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Can’t open your garage door? You don’t need to call your technician right away.
If you live in Ottawa, specifically Ontario, or the suburbs of Orléans or Kanata, you might want to try out some quick troubleshooting techniques before calling an expert.
Here are the common reasons why your garage door is not working, and some immediate troubleshooting methods you can try to get them back on work.
Blocked photo-eye
The photo-eye of older garage doors may easily detect a person or an object blocking its way.
Make sure you check if the cord is attached correctly to the photo-eye.
You may also want to check if there are damages to the cables.
The laser is also sensitive.
If there are small particles such as dirt and dust clogging the photo-eye laser beam, chances are these are causing all the trouble.
Wipe the photo-eye thoroughly to ensure that you got all the dirt and grime off.
Locked door
Forgetting to unlock the door is something easy to fix! If the motor is already running, but the door does not budge, you might want to check if it is locked.
Make sure you also check for parts that may have slipped.
Broken torsion springs
Torsion springs function under huge amounts of pressure.
They may likely snap due to ordinary wear and tear since they are meant to last for approximately 10,000 cycles only.
When it snaps or breaks, it creates a loud noise similar to a firecracker or gunshot.
Do not attempt to open your garage door if you have broken torsion springs because it can lead to a severe accident.
Broken or snapped torsion springs are one of the most common issues that customers consult professional technicians with.
Fixing this requires particular skill and the right tools.
For broken torsion springs, it would be helpful and more convenient to contact a garage door repair expert to do the work.
Obstruction is blocking the door
Garage doors also have safety features. They automatically reverse if it senses an obstacle to prevent injuries and accidents.
So when your garage door is supposedly closing but changes directions midway, it may have detected obstruction that prevents it from fully closing.
Inspect if something is obstructing such as dirt, dust, trash, or rocks.
Garage door dislodged from the tracks
Check if your door is on the tracks. If it got dislodged from the tracks, the garage door would not side.
But don’t worry because you do not need to be a big gearhead to fix this. Just make sure to look for bends or bumps on the tracks.
Try running your garage door and take note if there are any noticeable squeaks or areas of friction.
Loosen the screws holding the track onto the frame.
Reposition the track properly and then tighten the screws back again.
Using a lever and a rubber mallet may also be helpful.
Limit setting is not properly adjusted
If you ever encountered an instance wherein your garage door closes but immediately pops open again, double-check the limit settings.
The limit settings help the mechanism in determining how far the door should move to close it.
In case the limit settings are off or not properly adjusted, the garage door will automatically reverse to avoid possible damages.
Consult the user manual for proper adjustments of the limit settings.
Loose or Frayed Cables
In case the torsion springs of your garage door broke, chances are your cables are also damaged.
Snapped cables can cause real damage to your vehicle. It’s also very dangerous, so make sure you warn people at home to stay away from the garage door.
If you happen to have loose or frayed cables, immediately ask for an appointment with your garage door technician to look into your cables.
These also among the tasks best left to the hands of an expert.
Disrupted power source
If your garage door is not working, don’t panic because sometimes you may have forgotten to plug in your garage door opener to the power source.
Make sure you also check if the outlet you are plugging your opener into is properly working.
It’s also possible that the outlet has an issue instead of your garage door opener.
Poorly adjusted sensitivity
A newly installed garage door may not be working because the sensitivity is not well-adjusted.
If the sensitivity is set too low or high, your garage door will not open.
Good thing you do not need an expert to fix this.
Make sure you read through the manufacturer’s manual and follow the instructions on how to reset the sensitivity.
You can also try adjusting the close force and limit switch to the correct levels.
