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Fix Common Garage Door Opener Problems

 

 

 

 

 

 

By Justin White

When you face a non-working garage door, you may fear an expensive repair bill. The good news for homeowners is that most garage door problems are simple fixes that may not even require a call to the repair professional. Here are some common garage door opening problems, and the solutions you can try before you call the repair professional.

 

Garage Door Will Not Respond to Openers

Sometimes you will push the button on your remote or your wall opener and the door will not open. When this happens, you are probably dealing with a power source issue. Make sure the motor is plugged in. If it is, check the circuit breaker or the fuse running to the garage door opener. These are common sources of power failure. If the door runs via a battery, try replacing the battery and see if this fixes the problem.

If the wall switch will open the door but the remote will not, the fault is probably in the remote batteries. Change them and try again. If this still does not work, you may be out of range, so try moving closer. Also, make sure that the antenna on the motor is hanging down to receive the signal from the garage door opener. If all else fails, try reprogramming the remote. The signal may not be getting to the door. If these steps don’t work, you may need a new opener remote.

Failure to Close Properly

Whether the door is not closing all the way or is closing and then immediately opening again, you have a security issue. You need to know that your door will close and stay closed when you ask it to. In these situations, start by ensuring that there are not any items blocking the sensors at the bottom of the garage door. If something is in the path of the garage door safety sensors, the door will not close. This includes a spider web or any other obstruction. Also, make sure the door is not hitting anything when it comes down that could be causing it to reverse.

Lubrication prevents corrosion of metal garage doors and allows the moving components to move more quietly and smoothly with less wear from friction. Lubricate the chain drive (or screw drive) with white lithium grease, available at any home center. You can coat overhead torsion springs or extension springs with standard WD-40.
Lubrication prevents corrosion of metal garage doors and allows the moving components to move more quietly and smoothly with less wear from friction. Lubricate the chain drive (or screw drive) with white lithium grease, available at any home center. You can coat overhead torsion springs or extension springs with standard WD-40.

Sometimes if the door will not close all the way, the lights on the garage door motor will flash. The pattern of the flashes can indicate what the problem is. Check the garage door opener’s manual to see what the light flashing pattern means for your particular type of door.

After making these adjustments, test the door to see if it is working properly. Sometimes you may need to fine-tune the adjustments to get the door in perfect working order.

If this does not fix the problem and the door will not close all the way, disconnect the opener and see if there is a problem when you open the door manually. Check for obstructions or problems on the door itself that are preventing this from functioning as it should.

Motor Will Not Stop Running

If you are opening your garage door but find that the motor just keeps running, your limit switch may need to be adjusted. For safety reasons, trained professionals only should make limit and force adjustments to your garage door opener. Check the manual to see if there are additional troubleshooting steps to take.

If the door doesn’t close far enough or returns once it hits the floor, you probably need to adjust the travel setting of the door opener. Check with your manufacturer to determine the adjustment procedure. Some door openers have set screws you can adjust with a screwdriver, while other units have knobs or trip levers for adjustment.
If the door doesn’t close far enough or returns once it hits the floor, you probably need to adjust the travel setting of the door opener. Check with your manufacturer to determine the adjustment procedure. Some door openers have set screws you can adjust with a screwdriver, while other units have knobs or trip levers for adjustment.

If you have checked each of these steps and still have not solved the problem, then you may be looking at a professional repair.

Justin White is the marketing director for Garage Door Repair, LLC, Living just outside of Washington DC, Justin is extremely resourceful with resolutions on common garage door problems and has helped customers all across the country fix their garage door issues.

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