Where To Check When You’re Garage Door Opener Won’t Operate?
Garage door openers were once considered as a luxury but due to their increasing popularity and advances in technology they are quickly becoming a part of every household, new & old. Gaining access into your garage when your garage door opener isn’t working can be quite an ordeal. It’s important to understand the basics so you can determine the cause as to why your garage door or garage door opener will not operate. Here’s some handy hints and things to look for:
The disengage lever has been activated.
If you can hear your garage door opener operating for what seems like the full amount of time it normally would take to open or close the door, but the door doesn’t move, the most likely option is that the disengage lever has been activated. Every garage door opener is fitted with a disengage lever in case you lose power. This allows you to open or close the door manually so your vehicle isn’t stuck in the garage until the power comes back on.
The disengage lever is usually attached to a rope that can be pulled or a knob that can be turned to disengage the drive gear from operation. If you lose power and use the disengage lever, you’ll need to reengage it so that the garage door opener can open and close your door again. Every disengage lever works differently so we can’t give advice on how to fix the issue but usually the owner’s manual will tell you. If you don’t own a paper copy find your garage door openers brand and model and do a google search
The garage door is manually locked.
The very first place to check is the garage door lock. Some garage doors are not fitted with a lock so this is not applicable but for those that are it’s a good place to check first. Make sure your garage door is unlocked
The power source isn’t operating.
At times, people unplug their power source and then wonder why their garage door opener fails to operate. Though this may seem or sound ridiculous, it does happen. Check to ensure your garage door opener is plugged into a power socket and also check that that power socket is working. Power sockets can go out with little to no warning. You can check to see if the outlet is working by plugging another working electronic device into it. It’s also a good idea to check your circuit breaker to make sure that hasn’t tripped or blown a fuse.
The photo eye sensor is blocked or damaged.
The purpose of photo eye sensors is to create an infrared beam. When the garage door opener is closing and that beam is broken by a car, person or object, the garage door will automatically reverse. When these photo eye beams don’t line up correctly, are dirty or are faulty they cause the garage door opener to malfunction. Check to make sure your photo eye beam sensors are aligned and operational.
Remote control malfunction.
Garage Door remotes or transmitters are battery operated. Though they may not seem like they open, they usually do. Carefully open your transmitters, replace the battery and check their operation. A lack of battery power will make your remotes inoperable.
The garage door has dislodged from its tracks.
A garage door, no matter the size or shape will not operate properly if it is not correctly aligned. A garage door is under a constant amount of tension and it is recommended that you contact your garage door technician as soon as possible if you notice that your garage door is out of alignment. Making a garage door operate properly is imperative to the safety of yourself, your family, friends, vehicles, personal possessions and most of all your garage door and automatic garage door opening system.
Snapped or loose cables.
As time goes on your garage door springs will naturally de-tension. A symptom of loose torsion springs is often loose cables. Your cables can also snap if they start to fray and become so thin that they can no longer hold. If you cables have snapped, you should call a garage door technician to assist.
The torsion springs are broken.
Like everything, torsion springs have a life span. There is unfortunately no way of knowing when your garage door torsion springs will break however a good guide is within 10 – 15 years of normal usage. The springs do the heavy lifting so if yours are broken we recommend you should call a garage door technician to assist and not attempt to use your garage door opener or your garage door until they are repaired.
Something is blocking the door.
It’s always important to make sure that nothing is blocking your door from lifting and closing properly. Common issues can be bumpers or tow bars, toys, bikes and even personal possessions that have fallen against the door without notice.
It’s very important to at least have some basic knowledge about how your garage door opener and garage door works. One accidental press on the transmitter remote can cause the door to become unhinged or break which could result in damage to you and your home. Knowing and understanding your garage door and automatic opening system could be the difference between a quick and cheap or long and costly garage door repair.