Consider how often you open and close your garage door every day. For most southeastern Florida homeowners, the garage door cycles up to 1,500 times every year. Homeowners often take garage doors for granted as the main entryway to their homes, offering a safe and convenient entrance. The garage door opener is the key to this convenience. When your garage door opener stops functioning properly, you might have to put your whole routine on hold.
Whether your garage door won’t close all of the way, makes unusual sounds while operational, or refuses to open or close at all, the cause of the issue could be simple for homeowners to diagnose and fix. By understanding common garage door opener issues and how to resolve them, you can become a more responsible and knowledgable homeowner. You’ll know when to attempt a fix yourself and when it’s far better and safer to reach out to a trained garage door professional.
Common Garage Door Opener Issues
Even the highest-quality garage door openers will likely experience issues and need repairs after years of usage and daily cycling.
With regular use, garage door openers will eventually succumb to worn-out hardware and other malfunctions. Minor issues like dead remote batteries and misaligned photo-eye sensors can easily and quickly be fixed by homeowners. More severe opener problems may indicate you need a garage door opener replacement.
By understanding common garage door opener issues, you can avoid major repair costs, door damage, and other inconveniences like being stranded outside of your garage or trapped inside of it.
Garage Door Reverses Before Hitting the Floor or Won’t Close
When the garage door opens normally, but won’t close, there’s a variety of possible issues homeowners should investigate:
- Close-limit switch setting: When the opener was installed, the technician set the limit switch, telling the opener when the door has reached the floor. The limit switch setting is based on the size and weight of the door. If this was improperly programmed or was accidentally changed, the opener will think the door closed too early once it touches the floor, thinking the ground is an object and not the end of the closing cycle.
- Photo-eye sensor adjustment: At the base of the garage door are electronic photo-eyes casting a beam between themselves. When the beam is disrupted, the garage door opener prevents the door from closing to avoid damaging or injuring an item or person. The pathway between the two photo-eye sensors must stay clear to allow the door to close smoothly. If the sensors have become misaligned or dirty, the door won’t close.
Garage Door Won’t Open Completely
After clicking the remote button, the garage door may open, but not entirely, and prevent your car from entering or exiting the garage. If the garage opens but stops short of its full open position, then the garage door opener’s up-limit switch may be programmed incorrectly.
The programming mechanism is typically a touch-lever mounted near the end of the track, close to the opener motor. If this lever is set too far from the motor, the door will stop the door’s ascension before it is fully opened. To fix the up-limit switch setting, move it closer to the motor.
The Door Opens but the Motor Still Runs
While less common, if the garage door opener raises and lowers the door, but you hear the motor whirring once the cycle ends, then the up-limit switch is positioned too close to the motor and needs to be moved away.
It’s important that the limit switch is set properly. This setting lets the opener know the proper distance to the floor and triggers the motor to stop running. This issue typically occurs immediately after the garage door opener has been installed. Troubleshoot the limit switch positioning by moving it farther from the motor in small increments and then testing the garage door opener’s operation.
Remote or Wall-Mounted Pad Won’t Trigger Operation
It’s often frustrating for homeowners when you’re on the way home and the garage door won’t open after pressing the remote button several times. There are several things to check to trigger opener operation. Make sure you’re not trying to open the garage door from too far away — the opener functions at certain distances only. Also, if you can’t remember the last time you swapped your remote’s batteries for fresh ones, try replacing them and try opening the door again.
If the garage door won’t budge after pressing the remote button or wall switch, the power source to your opener has likely been disrupted. First, check that your opener is still plugged into the outlet and hasn’t accidentally been unplugged. If the plug is still inserted, make sure the garage breaker switch isn’t tripped.
After verifying that the power source hasn’t been interrupted, and the door still won’t open and close, the garage door motor may have burned out. When the garage door opener motor no longer works, the only realistic solution is to replace the unit.
Garage Door Opener Not Working? Schedule Garage Door Repairs With The Doorman Today
At The Doorman, we understand how important reliable and smooth garage door operation is for your daily activity. If you’re a homeowner in Broward or Palm Beach County and you need helpful, knowledgable, and prompt garage door opener repairs or maintenance services, reach out to the trained local professionals at The Doorman.
We’re a family-owned company with over 20 years of experience working on residential garage door systems throughout southeast Florida. Our team can handle any type of garage door opener issue, large or small. With every garage door repair project, we guarantee comprehensive repairs, personalized services and affordable solutions.
Schedule garage door opener repairs today or learn more about common garage door opener issues by calling us at 561.600.9606 or complete our online contact form to request a free project quote.
