How to Troubleshoot a Garage Door Opener
How to Troubleshoot a Garage Door Opener
A garage opener on the fritz can be a frustrating experience for even the calmest of folks. Luckily, there are a couple of easy ways to troubleshoot a garage door opener and get it working again in no time. Here are a few things you can check before you book a service call.
IF YOUR DOOR IS NOT CLOSING
Check the Safety Sensors
Garage door systems include safety sensors that stop the heavy door from crushing anything in the way. If you find that your garage door doesn’t close or only partially closes, the issue could be with your safety sensors and not the opener. Most garage door sensors are located on each side of the door frame a few inches off the ground. First check to make sure nothing is blocking them. Sensors in most systems light up when nothing is in between them. If yours aren’t lighting up, they could be defective or misaligned. Try aligning them by making sure they point directly at each other. If they are even a little crooked it can cause the door to not close. Since safety sensors are crucial safety components in a garage door system, we do not recommend attempting to fix/repair them yourself. You cannot bypass or remove them as safety eyes are required by national safety code and the opener will not close the door is they are not working properly.
IF YOUR DOOR IS NOT OPENING
Check the Manual Lock
Before you dive right into troubleshooting your garage door opener, it’s always worth checking to make sure the problem isn’t with the door itself. Some garage doors have a manual lock for added security, so check to ensure the manual lock isn’t engaged first.
Check the Garage Opener Disconnect
All garage door openers come with a manual disconnect you can use to open the door manually if the power is out. Pull the red rope to disengage your garage opener and try to open the door manually. If the door won’t open manually, then the problem likely rests with the garage door rather than the opener and you will need a qualified service technician to diagnose and repair the door.
Check the Remote
It may sound silly, but the solution to your garage door remote control not working could simply be a set of dead batteries. If you’ve already replaced the batteries or are sure they’re not the issue, try the opener’s wall switch. If the wall switch works but the remote doesn’t, check to be sure the lock switch on the wall control isn’t on. If the lock switch has been activated the remotes will not work, but the wall control will still open and close the door. Turning the lock off should get your remotes working again. If it doesn’t you likely have a problem with either your remote, the opener’s receiver, or both. While you can easily buy universal garage door remotes or a new receiver, we’d still recommend following along with the rest of this guide to avoid wasting money on something that might not fix the problem.
Check the Wall Switch
If you’re door still operates from the remote control, but not the wall control you may need to replace your wall control. This may seem simple, but with many newer openers not just any wall control will work and it often has to be the exact same control or it won’t work.
Call a Professional
Last but not least, if you’ve tried all the above and your garage opener still won’t work, it’s time to call in the professionals. At the Door House, we’ve been installing and repairing garage doors and openers in Calgary for over twenty years. We deal with everything from residential garage door repairs to full-on commercial garage door installation. If you’re in the Calgary area and can’t get your garage opener to work, give us a call at 403-543-6900 or contact us online to schedule an appointment with one of our expert garage door technicians.