The door says "LOCKED OUT" / Tailwind doesn't open or close the door. How do I fix it?

After 2 failed attempts the Tailwind iQ3 controller goes into a “locked out” state as required by law referencing the UL 325 safety standard. Once locked out it will no longer respond to door commands. This lockout state can easily be cleared by following any of the 3 methods below:

1) Cycle the door (open / close) using any other method such as the wall control, a remote, etc.

Please note: If the door sensor is the problem causing the lockout, cycling the door will probably not clear the lockout and you'll need to follow method 2 or 3 below to clear it.

2) Send a restart command by tapping the gear icon to the right of your device on the "My Devices" screen in the app - then tap "Restart".

3) Unplug the Tailwind controller, wait at least 5 seconds, and plug it back in.

You might need to go to a different screen in the app such as "My Devices" and then return to the door control screen. The lockout should be cleared. It may not clear immediately if you stay on the door control screen in the app while you clear the lockout in your device.

Once you have cleared the lockout, you can start the troubleshooting process below to determine the cause and fix it.

So why are you getting a lockout? Tailwind tries to open or close your door 2 times (it automatically tries a second time if the first attempt fails). There are generally 2 categories of failure.

1) The door operates but does something unexpected like stops part way or operates a second time. If this is happening to you, jump to CASE 1 below.

2) The door does nothing at all. If this is happening to you, jump to CASE 2 below.

CASE 1

The door is moving but does something unexpected like stops part way or operates a second time.

Please cycle the door up / down using your wall control or remote control while keeping the Tailwind app open on the door control screen.

OPENING PROBLEM:

If the door icon in the app DOES NOT show the door open within 2 seconds of the door STARTING to open there is most likely a problem with the door sensor. Jump to (A) below. If the door icon DOES show the door open within 2 seconds but the door still opens only part way using the Tailwind app, jump to "DOOR PULSE SETTINGS" below.

A) If you have a door sensor that mounts above the door, the problem is the sensor thinks the magnet is still nearby even when the door is open. The magnet used in the "above door" sensor system is very strong and can temporarily "magnetize" metal objects near the sensor. This can be something as simple as a drywall screw in the wall near the sensor. The solution is to remove the magnet from the bracket, flip it upside down and hold it near the sensor for about 3 seconds. This will neutralize any temporary residual magnetism in any nearby metal objects because the magnet is now facing the opposite direction. If necessary, move the sensor away from any metal objects by at least 2 inches. If you remove the sensor from the wall and suddenly the Tailwind app shows the door is open, there is a strong possibility something metal near the sensor became magnetized. Simply mount the sensor in another location - even just a couple inches away from the original location. Then re-install the magnet on the door, but increase the gap to about 1 inch (25mm) between the sensor and the magnet. The magnet bracket can be bent to provide additional adjustment of the gap if needed.

B) If you have a door sensor that mounts to the J-track on the side of the door, please contact [e-mail]

CLOSING PROBLEM:

If the door icon in the app DOES NOT show the door closed within 2 seconds of the door FINISHING to close, there is most likely a problem with the door sensor. The problem is the sensor does not realize the magnet has come near the sensor. The solution is to align the magnet so it comes closer to the sensor when the door is in the closed position. This is most common with our older "legacy" door sensors (shown below) as they need to be much more closely aligned than the newer style that mounts above the door, which can easily work at gaps of 1 inch.

The bottom line is this: The magnet is probably not coming close enough to the sensor, or is not aligned properly. See the picture below for proper installation of the track mount sensor.

DOOR PULSE SETTINGS

Open the Tailwind app to the "Door Control" screen.

Tap the gear icon to the right of the door giving you trouble.

Set the number of pulses for open and close to 1 pulse, and try time settings in the 300mS to 500mS range.

Try controlling the door again.

If it's still not working, please contact us at [e-mail]

CASE 2

The door does nothing at all

For some reason your garage door opener is not responding when your Tailwind controller tries to open or close your door (you hear beeping and see a flashing white light when trying to CLOSE the door for example). If this is the case, please check to make sure the control wiring from the Tailwind iQ3 to your opener is making good contact with the correct terminals on your garage door opener. Additionally, you may have a garage door opener that requires an adaptor for Tailwind to work with it. Please check our online compatibility checker for details about compatibility if you have not already done so. We can make Tailwind work with most garage door openers, but some require special wiring or adaptors. If you do have an adaptor, it could simply be that the battery in the adaptor is dead. If you press any of the buttons on the adaptor and the red LED doesn't light up, replace the CR2032 battery inside the adaptor.

Troubleshooting Steps

Please try the following steps so you can finally put this behind you and start enjoying the system! Please do not skip any steps or do them out of sequence. These steps assume you have already confirmed that your garage door opener is compatible without needing special wiring or adaptors.

1) Find a short piece of wire (stripped at each end) or a metal paperclip

2) Unplug the wiring harness from port 1 on the Tailwind controller (assuming you have a single door)

3) Before proceeding further, note that your garage door may open / close - so BE CAREFUL. You don't want it to hit you or anything else!

4) Unplug the control cable from the Tailwind controller.

5) Use the short piece of wire or metal paperclip to TOUCH the 2 terminals shown below at the same time, effectively shorting / connecting them together. DO NOT INSERT the wire or paperclip into the holes in the connector pins as this can damage them. This should cause your garage door to open or close each time you touch them together momentarily.

If step 5 DOES NOT cause your garage door to open or close do not follow step 6 onward because it means that the control wires are not connected to your garage door opener properly. If you are using an adaptor it most likely means the battery in it needs to be replaced.

If step 5 DOES cause your garage door to open or close, it means you've connected the wiring properly and we need to check the controller side of things with the steps below:

6) Please plug the wiring harness back into port 1 (or whatever port you're using for this particular door) on the Tailwind controller, making sure it locks into place

7) Unplug the power supply, wait at least 5 seconds, and plug it back in.

8) Confirm the status light on the Tailwind controller turns green (usually takes about 10 seconds or so).

9) Open the Tailwind app and confirm the device is online in the "My Devices" screen - you'll see a green bar on the right side.

10) Tap on your device to go to the door control screen.

11) Use a remote control or your wall control to open and close your garage door - NOT the Tailwind app. Confirm that the appropriate door icon in the door control screen in the app is updating its status to correctly reflect the door state (shows open when the door opens and shows closed within seconds of the door closing). This verifies that the door sensor is working correctly. Note that if you only have 1 door, you must use port 1 on the controller.

12) Open your garage door with the remote or wall control and leave it open.

13) Read this full instruction carefully before proceeding as it may close your garage door and also contains a specific instruction near the end. The door icon should be showing the door open in the app. Tap on it. You should hear beeping and see a white flashing light. Please listen for a "click" sound immediately following the beeping sound. You may need to be within 10 feet of the controller to hear the click sound. It should also close the garage door.

If you get all the way to step 13 and your garage door still doesn't operate, it could mean that you need to adjust the pulse settings. Tailwind works by sending a pulse to your garage door opener - very much like when you press the button on your wall control. A small number of garage door openers are sensitive to how long you hold down the button. Fortunately, this timing can be adjusted easily in Tailwind.

You will probably be locked out if you reach this point in troubleshooting, so please clear that lockout (see steps above) before proceeding.

NOTE: If you are using any adaptors, you should leave your pulse setting at 1500mS.

To adjust your pulse settings, please watch the video below OR view the instructions above for "Setting Pulse Settings". We suggest trying pulse times around 300mS to 500mS. The default pulse time is 1500mS and may be too long for your opener.

If it still doesn't work, please contact us at [e-mail] so we can get you fixed up. Just let us know you tried these steps already so we don't ask you to try them again :)