Garage door openers eliminate so many time-consuming steps in departing and returning home. With a remote and or keypad, you only need to open and close the garage door yourself by pressing a couple of buttons. However, when your opener doesn’t work as it typically should, you’ll need to spend some time doing some garage door opener troubleshooting. Take a look at when garage door opener troubleshooting might be required, as well as some troubleshooting tips and tricks.
3 Scenarios For Garage Door Opener Troubleshooting
If you find that something is awry with your garage door opener, you’ll probably be tempted to call a garage door technician first without taking time to evaluate the situation. You want to use the process of elimination to either find the root of the problem or be able to solve the problem if it’s something small and easily resolved. If any of these three scenarios describe a problem your garage door has been facing, take time to troubleshoot.
The Remote And Opener Connection Seems Off And
Is your remote or keypad lighting up and showing signs that it works but doesn’t appear to open the garage door? Have you been pointing and clicking your garage door remote so many times that you’ve lost count? Before throwing in the towel and calling a garage door technician, pause, take a breath, and troubleshoot.
The source of the problem in this scenario could be the remote or keypad, the opener, the wall switch, or any combination of these. If you can, go inside your home and find batteries to replace the ones currently in your remote and/or keypad. If your garage door goes back to working as normal, the issue was probably dead batteries.
However, if changing batteries has no effect, enter your garage from inside your home to see if the motor unit is plugged in. If it wasn’t plugged in all the way, ensure it is, then test out all the usual opening mechanisms to see if that works. If not, try resetting the breaker; if that doesn’t work, reach out to a garage door technician.
The Garage Door Doesn’t Close
Sometimes, when closing your garage door, it might suddenly stop moving halfway and either remain in that position or return to an open position. While you can still move your vehicle in and out of your garage, your safety is compromised. A garage door that’s stuck open makes your garage, and even your home, vulnerable to intruders.
The first thing you want to do is safely get inside your garage and locate the safety sensors. If they are dusty or misaligned, clean the eyes and ensure the sensors are realigned so they face each other directly with no obstructions in the way. If the safety sensors don’t appear to be the issue, then the close-limit switch needs to be readjusted.
The readjustment process depends on the make and model of your garage door opener, so consult the appropriate user manual before proceeding. If your opener uses a chain or belt drive, check out their state to see if they need replacing, readjusting, or lubrication in the case of a chain drive. Reach out to a garage door technician if none of these garage door opener troubleshooting tips are successful.
The Garage Door Is Partly Open
A garage door that refuses to open can be just as frustrating and risky as one that has trouble fully opening. This can be a frustrating and dangerous situation, as this could potentially damage your car or get completely stuck in your garage, leaving you with no means of transportation.
Checking on the safety sensors and up-limit switch are good places to start when troubleshooting this garage door problem. You should also check the state of your garage door rollers. Rusty or poorly maintained rollers make it more difficult for your garage door to fully open or open at all. In this case, depending on what your rollers are made of, you’ll either lubricate or replace them.
How Metal Garage Door Repair Can Help
You should check out the opener for all three of these garage door opener troubleshooting scenarios. See if any parts need adjusting or if batteries need to be replaced. If nothing changes after troubleshooting the opener mechanism (in addition to performing all the other tips and tricks described), it’s time to call the professionals. If you happen to live in Baytown, you can contact us at Metal Garage Door Repair so we can help return your garage to excellent working condition.
