There is nothing more frustrating than when you are running late for work, but the garage door doesn’t work. There are a number of reasons that can cause the garage door to not work, some of which you can fix yourself, but many you will need the help of an experienced San Diego garage door company. The first step in getting the garage door to open or close is, knowing what’s wrong with the garage. To help you troubleshoot garage door problems, here are a few of the most common reasons why the garage door won’t work.
The Transmitter
The first thing to check is the transmitter. As simple as it may sound, sometimes the batteries are dead and need to be replaced. If the batteries are dead, the garage door won’t receive the signal from the transmitter to open. Check the transmitter on the inside wall, if the garage door opens when the button is pressed, it means the portable transmitter just needs a battery change. If the door still doesn’t work after changing the batteries, contact a local garage door company as the problem may be with code.
Photo Eye is out of Alignment
If the garage door opens, but will not close or it partially closes and then goes back up, it may be because something is in front of the photo-eye. The photo-eye is a safety feature that is designed to detect anything that is in the path of the door, so it prevents the garage door from closing on someone or something and causing injury or damage. Make sure nothing, such as a yard tool or toy, has fallen in front of the photo-eye. If there isn’t anything in front of it, use a cloth to wipe off the glass, which may simply have dust or residue on it that is preventing the photo-eye from allowing the garage door to close.
The Track is out of Alignment
The metal track the garage door moves on must be properly aligned in order for the door to open and close correctly. If the garage door isn’t properly aligned on the track, it can be a serious problem. The weight of the garage door can cause gaps between the rail and the roller, which can be a dangerous issue. It is recommended that you not attempt to repair an unaligned track, but instead contact an experienced garage door company to replace the track and ensure that both the track and the garage door are properly connecting to each other.
The Springs are Broken
If you have checked the transmitters and there’s power going to the motor, but the garage door suddenly won’t open, it may be due to broken torsion springs. If you are at home when the springs break, you will head an extremely loud bang from inside the garage. Garage doors have either one or two torsion springs, if the springs are beginning to wear down, the garage will struggle to open, but if they break, the door will fail to open. Replacing the springs is dangerous, so you should never attempt to make these repairs on your own, instead contact a professional garage door technician to replace them.
Make sure to routinely clear dust and debris from the photo-eye and to occasionally lubricate all movable parts of the garage door. If you provide routine maintenance to the garage door and the moving parts of the door, it will help lengthen the life span of the garage door and its parts.