Opener Running But Won't Open Your Garage Door? Tips to Try
If you can hear the motor of your garage door opener running when you try to open or close your door, but the door itself does not move, there are a number of possible causes. In our blog post today, we are going to look at 9 of the most common causes of this type of issue with garage door openers and tell you how to rectify them. We’d like to thank our Broomfield garage door repair technicians for their help in putting this article together and we hope that it may make your life a little easier.
Common Issues That Affect Running Garage Door Openers in Broomfield and Other Parts of the USA
Whether you are near our service center in Broomfield or somewhere else in the country, you can use this guide to find out what has gone wrong in the event that your garage door refuses to open, even though the opener appears to be running as normal. Use the following points as a checklist to work your way through and you should be able to uncover the source of your problem.
Damaged/Obstructed Tracks
Disengage the opener and try to move your garage door up and down, to see if it moves freely when operated manually. If it doesn't, we recommend looking for a kink or obstruction that is preventing the rollers from traveling smoothly along the tracks
Broken Torsion/Extension Springs
Even the best quality garage door springs will eventually reach a point where they are either too weak to do their job properly or have snapped in two. In such cases, you can solve your problem with a like-for-like replacement of the springs in question.
Snapped or Loose Pulleys/Cables
Snapped cables and loose pulley wheels are among the most common reasons for overhead doors to refuse to open and can quickly be fixed by your local garage door repair specialists. In either case, the issue should be easy to identify if you perform a careful visual inspection.
Overly Heavy Door
If you have swapped out either your door or garage door opener recently, there is a good chance that the two are no longer well-matched. If your opener is not able to provide enough lifting power, you will need to find a suitable replacement.
Tight Opener Chain
In some cases, garage door openers are installed with a chain that is too tight, which makes it harder for the motor to generate the necessary power to operate the door. The fix is to adjust or replace the chain.
Stripped Gear/Loose Chain in Motor
When the teeth of a gear are stripped away, the chain that it operates will fall off. This is a fairly common issue with some types of opener motors and can usually be easily fixed (with the fitting of a replacement gear).
Other Types of Motor Fault
There are a number of other motor faults that may not stop the motor from running but will prevent it from generating sufficient power to open your overhead door. If you suspect this may be the problem you are experiencing, we suggest calling a local garage door repair professional.
Jammed Emergency Release
If everything seems to be working as it should but your garage door still won’t open, another possible cause is a jammed emergency release. As with the above issue, the easiest way to determine whether this is in fact the cause of your woes is to contact your local service provider and request a home visit from one of their technicians.
Insufficient Power Due to Regular Wear and Tear
It may be that the underlying cause of your problem is simply normal wear and tear. When a new door and opener are installed, the technicians will set the motor to generate just the right amount of force to open and close the door. Over time, the motor may start to generate less power due to worn parts. To fix this issue, a specialist can either adjust the motor output for you or replace the worn components.
If you pinpoint the cause of your issue from the above list but you don’t want to risk a DIY fix (and you happen to live in Parker, Broomfield or nearby), please feel free to contact A Better Garage Door to request professional assistance. We are a reputable garage door company that is proud to offer specialist services at competitive prices, to both local residents and businesses.