When do I need to rethread a VSB auto door opener?
If the cord has become snagged and wound the wrong direct your vsb chicken door opener will no longer function.
The first sign of a problem will be when the door doesn’t shut.
You’ll also find the cord going into the door opener is very tight and the door will possibly be jammed against something.
If you check inside the unit you’ll see that the cord is passing over the front of the motor spindle and not the back as intended.
The VSB door openers have an over load circuit that will shut the motor off if the load is too high. If you leave the door in the jammed position for any length of time it will flatten the batteries. The first thing to do is remove the batteries (even if they haven’t discharged)
Next cut the cord as near to the knot as possible – with the coils of the spring is our preferred place as this leaves as much cord as possible. There is normally enough cord in the unit to repair it like this several times before the whole cord needs replacing.
Now replace the batteries. The unit should come back to life straight away but you may need to wait for the overload sensor to reset before anything happens. The motor may wind one way and then the other. This is normal. Gentle pull on the cord until it is all wound off the spindle. When it reaches the end of the cord the motor will continue wind the cord back the correct way. Now remove a battery or disconnect one of the battery leads.
Thread the cord through the end of the middle slide – the one that looks a bit like a paper clip
Then thread the cord through the spring. It is easier if you remove the spring and slide it over the cord than to try and thread the cord through the spring insitu .
Next put the cord through the hole in the white lever and out of the bottom of the VSB. Now you can replace the spring between the lever and the peg that locates it.
Now tie a large knot in the cord to for a loop. Double or treble it so it is nice and fat.
Now gentle pull on the cord to keep it tight and replace the batteries. keep the cord under tension until it is fully wound in. The knot will then lift the white lever to turn the unit off when it reaches it’s open position. It is now ready to be refitted. Remove a battery, refit and check for clearances then refit battery and the VSB door opener is back ready for use.
If you need to replace the cord we can also supply spare cord for your vsb or you can source it yourself – 10 or 20lb braided fishing line is suitable. It needs to be flexible, the single strand plastic fishing line isn’t suitable
