8January 2021
Garage door problems are not something most people think about, until there is a problem. Fortunately, it is fairly easy to keep a garage door in good working order. By simply inspecting your garage door routinely and lubricating its parts twice a year, you can avoid many common garage door issues.
Below are the most common garage door problems and how to solve them.
1. The Garage Door Goes Back Up After Coming Down
- The sensor units placed on each side of the door approximately 5 inches from the floor are most likely misaligned.
- Another possibility is that the sensitivity button on the motor needs to be adjusted.
How To Fix:
- There’s a beam of light that travels across the door frame. If it is cut off, the door will stop, as a safety feature, indicating that something is in the way. If the garage door goes back up after coming down and there is nothing in the way, you will need to align one of the sensor units with the other.
- If the problem is the motor sensitivity, you can adjust it by turning the button about a quarter-turn to the left. Check it by opening and closing the door with the remote and adjust accordingly.
2. The Garage Door Has Come Off Its Hinges
If your garage door has come off its hinges, it is likely that 1) one of the horizontal tracks has become misaligned or 2) the metal bracket at the end of the track has come loose or 3) the bolts holding the bracket in place have broken.
How To Fix:
- If the door is completely off and lying on the floor, leave it be. Call a reputable garage door expert to reinstall the door.
- If the rollers are still in the tracks, close the door and tighten the bolts holding the bracket. If after this fix the door fails to glide smoothly, give us a call at 225-281-6346. Please do not try to fix this situation yourself.
3. Sometimes the Garage Door Opens and Sometimes It Does Not When Using the Remote
The most likely situation is that the battery in the remote is dying.
How To Fix:
Change the battery in your remote. Chances are that if the battery in one of your remotes is dying, it’s a good time to change the battery in all of your garage door remotes, as well as your exterior keypad.
4. The Garage Door Opens Just a Bit and Then Comes Back Down
This is one of the most common calls that we receive. There are a couple of possible causes:
- The torsion spring located above the door, or with an extension spring system, the springs located above the horizontal rails, may be broken.
- Another possible cause is that one of the lifting cables is broken.
How To Fix:
- Visually check the springs and cables.
- If either is broken, stop using your garage door and call a reputable garage door technician immediately. Due to the tension that a garage door spring is under, this is not a fix that should be handle on one’s own.
5. The Garage Door Will Not Open or Close Because of A Power Outage
If the power goes out, you will not be able to open or close your garage door with your remote.
How To Fix:
- You will need to open and close your garage door manually. To do this, pull the emergency cord (usually a cord with a red handle hanging toward the front of the garage door) to disengage the motor. You can then lift and close the door manually.
- Once the electricity comes back on, push up on the latch and use the remote to open the garage door. This will re-engage the garage door.
If you have any concerns about your garage door, please call us at 225-281-6346.