustrating me. The only thing I found online was a change in HomeLink's technology in newer motors that has made older units like ours obsolete, so I'm looking for confirmation if that might be the true issue. Right now we've got 1 remote for the Liftmaster and 2 for the chamberlain, i'd like to keep all of them out of my car and use the built in system. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Consider it confirmed. If you have a new GDO (garage door opener) that has been manufactured since around 2010-up...specifically Chamberlain, Craftsman, & Liftmaster...it will not work with the old HOMELINK UGDOs (universal garage door openers).

The "change" came from the garage door industry in which HOMELINK had to change to keep up with the industry. You can continue to use your old UGDO...but you will need to get a HOMELINK REPEATER (aka "bridge"). This unit facilitates communication between your new GDO (hanging from your garage door ceiling) and the old UGDO in your 01 e38. You can search for a new one or look for a used one on ebay or similar sites. If you go to the HOMELINK website (www.homelink.com)...you will read info about the need for a "bridge" for certain UGD model/manufacturers. If you haven't yet...go to HOMELINKs website and click on the links for programming for your particular model GDO and see if it mentions the need for a "bridge" to work with your model year car or old HOMELINK UGDO.

I went through this same issue when I had to replace my original 1992 GDO that was installed when my home was built with a new one back in 2012. Nothing worked until I picked up a HOMELINK repeater system:



{repeater is plugged into the outlet in the ceiling and bridges the communication between my old (1997 & 2006) BMW HOMELINK UGDOs with my new 2012 Chamberlain GDO.}

[racer2086]

I don't know what year your openers are, but I literally just dealt with this issue last week. We moved into a new place and the opener is a Genie Intellicode. I couldn't get the HL to blink rapidly from the remote. Then what I tried was pressing and releasing the remote button a bunch of times and the HL finally took it. Then I was able to go up and press the learn button, press the HL 3 times, and the door worked. The Genie, according to my internet searches is one of the hardest ones.

Here are the steps:

You can erase the HL by pressing and holding buttons 1 and 3.

Press and hold the button you want to program until it starts flashing slowly. Hold your remote clicker up next to the HL and press and hold the button. After a little, the light should change from a slow flash to flashing rapidly. It MUST flash rapidly for you to move on.

(If it doesn't, and this was my problem, your remote probably doesn't keep outputting a signal if you are just holding the button. Maybe it is some sort of safeguard against the battery wearing out if the button is pressed in your glove box or something. Anyway, constantly press and release the remote button like you are opening and closing the garage while you are holding the homelink. After a bunch of presses -- over 10 for me -- you will see the HL light blink rapidly.)

Once you have the remote frequency programmed to the HL, then you need to learn the rolling codes. This is the point where you get on the ladder and press the learn button on the opener. Go back to the car and press the HL button for 1 or 2 seconds three separate times. On the 3rd time, the door should activate.

If none of that works and you have a brand new unit, then the repeater may be the ticket.

[Qsilver7]

The OP has a Chamberlain PD222 & a Liftmaster 8500C.

Here are the instructions from HOMELINK's website (click links for instructions)...both say a "compatibility bridge kit" (aka see REPEATER pictured in my previous post above) will be needed if having difficulty with programming):

1. Chamberlain PD222: http://homelink.com/program/instruct.../0/0/usenglish
   
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2. Liftmaster 8550C: http://homelink.com/program/instruct.../0/0/usenglish
   
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[racer2086]

Oops, I didn't look up the models. But for those with older units that have rolling codes, press the remote button a bunch of times to get the homelink light to blink rapidly.

[Scolirk]

Thanks, Q! I looked all over for HomeLink throughout the owner's manuals for both, couldn't find a single reference in either one. I won't bother wasting my time trying to program it until I get the repeater. Do you know if 1 repeater will work for both openers, or do I need separate units for each GDO? The two sets of garages are about 15 feet away, with the second (my main) GDO unit an extra 10-ish feet away from the other GDO unit. The previous owner left a dangling power outlet near the GDO where it's plugged in, theoretically, there should be a second plug for me to connect the repeater into.

[Qsilver7]

Thanks, Q! I looked all over for HomeLink throughout the owner's manuals for both, couldn't find a single reference in either one. I won't bother wasting my time trying to program it until I get the repeater. Do you know if 1 repeater will work for both openers, or do I need separate units for each GDO? The two sets of garages are about 15 feet away, with the second (my main) GDO unit an extra 10-ish feet away from the other GDO unit. The previous owner left a dangling power outlet near the GDO where it's plugged in, theoretically, there should be a second plug for me to connect the repeater into.

I'm not sure if it will operate two different GDOs...but here's a link with some info and a short video on how the "compatibility bridge" is programmed to one GDO. There's a toll free number listed in the linked info...give HOMELINK a call to see if it can be used for multiple GDOs:

• Instructions w/video: http://www.homelink.com/compatibility-bridge
• Instructional PDF: https://www.liftmaster.com/catalogre...structions.pdf