Craftsman / Chamberlain Remote Garage Door Opener Keypad ~ Cold Weather Operation Failure Repair

In this video we will go over repairing an issue where your Craftsman, or Chamberlain, remote garage door opener keypad begins to fail only in colder weather (working fine in warmer weather). The problem is that the change in temperature exacerbates tiny fractures in the solder of the circuit board inside the keypad housing. As it gets cold the contraction of the metal results in an interruption of the electric flow of the internal circuitry.
The remote keypad illustrated is the Sears Craftsman 139.53754-01 in 315Mhz. But this problem, and the repair approach, could apply to any Craftsman remote keypad of similar cosmetic design. It would also apply to Chamberlain remote keypads, the original OEM supplier to Sears for Craftsman remote keypads, such as the model 940EV.
The eBay and Amazon search links below are paid links, for which I may be compensated and earn a commission, if you choose to buy the parts and tools shown in this video thru them:
Energizer Ultimate Lithium 9V: ebay.us/BTiZ0a or amzn.to/3QKbzdG
DeoxIT Gold G5: ebay.us/AuCWhW or amzn.to/3WiVUTE
Loctite Super Glue: ebay.us/IaV18f or amzn.to/3kgD969
Craftsman 139.53754 remote keypad replacement: ebay.us/zBTUOa or amzn.to/3XhOYrs
And if I've saved you some $$ here, consider some coins for the coffee tip-jar! ko-fi.com/drshock
Chapters:
0:00 - Problem overview
0:44 - Removing the battery cover
1:16 - Removing the keypad from the house
1:31 - Disassembling the remote keypad
3:16 - Cleaning the contact switches and buttons
3:44 - Reflowing solder joints
5:51 - Reassembling the keypad
6:55 - Remounting and testing
#drshock
Disclaimer: DrShock, the alias for the human content creator for this KZbin channel, is not responsible for any damages, injuries, losses, or liabilities associated with any repairs, upgrades, or maintenance performed on yours, or any other, product whatsoever. No warranty, express or implied, is made as to the accuracy or completeness of any information provided within this channel. Viewing and using the “as-is" information of this channel is totally at your own risk. Always wear personal protection equipment and follow appropriate product manufacturer service manual guidelines with original manufacturer parts only when performing any repairs, upgrades, or maintenance upon any product.

[@joberthalib9951]

All your content is so well done, detailed, complete and easily followed by a beginner. You are one of the best on KZbin. Your Chevy truck stuff is amazing. Thanks

[@weiminliu8431]

Great video. I had a hard time removing the back cover. Now I know why.

[@terrapinflyer273]

Amazing disassembly and repair tutorial! I have used 90+% isopropyl alcohol (not Dollar Store brand though, it tends to leave a film) on PCB contacts before with good success. It doesn't work so well on rubber material though. Okay to use on the contact surfaces on the rubber though as far as I know. Probably warm water, mild dish soap, and a sponge might work well for the rubber piece. Repaired an old Playstation 3 controller I thought was a goner for years that way. What a total pain they superglued it together. They could have used screws and rubber gaskets on the back and battery cover to really keep it free from moisture. Manufactured to fail... Guess they gotta make constant revenue somehow. Hoping to repair ours instead of shelling out $35 for a new one. That money could be better spent to buy a HomeLink Repeater to link it with our vehicles lol.

[@Joshdr99]

It took a while to find a video that shows the opening and now I know why. It takes a lot of time and care to open with out breaking. Now I know why people just say to replace it. I didn't want to deal with that right now so I changed the code for now figuring the current code buttons were worn or dirty since the key pad gets used several times a day and it is working fine now. The ENTER button could go next though so I will a new one and take a shot at opening and cleaning the old one and if it goes well I will have a spare. THANK YOU!

[@anthonycasto4812]

this worked on my chamberlain keypad for one of the numbers not working right. Thank you!

[@shaddyhanna472]

Thanks a lot ... Very useful!!!

[@Mazda75]

I did it and it worked, thanks 🙏

[@chrispedraza4140]

Thanks for your great video an: explanation on how to open the back of this son of a gun. It’s nice to know I don’t nearly have to break my fingers when I open up my garage next time. Also, maybe not mentioned in the video, but using the rubber eraser from a pencil in rubbing it along all the contact points of the motherboard helps tremendously. I did not have to do any soldering.

[@lindaharnish176]

As careful as I was, the unit would not come apart, the case edge just cracked. Replacements are fortunately available for about $20. The video was great, though knowing what is inside.

[@barrymorse8810]

My Chamberlain was also too well glued. I think the plastic casing may also be too UV damaged to withstand flexing... I almost bought a no-name replacement, but then read a comment that the knockoff would not let you close the door just by pressing the enter button - it would be necessary to reenter the code. I ended up buying the original article, which has one-press close.

[@mobilecomptrek]

I started having a problem a few years ago with my sensors. One of them would stop working and I figured out it was when it would get really cold, way below freezing. Otherwise, it worked fine. I started having the problem again recently with some bitter cold weather, so I used a hair dryer on it for a few minutes and the light came on and started working. I then put an incandescent bulb near it to keep it warmer until I the temperature gets higher and I can replace the sensors.

[@bquedenfeld]

started with an exacto knife then went with a very thin screwdriver blade no luck keypad is 8 years old

[@lewinm00]

It's $50, and you're just as likely to break so just pony up for the new keypad

[@DrShock]

Or you can save $50 and not. ;-)