A garage door malfunction can become a tedious ordeal if not properly diagnosed and repaired.
A garage door is one of the most used items in an American household. The garage door is used one thousand times a year in the average American household. Because of this extensive use, your garage door needs to be maintenance and looked after every once in a while, and it can easily become the victim of several garage door issues. Most of these garage door issues are taken from this extensive guide on diagnosing your garage. If one of your issues is on this list, we highly advise you to take a look at the above guide to find a step-by-step guide to fixing the issue.
Basic Inspection
You should always begin with a simple garage door inspection to get an idea of what type of issue you may be dealing with. You should begin by functioning each component of the garage to get a feel for which piece of the garage is malfunctioning. You may already know this, and you may skip this section if so.
The first major distinction you need to make is whether the problem is occurring because of the garage door or opener. The opener is the mechanism by which the garage opens and consists of the torsion spring (above the garage door) and the extension spring. The garage door is the simpler part of the operation and is simply the door that the opener opens.
Issue 1#: Springs
The first issue that may be causing your garage door to malfunction is that your torsion spring or extension spring are broken. This will generally cause your garage door to stop functioning. You should inspect these springs the best you can and research normal functioning springs of your model of garage door, if they look malformed in anyway, they could very well be the problem. You may attempt to replace these springs, but we highly suggest paying a professional as you are likely to cause more damage.
Issue 2#: Power Failures
If the buttons of your main control unit of the garage door just do not work, you are likely experiencing a power failure issue. If this is the case, you will generally not see any lights and the motor will not work. These types of issues can be as complex as advanced electrician logic board issue or a messed-up power cord. Your best bet is to inspect the power cord and make sure everything is properly plugged in and implemented, then get a professional if it seems like a more serious issue.
Issue 3#: Emergency Cord
Another common issue with garage door systems is that the emergency cord has been pulled. This will completely disengage your garage door. In most systems, you only need to pull it back down and pull it back for the garage door to start functioning again.
Issue 4#: Vacation, or Lock Mode
Most interior garage control panels will feature a vacation mode which protects your garage from intruders while you are away from home. This mode is often accidentally activated and can be a common cause of garage door malfunction. It is certainly a worthwhile endeavor to look and turn this on and off, in case it is the issue at hand.
Issue 5#: Garage Door Opener Sensors
These are the safety sensors that make sure if anyone is under the garage door and may be in harm’s way. They are an important factor for a well-functioning garage system, but they may also be a culprit of your problem. They can be stuck with a false sensing which prevents the garage from ever going down.
