Garage Door Opener Not Working? A Few Possible Causes
If you’ve ever resided somewhere In Broomfield that only provided outdoor parking, you know what a pleasure it is to have access to a garage. Parking outside means your car is open to the elements, which can lead to maintenance and other problems you don’t need.
However, even the convenience of a garage starts to wear off if you’re having garage door opener problems. If the door only partially cycles or ignores a command from the remote control, it can be maddening to handle when you don’t understand the problem or what can be done about it.
WHY ISN’T MY GARAGE DOOR OPENER WORKING?
We get that question more often than you think, as well as questions about garage door opener remotes. When a garage door won’t open properly, there could be any number of reasons why. Whether your garage door won’t open all the way or won’t even open manually, it’s advisable to know the most common causes of such problems and whether you need to call a garage door opener professional for a service appointment.
IF YOUR BROOMFIELD GARAGE DOOR OPENER ISN’T WORKING, HERE’S WHY
Below are several of the most common reasons why your garage door opener isn’t working:
The photo-eye is dirty, blocked or misaligned
If your garage door isn’t closing all the way, it might be caused by a blocked photo-eye. Most Parker garage doors made in the last 30 years are equipped with this common safety feature. The photo-eye components include two pieces that line up face-to-face across each side of your garage door, normally about four feet above the garage floor. Once activated, a tiny laser beam is sent from one end to the other and works to tell the opener whether something has crossed the door’s path.
No power to the motor or operator
Sometimes, a garage door won’t open or close because the motor or operator lacks power. We’ve encountered many an embarrassed homeowner who realized the problem was simply caused by an unplugged power cord. These cords can be unplugged accidentally, often without anyone noticing until after the fact. It’s not unusual for the power issue to be caused by a blown fuse or faulty circuit breaker. Problems with the circuit breaker should only be handled by an electrician or a garage door opener specialist.
Bad batteries
The garage door opener motor isn’t the only thing that needs power to function as intended. The same goes for the handheld remote or the remote wall panel. If the batteries in either or worn or otherwise bad, the garage door opener won’t operate no matter how many times you push the button. It’s possible the batteries have expired, in which case replacing them is an easy task.
Broken torsion or extension springs
We’ve also seen issues where a garage door isn’t opening even while the motor is running, in which case the problem might be related to the extension or torsion springs in the garage door assembly. Broken springs are the number one reason whenever we’re called to a Broomfield residence to repair a garage door opener.
Be wary, however. Broken-down springs are one of the most hazardous and inevitable issues that can happen with a garage door opening system. In each installation, the door is led by one or two torsion springs running horizontally over the width of the door, and by two extension springs that lift and lower the door down the tracks.
Broken cables
If there’s one problem more hazardous than broken springs, it’s a broken cable. The extension springs give tension while the door goes up and down, but the cables aligned with each tension spring are tasked with raising the door up and down.
Improperly adjusted sensitivity settings
If your garage door is stuck in a closed position, it could be due to misadjusted sensitivity settings. This is a none-too-uncommon problem on some improperly installed garage doors, where the opener resides in a default factory setting that doesn’t apply to the door in question.
Is the remote signal blocked?
There could be more than just a dead battery preventing a Broomfield remote from doing its job. If you press the button and nothing happens, something might be stopping the signal from reaching the door opener. Or, you might just be out of range. There’s also the chance the remote antenna on the opener has been damaged or obstructed.
The culprit could be a misaligned door track
In virtually all garage door systems, the operating mechanisms trigger the door, and the cables lift and lower it while the springs handle the tension. But none of these actions could remain centered along the garage ceiling and doorway if it weren’t for the metal tracks keeping the door in line. As such, these guiding tracks must be even and straight on both sides for the door to open and close properly.
If either track becomes somewhat ajar, it can slow the door movement. As time goes by, the problem is likely to get worse. For example, a bend on any point along one trackwill pull on the door, which in turn will increase pressure on the other side and essentially duplicate the issue on the opposite track.
Not every garage door problem is obvious. If you live in Broomfield or throughout the greater Denver area, call us at 303.920.2267 to schedule a free on-site inspection, or contact us online to request more information.