When Wisconsin?s weather turns nasty your garage door opener had better work. Before calling in a professional for a garage door repair, here are troubleshooting suggestions for your Janesville WI home.
There are about 10 reasons a garage door won?t work. Some are simple to spot and others take more time.
The obvious reason, often overlooked, is simple ? batteries. The opener relies on the batteries in its transmitter to trigger action. If the battery dies, the system fails.
Garage Door Opener Guidelines
Consult these troubleshooting guidelines:
- Check the wall-mounted switch ? go to the wall-mounted transmitter and see if it opens the door. If it does, the problem is probably the portable unit?s battery. Replace batteries in every car transmitter since they were originally installed at the same time so fail at the same time. If the change doesn?t solve the problem, make sure the + and ? side of the new batteries are in the right position ? this is also easily overlooked.
- Inspect photo eyes ? All garage doors and openers installed since 1993 must include electronic sensors to insure the door does not come down on anything in its path. There?s a sensor on each side of the door, 6 inches from the floor. If one is blocked, the door won?t work. If the door opens as usual but won?t close, thoroughly check the sensors and related wires. It might take a cleaning the lenses or removing debris from them. Broken wires or damaged sensors need professional garage door repair expertise.
- Door alignment ? an improperly aligned garage door is a serious problem. The metal track for the door keeps the door moving smoothly. Look for gaps between rollers and the rail and bends or dents in the rails. Garage doors are heavy and dangerous out of alignment. A rubbing noise as the door opens and closes is your first clue to misalignment. Simple alignment includes tightening screws and connections. Anything more requires garage door repair skill.
Concerns Require Garage Door Repair
Among the issues that cause garage doors to misbehave are several that require the assistance of a trained technician. Among them are:
- Door opens at random ? when the garage door appears to have a mind of its own ? opening or closing when nobody touches the buttons ? the problem might be as simple as a sticking button on the transmitter. Or a transmitter has fallen between the seats and is pressuring the controls. It is also possible a neighbor has a garage door opener working on the same frequency. When they signal theirs to work, yours works, too. Check the portable transmitters and then bring in a pro for garage door repair to get the opener working as it should.
- More transmitter troubles ? if the batteries are OK, there are other reasons a transmitter won?t work. The first is being out of range. A door opener and transmitter system has a limited range. When the door doesn?t open when you want it to, but opens as you get closer the problem is you. You?re asking it to work from too far away.
When you know you?re in range, but it doesn?t respond check the antenna hanging down from the motor unit. The antenna clearly receives the signal only when it?s free of obstructions and dirt. It?s a simple wire so check for cracks and make sure it?s firmly connected. A missing or broken antenna requires a technician to repair.
- Broken springs ? when a garage door suddenly stops working and the electronics of the door opener are in good shape, check the torsion springs. A broken spring is a ?door-stopped.? It is also a serious problem that no one should attempt to repair without professional help. The garage door opener doesn?t carry the weight of the door, these springs do. Many doors are installed with two springs to spread out the stress. When one breaks, have your technician replace both since like batteries they were installed together so are likely to break at the same time. Never try this garage door repair on your own.
- Garage door sensitivity ? there are knobs or dials on the garage door opener to adjust the force of the door on the ground. When these settings are too light, the door might go down and immediately start back up. Owners? manuals show how to make adjustments but trial and error isn?t as good as calling in a pro.
Garage Door Opener Care Pays Off
There are basic dos and don?ts pertaining to garage doors and their openers. Some are common sense and others require training and skill to diagnose. Here are a couple of puzzlers:
- Motor runs but nothing happening ?door openers have a disconnect switch so you can use the door if there?s a power outage. If it is tripped without your knowing, the motor will move the drive belt or chain, but not the door. Wait a few minutes and it will connect itself again. Or, open the door completely by hand so the switch is again connected.
- Motor strain ? if the door tries to open and the opener?s motor is running the garage door may have been locked. First check the locking handle, then the springs and track for obstacles.
The trained professionals at Country Door Systems provide timely service for all garage doors and accessories. Call Country Door Systems at 608-752-9537 for new door installation and existing door repairs and accessories. Look to us for professional expertise with all your garage door repair needs and to troubleshoot garage door opener concerns in your Janesville WI home.
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