Marrkk

This gets curiouser and curiouser. Got the lenses off no problem with a taped screwdriver, no damage. Probed the red wire, no power. Jumped power from an adjacent light, pushed a Homelink button, voila, red light illuminates. So I believe it's a circuit problem. Pushed the housing back in the opening, just for the heck of it, pushed one of the buttons. The red light illuminates! Can't explain it.

However, I still can't get past the first programming step. I have a Genie opener and one of the originally furnished one button openers, which is working. When I bring it to one inch from the Homelink unit and press a Homelink button and the remote button simultaneously, both lights (on the remote and Homelink) illuminate and remain illuminated until they are released , but they do not blink, neither slow nor fast.

Any ideas on where to go from here?

Bgw70

First were you able to reset/erase the Homelink?
You must erase before you program a new device.

Second, did you find the programming instructions for the Genie?
If you have a newer Genie you may an interface device to work with our older Homelink systems.
BTW, what year car? Sorry if you posted that earlier.

Marrkk

Thanks for the reminder about the erase protocol, I vaguely remembered it, but forgot it took 20 seconds and the blinking response. Of course my manual was no help, here's what it says on page 173, under the heading "Reprogramming a button": "The individual HomeLink buttons cannot be erased but can be reprogrammed. To reprogram a button, follow the 'Basic programming' instructions". Of course, that doesn't work!
After erasing the memory and finding the "learn" button on the Genie, I was able to get HomeLink working. Then it was just a matter of extracting the screw that had fallen between the console and the seat!

Thanks to everyone for all the help!

Marrkk

My car is a Mercury Metallic 2006, Saddle Tan interior with no run flats and the factory spare!

Bgw70

Who whooo!!!

Glad it is fixed!

So do you think when you moved the connectors it made good contact again?

I know you said it started working when you jumped power over but did you try the buttons before jumping power but after removing the Homelink from the roof?

Just bringing that up for clarity on the final fix for this thread, so that others will have an answer if they have the same issue.

BTW, sweet looking car!!!

Marrkk

No, I did not check before the probing and jumping. My technique for probing was to first probe across a hot lead and ground lead for one of the adjacent map lights to verify 12v, then inserting the positive probe through the red lead going into the HomeLink unit. I made certain the probe made contact with the wire, and I could see the wire through the penetration hole after I withdrew the probe. As I said, I saw no voltage at that time. After jumping it from one of the light feeds and getting the light, I then pushed the unit back into the headliner without screwing it in. It was then that I tried the buttons and saw the red light come on.

I have no idea what transpired to cause it to start working. The HomeLink unit has a red and black wire that appear go feed directly into the unit without a plug. I probed the red wired because a plug on the end of the red/black pigtail was not obviously visible. Inverse Murphy's law?

rudyH

OK first let me say I'm not being a smart** as this just happened to me today. I haven't needed to re-program my HomeLink in over a year. It has worked flawlessly in that time. Today I had a new garage door opener installed and while waiting for the install to be completed I decided to erase the HL in my 2006 SC430. OK. I hold the 2 buttons. No lights. WTF? The remote was just working of couple of days ago. So of course me being a descendant from lower primates (speaking for myself) I try magical imagined combinations of buttons and other assorted tricks. Of course nothing changes. So I log into CL for info from the smartest car guys on earth (absolutely NOT being sarcastic here!) and see all sorts of answers. None appeal to me. I decide to give it one more shot. No improvement. So I'm clearing the memories for the 10th time and while leaning a bit more forward. the light is blinking. OK. I get it. The light is not very visible at all unless you are at the correct angle. My car may be unusual....or maybe not. The manual mentions to make sure the light is visible during the process. "Well DUH" I think. So, it was the idiot at the controls (me) just being stupid. The darn thing is working fine. Of course now my new garage door opener, a LiftMaster, needs a repeater for my ancient SC HL system. I kinda' knew from reading web reviews that was going to happen. Annoying but a first world problem that less than $40 via Amazon should correct. Now, I don't know if the OP of this thread had the same issue or really had a loose connection. Doesn't matter. Both cars are working now. That's all that matters. I so appreciate this forum. Words cannot say.

Harold57

Interesting Rudy. Your car's remote needed a repeater to work? That is surprising. I have a 2002 and can trigger my Liftmaster in both my garage and my shed at about 200' away. What were the symptoms?

I'm glad that you finally figured it out though. I would have expected the viewing angle of the LED to be better than that also.

Bgw70

Rudy, DO NOT BUY THE REPEATER! They will send it to you and only charge you for the shipping!
I just called them and was very nice and at first they wanted to charge me, but after discussing this situation and how their box never said anything about a repeater etc etc, they send the item.

Just be persistent and don't give up!

BTW, my opener has an app and I can control the door with my phone or iPad, can yours do that? If so you will need a router and they may need to send that too.
I cannot remember if mine came with it or they sent it to me...

rudyH

It depends on the vintage of the opener. LiftMaster went to a more secure remote system a while ago. My old LiftMaster and Genie worked fine with the HL. There's a compatibility page on the ListMaster sight and it says this car needs their repeater. It's more of a translator but they call it a repeater. Apparently all 2006 and earlier HL equipped cars need the device and then it becomes model dependent.

https://www.liftmaster.com/For-Homes...ibility-Bridge

rudyH

I actually knew it needed the repeater when I had the unit installed. I may call them and ask but it's no big deal. I normally use a presence sensor an/or my iPhone configured as a presence device to open the door when I pull up to it. I don't have to touch a thing. My Amazon echo and Smartthings Hub control it and a bunch of stuff in my house. The remotes are all redundant as of last week. I could automate the closing but I don't want that feature for several reasons. The remotes are only for the motorcycle when I leave and I use the HL in the car when I leave. It's a very handy setup for motorcycles and bicycles.I can open and close it using verbal commands with my Amazon Echo.

Bgw70

That sounds very high tech and quite impressive!

I really like the quality of Liftmaster/Chamberlin but These additional items that must be purchased can be a real pain at times...why can't they just add the technology to make them backwards compatible!

rudyH

I'll be honest. It's all pretty darn simple to implement. The genius is in the hardware and soft/firmware. Once I understood how the stuff was added to the Hub System, adding motion sensors, tilt and temperature sensors, door contactors, light dimmers and smart light bulbs was just the same process over and over again. Hooking the hub stuff to Amazon Echo was pretty straightforward too but their is an order and protocol that needs to be followed. In all honesty, from opening the boxes to a fully functioning system was a little over a day not counting installing all the switches, relays and things. It's quite fun if you're into that stuff. It's all in it's infancy still but I'm telling you the future is in this stuff. Soon, there will be amazing voice capabilities in cars. The accuracy of the Echo voice recognition is stunningly good. If my fridge gets warm I get a text! Stupid? You bet! Cool? Absolutely! As far as garage door opener HL capability I guess there's no reason they couldn't make it backwards compatible but I don't think they could do it and keep the higher security standard. I f=guess they could make it selectable but I can;t imagine it's high on their list of priorities. I think it's more of a HL decision than the opener folks. It's all licensed tech I believe.

jprov

Mark.....I am following this thread. I have a similar problem to yours regarding power to home link. Did you ever figure it out? Jerry

Bgw70

dont you have an rx330 or something like that?