5 Causes Your Garage Door To Open Close Not As Usual

Is your garage door not working properly? Are you wondering what may be the problem behind it? If you are here, there are high chances that the answer to the above questions is yes.

Whether you are using the garage door as the primary entrance to your home or not, they tend to open plenty of times a day. It causes daily wear and tear, leading to functional issues with the garage door. It may become increasingly difficult for you to open or close the door. If you are wondering about the reason why it is not opening or closing, as usual, read on to know all about it.

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Why is the garage door not opening or closing as usual?

A garage door that isn’t shutting properly or opening to the top can be a sign that there is something wrong with it. Here are five reasons that might be causing your garage door to not open and close as usual:

1.       The operator doesn’t receive power:

The most common reason for a faulty garage door is that the operator doesn’t have a power connection. It can be simply because you have unplugged the power cord and then forgot about it. Maybe you unplugged the operator while going to the house from the garage and then forgot to connect it again. While it is embarrassing, it has happened to almost everyone.

On the other hand, the door not getting power can also be because of a more severe issue like a circuit breaker or blown fuse. A professional can help with a circuit breaker issue. Besides that, a faulty outlet could also lead to this issue. You can try plugging something else in the outlet to check if it is working. If not, all you can do is plug the cord into another power socket to get it working again.

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2.       An issue with photo-eye:

The door has two photo eyes that can detect any movement to ensure that your vehicle, pets, or any other object in the garage is safe. A majority of garage doors now come equipped with this safety feature. The photo-eye is aligned face to face on both sides of the garage door that sends a laser beam to detect any activity around the door. Whenever there is an obstruction, it halts the movement of the garage door.

If your garage door isn’t closing properly, or even opening, there might be some trouble with the photo-eye. The photo-eye can become dirty, and the dirt can be considered as an obstruction. Another trouble with photo-eye can be that its circuit is ruined by rain or moisture.

In some garage doors, the two photo-eyes can be misaligned, which can also stop it from closing properly. Whenever the two sides interact, LED lights must activate on both ends. If it is misaligned, the beam cannot scan the clearance and makes it impossible for the door to work.

3.       Expired transmitter batteries:

If you think the operator is the only power source for the garage door, you are mistaken. It also gets power from a transmitter battery on the other side. If your garage door isn’t operating properly, it might be because of the expired transmitter batteries.  

To make sure the problem pertains to the battery, you can check the transmission receiver located on the wall of your garage. Try to activate the door by pushing the button manually, and if it does the job, then the problem is with the remote and not receiver.

You are lucky in this case because you can easily make the garage door work normally by replacing the batteries. Ensure you get the right batteries and replace it carefully using a screwdriver.

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4.       Misadjusted door limits:

Another common problem that makes your garage door stuck ismisadjusted door limits settings, especially with newly installed garage doors. Wondering what door limit is? Let’s find out.

The limit range defines how far the door must close or open. In case the settings are set too far, the garage down will close farther than it should and detect ground as an obstruction. It will automatically go back to prevent crushing the object, which can look erratic to you.

On almost any garage door motor, there are dials or knobs which you can adjust to set the door limits. You might have to experiment before you can find the ideal setting that works for your garage door.

5.       Broken components:

Your garage door is a machine that can break down if any component stops working. Dangerous yet inevitable trouble with a garage door that isn’t opening or closing is a broken spring. In every assembly, the door is guided by one or two torsion springs running horizontally and two extension springs lifting and lowering the down along the tracks. A spring has a maximum number of cycles, and it needs to be replaced once it runs its full course. You will hear a loud noise if any of the spring breaks while you are at home. Avoid opening the garage door in case of a broken spring.

Another trouble with a garage door can be broken cables. While extension springs only provide tension, it is the job of the cables to align each extension spring and is actually responsible for bringing the door up and down physically. If the cable snaps, the door can slam right into the ground causing thunderous noise and immense damage to anything that comes in the path.

While you may want to try repairing it yourself, it can further increase the damage. So, if your garage door is stuck due to any of the faulty components, it is wise not to ignore it and seek help from a technician immediately.

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Final thoughts

If your garage door stops working like usual, it is natural to get worried about it. While there can be numerous reasons causing it, most of the time, it is only a minor issue. You can look out for the five causes listed above to determine why your garage door isn’t opening or closing as usual. If not, you can always seek an expert’s help to help find out the trouble and also fix your garage door.

Author Bio

Rebecca Siggers is a full-time content marketing specialist and a passionate writer who loves to write about creating an aesthetic and ambient living environment for everyone. She focuses on sharing ideas and techniques learned from his experience in a concise manner so that it can be used by everyone to make their surroundings beautiful to live in. Currently, She shares great articles on how to Repair a Garage Door.