Is your garage door not opening? There are alternatives to sleeping in your car. Sometimes, the fix is easy enough you can do-it-yourself. Some of the most common garage door problems are easy to spot and even easier to solve!
Easy Fixes if Your Garage Door Won’t Open
Simple fixes that might seem obvious, but if it’s late and you’re panicking at your stuck overhead garage door, they can easily be overlooked.
- Dead remote batteries, the remote is too far away, or the power’s off.
- Before getting bogged down trying to troubleshoot all the different parts of your garage door, double check the basics. Garage remotes slowly drain power over time, so pop it on the charge or swap out the batteries. Check your breaker and make sure a fuse didn’t blow. Finally, try the garage remote from different angles and distances. You may also be able to adjust the antenna on your garage opener if it isn’t detecting signals from the remote from a good location.
- The door is in “manual open mode”
- That handle hanging from the chain in the middle of the garage has a purpose! If you pull it, you can open the door manually. But if you don’t reset it, the opener won’t work. Make sure the garage door is closed and then pull the emergency release handle towards the door- away from the motor. From there slide the door along the track until you here a loud “click”, signifying the trolley reconnecting with the opener.
- Something’s blocking the photo cell.
- Modern garage doors have photo cells at the base to stop the door from crashing down when you least expect it. Make sure there’s nothing blocking the two photo cells from looking eye-to-eye with each other. Try wiping the sensors with a microfiber cloth as well, in case of dirt or grease obfuscating their view.
- Photo cells are misaligned.
- You can usually troubleshoot your photocell sensors by examining the LEDs on them. Blinking on and off? This is the garage door sensors informing you of an alignment issue. Luckily, this is a pretty minor garage repair. Align the sensors until the LEDs stop blinking, and tighten the screws to keep it in place.
Fixes with a Little More Elbow Grease
These fixes take a little more work and a bit more understanding of the interworking parts of the garage and how they connect with each other. If you’re not comfortable making these repairs yourself, please don’t hesitate to call a professional.
- Disconnected wires
- There are wires connecting the photo cells and wires on the unit on the ceiling. Your manual should have a diagram showing their locations, which you can use to check. Reattaching them is not difficult, but you’ll need a ladder, a screwdriver, and basic knowledge of electrical wiring. Make sure there is no power going to your garage opener before attempting any wiring repairs or inspections.
- Not enough tension
- If your motor runs, but the door still won’t open, check the tension knobs on the back of most units. Turn the power off on your opener and engage the manual release. Now open the door yourself to the halfway point. If the door drops when you let go, that means the tension needs to be increased. Turn the knobs clockwise the add tension and repeat this process until the door stays in place before reconnecting the garage opener.
“Time to Call a Pro” Fixes
At this point one or more of your garage door’s parts need to be repaired or replaced. Without experience you can end up causing more harm than good. You should have your garage assessed by a professional.
- Tension spring or cable is broken
- Mounted above the door on the wall is a large coiled spring. If it breaks when you’re close by, you’ll hear a loud bang. Run away and call a pro! These springs are under very high pressure, and if it breaks while you’re trying to remove or install a new one, you can very easily be injured. It’s dangerous and you can do further damage.
- Misaligned Track
- You’ll hear it rubbing and it may stop the door from working. You can loosen the screws on the rail and pound them back in place, but usually track misalignments are a symptom of other issues. A garage repair professional will likely be needed to diagnose exactly what the underlying issues are.
Still Need Help? Call a Professional
Taking the time to diagnose exactly which of your garage parts have gone awry can be a bit of a tedious process. This is never truer than when knock on effects have caused multiple pieces to go awry, needing adjustment, replacement, and/or repair. Garage repair professionals have the learned experience to take care of these issues quickly and efficiently without the common DIY repair fear or grabbing the wrong parts.