Most garage openers nowadays are electronic and open at the push of a button. Safety features are better than ever preventing unwelcome intruders and keeping your children safe from danger. Though malfunction is very rare with garage door openers, there is the occasional snafu that occurs. When they happen there are several ways in which you can avoid costly repair bills. The fix can often be troubleshooted on your own and is often simple. The most common of these is the safety system, the user adjustment or the power supply.
To troubleshoot, you first need to under stand how a garage door opener works. First, it is good to know that what the average lifespan of your particular model is so you know when your garage opener has "run it's natural course of operation." Most tend to operate 10,000 times openings/closings with an average per year of 1500 before experiencing mechanical failure. The weakest mechanical link is generally the torsion spring that runs horizontally just above the door because it does all the heavy lifting. When this spring goes, it is very dangerous to remove it with doors weighing upwards to 300 lbs. It may be best to call a professional when this happens and replace it with a new garage door opener.
Assuming this is not the case, here's where you start troubleshooting:
If your remote is not responding, first check the batteries. If the batteries are not the problem, many remotes feature a blinking LED light that may actually flash to display a code which diagnoses operational problems. Consult your owner's manual for more information.
Examine the plug or wiring to see if you can locate visible damage such as scorched, exposed or broken wires.
Rule out electrical issues by checking the circuit controlling the door opener at the house breaker or fuse box. This will be out of line with other breakers and appear half on, half off. Wait approximately 60 seconds, then turn it on again to reset the connection. Consult an electrician for damaged wiring in the breaker, fuse box or in the home's wiring.
Are the sensors blocked? In newer openers, safety sensors may also be the culprit. Safety sensors work in pairs, mounted on either side of the garage door at about 10 to 12 inches in height. Each beams a light - one red, one green - across the opening. When the beam is obstructed or when the sensors cannot catch the other sensor's light, the garage door opener will fall to engage or sometimes stop during operation. The fix: Check for anything obstructing the sensors. Remove obstacles, position the sensors directly across from each other, or clean the sensor's surface to remove moisture, dirt or other impediments. Afterwards, attempt to open the garage door again.
Garage door fails to open/close is a safe bet that it may be the safety sensors. If the sensors are doing their job, look again to see if the lights shine red and green and are facing each other and aligned - a likely cause is one of the limit switches.
These checkpoints should cover most any potential issue you would have with your garage door openers. If you do a thorough check using these techniques you will resolve most issues that occur with any garage door opener.
