That little button on your visor is pure magic. One click and you’re protected from pouring rain, scorching sun, or a blustery snowstorm. But then one day, you press the button, and nothing happens. Suddenly, you’re left outside, wondering how you’re supposed to get your car in or out. It’s a moment of pure frustration when your garage won’t open, and oftentimes it’s because of your garage door opener. Knowing the cause of your problems is the first step to finding a solution.
The Batteries Are Dead
Before you panic, check the easiest thing first. Your garage door opener remote, or transmitter, runs on batteries. The same goes for the keypad on the outside of your garage. If you press the button and the little light on your remote doesn’t even flicker, you have a likely culprit. This is the best-case scenario for a garage door opener not working! Just pop in a new battery and see if that does the trick. It’s a simple fix that can save you a lot of grief.
No Juice! Your Opener Isn’t Getting Power
Your opener motor is an appliance, just like your toaster. It needs to be plugged in to work. Sometimes, things get jostled around in the garage, and the plug can come loose from the outlet on the ceiling. Take a look up there and make sure it’s securely plugged in. If the plug is fine, your next stop is the fuse box. A power surge could have tripped the circuit breaker connected to the garage. A quick flip of that switch could be all it takes to bring your garage door opener back to life.
Those Little Laser Eyes Are Blocked or Misaligned
At the bottom of your garage door tracks, on either side, you’ll see two little boxes facing each other. Those are your safety sensors. They shoot an invisible beam across the opening, and if anything breaks that beam while the door is closing, the door immediately reverses. If one of these sensors gets bumped out of alignment or if a broom, box, or even a spiderweb is in the way, your garage door won’t close. You might notice the door starts to go down an inch or two and then zips right back up. Check for a blinking light on one sensor; that’s your sign that they aren’t lined up correctly.
The Opener Is Fine, But The Door Is Jammed
Sometimes, the garage door opener is trying its best, but the door itself is the real problem. Your opener doesn’t actually lift the full weight of the door, as that job belongs to the heavy-duty torsion spring mounted above the door. These springs are under immense tension, and they can break. You would likely hear a huge bang when it happens. If a torsion spring is broken, your opener won’t be strong enough to lift the door. This is a very dangerous garage door repair job, and it’s a job that absolutely needs professional garage door services.
Your Remote’s Signal Is Lost in Translation
Your remote and keypad talk to the opener motor through a radio frequency. Every so often, they can forget how to speak to each other, especially after a power outage or when you change the batteries in the transmitter. A good bit of troubleshooting is to try the main wall button or switch inside your garage. If that button works perfectly but your remotes do not, you likely have a signal issue. The remote might just need to be reprogrammed to sync back up with the opener unit, getting them talking again.
Still Stuck? DoorTek Is Here to Help
When your garage door opener leaves you in a bind, you don’t have to wait. We offer fast, emergency garage door services to get your day back on track. Sometimes the fix is with the main unit, and other times it’s just the garage door opener remotes acting up — either way, we’ve got you covered.
