"Caution: Making adjustments without a professional evaluation can cause additional damage to the garage door and operator. We recommend calling us for advice before trying to make any adjustments to your operator"
Many homeowners don’t give their garage door a second thought - unless it is causing issues. When a garage door opener becomes faulty, or stops working altogether, it immediately impacts your routine. That’s why it’s important to be aware of the most common issues associated with garage door openers and how to fix them. Use this simple guide to troubleshoot your garage door opener before calling for garage door repair in Denver.
Signs garage door opener isn’t working
There are a few common signs that your garage door opener is starting to fail.
The garage door stops short of the floor.
If your garage door is opening correctly, but won’t close all the way, review these common reasons why.
There are issues with the set-limit switches. These switches are in place to tell the garage door motor to turn on and off when opening and closing. The settings could either be set wrong or are not communicating correctly with the motor. This causes a few different issues, including stopping short or reversing quickly after touching the ground.
Troubleshooting Tip: You can reprogram the close-limit switch that is responsible for the closing procedure. Typically, a small screw can be found on the motor that adjusts these set-limits. Be sure to test the adjustment in small amounts, as this can cause other issues like the garage door over-extending.
There are issues with the safety sensors. The safety sensors are responsible for notifying the garage door that an object or person is in the way. These small electronic devices are located near the floor on either side of the garage door. Even if there is nothing blocking them, the door may not close all the way if the safety sensors are misaligned.
Troubleshooting Tip: Check the sight lines between the sensors first. Clear away any debris or blockages. Then, tighten the brackets surrounding the sensors to avoid vibration and misalignment. You can also lubricate the rollers or tracks to stop any excess shaking or jerking that could impact the sensors.
The garage door won’t open all the way.
This could be another set-limit switch issue, except the up-limit switch is being impacted instead of the close-limit switch. Cold weather also impacts the sensitivity of these switches, as well as the rollers.
Troubleshooting Tip: Marginally adjust the up-limit switch sensitivity until you find the perfect position. If the rollers are the issue, simply add a lubricant to help them perform better.
The garage door remote or keypad isn’t working.
Although this could be as simple as replacing the battery in your garage door remote, there is often a bigger issue at play. Each garage door motor has an antenna that is positioned below the motor. The communication between the garage door remote and door antenna may be damaged or blocked.
Troubleshooting Tip: If both the keypad and the remote have failed communication to the door, they may need a reset. Try reprogramming these devices using the opener instructions and confirm that the antenna is positioned correctly.
If none of these troubleshooting methods work for you, contact Chris’ Garage Doors for garage door repair in Denver.