How to Tell If Your Garage Opener Transmitter Batteries Are Dead
Garage door openers are complex systems that make use of different mechanisms to safely raise and lower your garage door. These mechanisms include the transmitter which, put simply, sends a signal to your garage door opener telling it that it’s time to open or close your garage door. Naturally, your garage door transmitter needs power to work, and this power usually comes from batteries.
With the average homeowner using their garage door transmitter over a thousand times a year, it should come as no surprise that your transmitter batteries need to be replaced every so often. So, if your garage door isn’t responding to your transmitter or responds intermittently, the problem could simply be a dead battery. Here’s how to tell if your garage door opener transmitter batteries are dead, and what to do.
Are Your Garage Door Opener Transmitter Batteries Dead?
High-quality garage doors and garage door openers are built to last. That means that the majority of the components used in garage door and opener systems are designed to last several years before needing repair or replacement. Garage opener transmitters, often called remote controls, rely on batteries to power them. Most remote control garage opener transmitters use 1.5V “button” batteries, which last for approximately two to five years depending on how often you use your transmitter. While it’s always good to replace your garage door transmitter batteries before it actually stops working, finding out whether you need fresh batteries or a more complex repair is relatively simple.
The most obvious way to tell if you need new garage opener transmitter batteries is by checking the wall-mounted control unit. Most modern garage door openers come with a mounted wall unit you can use to operate your garage door from inside your garage. If the door opens and closes smoothly when using the wall unit, but your remote control doesn’t work check if you have a “lock” button on the wall control. If the lock is enabled, the remotes will not work. Try pressing the button to unlock the remotes. If your remotes still don’t work then your transmitter batteries are most likely dead and in need of replacement. If you have more than one transmitter, it’s worth replacing batteries for all transmitters at the same time.
If your garage door responds inconsistently to your garage opener transmitter, it could also be a sign that the batteries are weak and you need fresh batteries. Garage door opener transmitters rely on battery power to send a signal to the garage opener, so inconsistent operation could mean that weak batteries are causing a weak signal.
How to Replace Garage Opener Transmitter Batteries
Thankfully, switching out transmitter batteries is an easy process that can be completed in mere minutes. On some models, all it takes is for you to slide the back cover down, pop the old batteries out, and replace them with fresh ones. Others may use screws to keep the cover and batteries securely in place. If that’s the case with your transmitter, simply use a small screwdriver to remove the screws and replace the batteries. Others still have a coin slot in the side. For this type insert a quarter and twist to pop the front and back of the case apart to access the battery.
What to Do if Changing Transmitter Batteries Doesn’t Work
If your garage door still refuses to work correctly even after replacing your transmitter batteries, make sure that you didn’t accidentally engage the garage door’s lock or the opener’s manual release. If you’ve checked both of these and your garage door still won’t open and close as it should, it’s time to seek professional assistance. You may have a defective receiver which will need to be replaced.
Serving the local community for over two decades, The Door House is one of Calgary’s most trusted garage door repair and installation companies. Call us today at 403-543-6900 or reach out to us online for a free quote on any of our garage door repair services.