Bud
Jan 19
Updated: Apr 7
Recently I purchased a Chamberlain B1381T Smart Garage Door Opener. This is a belt drive opener that is equipped with battery backup. I am extremely pleased with this purchase. The Chamberlain belt drive is much quieter compared to my former screw drive opener.
When I purchased this opener I was fully aware that the Chamberlain and LiftMaster garage door openers were intended to be controlled via the MyQ app and were therefore not supported by SmartThings. However, I was hopeful that I might be able to get it to work with SmartThings.
After a little research, I stumbled across a video which demonstrated how to automate a garage opener by wiring a smart relay directly to the circuit board within the garage door remote. So I decided to test this method by wiring my GoControl Z-Wave Relay (used to automate my garage door opener) to my Chamberlain garage door remote control circuit board. It worked like a charm! I now have the ability to control my Chamberlain Opener within the SmartThings app.
Now I am satisfied with keeping my GoControl Relay to automate my garage door. I’ve used this particular relay for five years and it has proven to be very reliable. But because this particular GoControl Relay is now out of production, I decided to source a garage door relay which I could recommend to any one who might want to replicate this setup. So I purchased and began testing the Zooz ZEN16 Multi Relay. I have found this relay to be as capable and reliable as my GoControl Relay.
Hardware Needed for this Automation:
If you want to automate your LiftMaster or Chamberlain MyQ controlled garage door opener within SmartThings you’ll need to purchase a Zooz ZEN16 Z-wave MultiRelay and then pair the relay with your Aeotec or SmartThings hub. You will also need to solder two wires to the circuit board of one of your Chamberlain or LiftMaster garage door remotes. (Don't worry, this is easy to do and I provide instructions and illustrations below).
You will also need to purchase a Garage Door Tilt Sensor. The tilt sensor is essential for automations as it will permit you to see the open/close status of your garage door within the SmartThings app. I recommended Ecolink Garage Door Tilt Sensor listed below this article. This is the sensor that I have been using for over five years. It has outstanding battery life and it works very reliably.
With your smart devices in hand, you will then need to install the Zooz ZEN16 Edge Driver to enjoy all the features of your Zooz Zen16 Relay. You will find a guide on my website, with easy to follow instructions for installing the SmartThings Edge Driver for the Zooz relay.
About the Zooz Zen16 Multi-Relay
The Zooz Multi-Relay is designed with three relay terminals giving you that ability to control up to three garage doors. The Relay is equipped with the latest S2 security protocol to ensure a secure connection. The Relay uses the Z-Wave Plus chip which ensures fast and stable communication with your SmartThings hub.
How It Works
The Zooz Multi-Relay acts like a wireless push button, imitating the button on the wall which you push to open or close your garage door. When the Zooz Z-wave MultiRelay receives the command, it sends an electrical pulse to my garage door opener in the same way that pushing the garage door opener button on my wall sends current. The button press action in a SmartThings Routine is called “Press Momentary”.
This relay can be used to independently control/automate up to three garage door openers. Reference my YouTube video and the expanded video segments below for guidance on how to use it with most garage door openers including Chamberlain and Lift Master garage door openers which are compatible with the MyQ App.
Downloading and Installing the Zooz MultiRelay Edge Driver for SmartThings
To install the official Zooz Edge Driver, just follow my detailed driver installation steps that can be accessed here: Edge Driver Installation Steps for the Zooz ZEN16 MultiRelay
How to Exclude and Add your Zooz MultiRelay Device
If you had tried to add your Zooz Z-Wave Device and you have difficulty having the SmartThings app discover your device, then I recommend that you delete and exclude the z-wave relay from your SmartThings App. (See my article about "How to Exclude A Z-Wave Device Using the SmartThings App")
Now add the device to your SmartThings hub by clicking on the plus sign '+' and then 'Device'. Next, tap on 'Scan' under the phrase 'Scan for nearby devices'. Now power-up the Zooz MultiRelay to begin device discovery. Initiate inclusion (pairing mode) and click the Z-Wave button on the device 3 times quickly. The LED indicator will blink to indicate communication and stay on for 2 seconds to confirm inclusion.
If you have issues paring the device move it to within 3 feet from your hub during inclusion. The device should be automatically discovered as the Zooz-Zen16 Multi-Relay.
Excluding & Adding the MultiRelay with SmartThings:
Adjusting the "Switch Type" Settings for your Zooz MultiRelay
The SmartThings App will install four devices, the Zooz MultiRelay device plus Zooz MultiRelay-R1, MultiRelay-R2 and MultiRelay-R3. Once the devices are installed, you will need to go into the Zooz MultiRelay device settings to update change the Switch Type to “Garage Door”.
Wiring Garage Door Openers Other Than LiftMaster or Chamberlain
To wire the Zooz-Zen16 Multi-Relay to most garage door openers you will run two bell wires from the R-1 relays on the multi-relay to the garage door opener contacts were the bell wires from the garage door button are normally attached. See the wiring diagram below:
Wiring LiftMaster or Chamerlain Garage Door Openers
To wire the Zooz-Zen16 Multi-Relay to a MyQ controlled LiftMaster or Chamberlain garage door opener you will run two bell wires from the R-1 relay terminals on the multi-relay to the circuit board of your garage door remote. See the wiring diagram below:
Z-Wave Controller to Door Remote Set-up Allows you to Setup Anywhere In Your Home
This setup is independent of the garage door opener. It does not need to be mounted at the location of your opener as nothing is connected to your opener. Therefore you can mount the z-wave controller and garage door remote in any location of your home where you have an available power source as long as it is within signal range of your garage door opener.
Attaching Bell Wire to your Chamberlain Remote
When attaching your bell wires to your remotes circuit board just look of the appropriate micro switch under the button that you typically press on the remote to open your garage door. You will solder the two wires to appropriate tracings leading to the switch.
As far as the proper switch on the circuit board, be sure to select the switch that is directly under the button you are using on the remote to operate the door. Then flip the circuit board over to see the four solder point directly under that switch. Before soldering the circuit, you must first identify the proper circuit board tracers, (the path that electricity travels). Just take a single test wire (a short length of bell wire to be used as a tracer circuit tester) and touch one end of the wire on one of the four solder points of the switch and the other end on one of the three other solder points. If the garage door is activated, then you know you identified the correct solder points to attach your wires. Then just solder two appropriate length of wires on the identified solder point and then attach the now connected wires to the Zooz relay. It does not matter which wire goes to the left or right connect points on the relay.
Note: I used my soldering iron to melt notches in my remote cover to accommodate the wires coming out from my circuit board. If you notch both the bottom and top of the remote cover you can run your bell wire through the remote housing and snap the case closed. If you look close at the pictures provided below you will see these wire notches in the remote case.
Powering Your Zooz MultiRelay
The Zooz-Zen16 Multi-Relay is supplied with a USB C to USB power cord. You will need to purchase a 5 volt, 1 Amp power brick to supply power to the relay. The Zooz site warned that a regular iPhone power brick should be avoided I ordered the following power brick from Amazon. It was supplied with a 6 foot cable USB to USB C cable.
Because the Zooz-Zen16 Multi-Relay and the attached Chamberlain garage door remote are independent of the garage door opener, they can be mounted anywhere in you home, just as long as you have a nearby receptacle and the remote signal is with in range of your garage door opener.
Testing the Zooz Garage Door MultiRelay
With your multi-relay installed, you now have the ability to create routines within your SmartThings and Amazon Apps to control your garage door. I use routines within SmartThings to automatically open my garage door anytime a family member enters into the SmartThings geofence that surrounds our home. I also have a routine that checks our garage door at sunset to determine if it is open, and if it is found open, the routine instructs the relay to send a signal to the garage door remote telling the garage door opener to turn on, thereby closing the door.
In order to check the status of your garage door(s), you will need an Ecolink Z-wave Plus Reliability Garage Door Tilt Sensor
NOTE: You may visit the support page of for the ZEN16 MultiRelay in order to find advanced settings for setting up your Zooz MultiRelay
Remember to visit Bud's Smart Home Amazon Store for smart home devices which are compatible with the new Samsung SmartThings Lua architecture.
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