Why Your Garage Door Won’t Open? – All common Reasones

“My door won’t open,” is one of the major problem experienced by majority of garage door users. Remember, you need your door to open all the way and close properly at the right time for security reasons. However, the door may fail to open due to some simple issues that can be fixed through DIY methods. If you have no experience in identifying door problems and fixing them, it’s advisable to call a technician to identify the following issues

• A locked door
• Batteries that have run out
• Door’s limits are off
• Malfunctioned remote controls

Apart from the simple problems above, there’re other complicated issues that makes the door not to open all the way. Just have a look at the major ones listed below:

1. Blocked, dirty or misaligned photo eye

The Photo-eye is a safety mechanism installed on the garage door. Basically, it detects the presence of objects obstructing the door. If it’s obstructed dirt particles or misaligned, it will definitely stop the door’s movement. Therefore, if the door won’t open or close all the way, check whether the lenses of the photo eye are dirty and look around for any objects such as plants that may be blocking it. Then, observe the LED lights from both sides of the door. If one is red while the other is green, the photo eye may be misaligned.

Solution

• Clean the lenses of the photo eye using soft lint free close.
• Remove all the objects near the photo eye and along the door path way.
• Contact a technician immediately to check on the photo eye alignment and adjust it accordingly.

2. No power to the door operator

Failure of the door to open may be cause by lack of power connection to the operator. The disconnection may be due to unplugged power cord. This happens when you or another person for one reason or another may have unplugged the cord and simply forgot to plug it back. However, the problem may be complex such as a blown fuse or circuit breaker among other electrical issues.

Solution

• Check whether the power cord to the operator is plugged in with the power on. If not plug it and switch on the power.
• If the power cord is properly plugged in and the switch is on, it’s time to call in a garage door professional to assess the problem and fix it.
• NB. Unplugged power cord issue, other power connection to operator issues should only be handled by a technician.

3. Broken garage door springs

Torsion and extension springs play an important role in the door opening mechanism. The springs are installed and winded hence gaining intense pressure. This enables them to lift the weight of the door, facilitating its movement. Due to the heavy weight and frequent door movements, the springs snap or break, rendering the door immobile.

Solution

• Locate one or two torsion springs running horizontally along the width of the door. If your door uses extension springs, check for them along the tracks. Once you’ve successfully located them, observe to see whether there’s a gap in between the springs or if they’re intact.
• Call a technician immediately to ascertain that the springs are broken and replace them.
• NB. Torsion springs are highly dangerous as they have intense pressure and can cause bodily harm as well as destruction of properties. Therefore, they should only be removed, installed and replaced by professionals.

4. Snapped, sagging or snapped Just cables

Just like springs, cables play an important role of holding the door in place hence equally dangerous if broken. Apart from broken cables, if they are loose and sagging can hinder the door movement and make it not to open all the way.

Solution

• Observe the door to see if it’s hanging crookedly as this is the first sign of broken or loose cables.
• Do not try fixing them as the door may come slamming on you.
• Contact a technician from Eden garage doors to fix the problem.