There’s numerous things that can go wrong with your garage door system, causing your garage door to stay shut, locked open or even randomly open and close.
Just like your home’s HVAC system, your garage door system will break down over time. A quality garage door system can last you years with proper maintenance and upkeep. While cutting corners and choosing the cheapest system will become a headache and potentially cost you more in repairs over time.
Let’s take a look at some of the most common issues with garage door systems, from your door off track, worn door springs, remotes failing, broken pulleys, to your garage door opener nearing it’s last life. As your local Garage Door Repair company, Elite Door Systems is here to help you diagnosis these problems and resolve them without breaking the bank.
Reasons Your Garage Door Won’t Open or Close:
Track is out of alignment
Your garage door operates by a system of springs, pulleys, panels, electrical components and a track. If your track is out of alignment, this can cause serious issues and it’s dangerous. In order for your garage door to move, the metal track needs to be aligned correctly. You’ll know something is not right. Your door may sound noisy & struggle to operate or your door may not open or close. Look for gaps between the rollers and rails. Check for possible bends in the rails of your track or anything out of the ordinary. We do not recommend you fix this issue on your own. Please call a professional to help you remedy the issue. Your garage door is very heavy, so even if your system is still operating, it’s only a matter of time before this weight, paired with being off track fails. Call for help!
Your garage door won’t open
The weight of your door is supported by one or two torsion springs. Most garage door systems have two torsion springs. When one of these torsion springs fail, your door will struggle to open, if at all. Your garage door opener is the brains behind your garage door system, but your door springs are the brawn (strength)- which allow your garage door to open and close. Door springs are nothing to mess with, and should be repaired or replaced by a trained professional. Please do not attempt to mess with this unless you are a trained professional. These springs are under a ton of pressure and if they snap while extended, you do not want to be near.
Transmitter batteries
Your garage door remote requires batteries to operate. If the transmitter on your wall is not hard-wired, then you will need to replace those batteries from time to time. Sometimes your garage door failing is as simple as a new pair of batteries. This should be one of your first thoughts when all appears normal- to check the batteries!
Door won’t move, but the garage door opener is running
If your garage door opener is making noise and trying to open your door, but it still won’t budge, the fail-safe on your garage door opener may have been disconnected. Your automatic garage door opener comes with a disconnect lever. This is a fail-safe in case the power goes out, you’ll still be able to open your garage door manually. The disconnect switch is usually attached to a rope or knob that can get unhooked by accident. Check your fail-safe switch, and if it’s unhooked, open or close your door (manually) all the way before re-hooking. Now test your garage door opener by hitting your transmitter (remote) button. If it’s working, you’ve resolved the issue.
Check your photo eye. Is it out of alignment?
Your garage door system has two sensors on either side of the garage door. One on the right and one on the left. These are called Photo Eyes. These sensors are essentially an invisible beam which detect if an object is in the way of the door. It’s to prevent your door from crushing anything that might end up in it’s path. Your car or your child’s bike are often culprits of preventing your garage door from shutting. Don’t leave objects in it’s path!
If your garage door won’t close, you should first check to see if there’s and object in the path of your door. If not, then check the alignment of your photo eyes and whether or not they are dirty. If your photo eyes are dirty or out of alignment, you need to clean and correct them. This is an important part of maintaining your garage door system and will always be done when an Elite Door System’s technician provides a tune-up, inspection or new installation. If you’re a DIYer, then here’s handy information on correcting and cleaning your garage door photo eyes. If it’s been a year since your last preventative maintenance, now’s a good time to give a professional a call.
What was that loud BANG!? Your garage door is closing too fast
If this is happening; stop and call a professional before tampering with your garage door system further. This issue is most likely either your torsion spring is broken and/or the cables connecting to your garage door springs have snapped. No matter which one, please contact your garage door man to have your system inspected and the problem resolved so your system operates safely once again.
Your garage door opener appears to run briefly and then stops
If your garage door opener starts to run, but your garage door won’t open or close; your opener is likely fine. The issue may be from your torsion springs. They could be broken or damaged. You can inspect your springs by looking at them, but do not tamper with them. They are the most dangerous part of your system and we can’t stress this enough. If your springs appear fine, check to make sure there is nothing in the path of your door (remember those photo eyes?). If all appears o.k. then please contact your garage door man. Do not tamper with the springs!
Garage door won’t shut. It closes part way and then reverses
A quality garage door system will have a reverse mechanism in place if objects are in it’s path. In fact all newer garage door systems are required to have this feature. The photo eyes are most often the culprit for this issue, but sometimes the tracks get a build-up of debris and prevent the rollers from moving forward. If an object is on the track and preventing your garage door from continuing to close, it will reverse itself. Make sure the tracks are kept clean. This should be included in regular maintenance of your door.
There are other issues that could arise with your garage door system. Most often than not they are simple fixes. There will come a time when it’s not so simple, like if your garage door springs fail. Just like your home’s HVAC system requires regular maintenance to operate efficiently and last longer- saving you money; your garage door system requires the same. If you want your system to remain safe with smooth operation, and save you money; we highly recommend having a garage door tune-up performed annually.
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