You might go months, even years without your garage door giving you any problems at all, and if you bought it from a reputable manufacturer and had it professionally installed, this will likely be the case. However, there will inevitably come a time when your door starts to malfunction, or not do what it’s supposed to, and this will often be reflected in its capacity to open and close properly.
A garage door that isn’t opening and closing properly can not only be a real nuisance and inconvenience, but can be dangerous, too, and if your garage door isn’t functioning as it should, you should seek help from a garage door specialist in your area. Whether this is the company who installed your door in the first instance, or another, it doesn’t really matter, provided they have plenty of experience and come highly recommended by others.
So, if your garage door isn’t opening or closing as it should, there could be a few causes, and the most common can be found below:
The photo-eye has gotten blocked, or is dirty or misaligned
The photo-eye sensor is relatively delicate and can be the cause of your garage door not opening and/or closing properly. If blocked, dirty or misaligned, it can easily stop functioning and prevent you from using your door at all.
Sitting on either side of the garage door and facing each other, the photo-eye sensor sends a laser beam from one end to the other when activated, and if something breaks the beam – such as a person, animal or object – the door will not close.
Fixing this problem could be as simple as cleaning the photo-eye lens or realigning it. If it seems that the problem can’t be fixed without professional help, arrange for a garage door technician to visit as soon as possible.
A spring may be broken or a cable may have snapped
It’s quite easy to tell if a spring has broken, as if the motor is running but the door won’t open, this will likely be the cause. This can be dangerous, and if you suspect this to be the case, place a call to a garage door company as soon as possible. However, a broken spring isn’t as dangerous as a snapped cable, and you should be able to see if this is the cause for your door not opening or closing as it should.
If you’re not sure which of these problems might be the cause, seek professional help, and under no circumstances should you try to repair either problem yourself.
The door opener remote signal is blocked
A dead battery in the door opener remote could be the simplest cause of your garage door not functioning, and it pays to check for this before any other issue, since it’s the easiest to fix. There may also be something obstructing the garage door signal, or blocking it, such as tree growth or dirt. Perform a visual check first, and then seek further guidance if this doesn’t appear to be the cause.
To get your garage door opening and closing fully again, don’t waste time second guessing what the problem might be, simply call out a garage door technician and have them professionally and swiftly, fix the problem.
