Four common steps to repairing you garage door opener

Four common steps to repairing you garage door opener

Step 1. First you need to check for electrical power before attempting to repair a garage door opener. Sometimes Ive seen a opener not working because there is no power to the outlet it is plugged into. Power surges and lighting strikes can sometimes trip the breakers in your electric panel and cause that circuit to be turned off. Most modern models of garage door openers provide a wall console or a push button with a LED light (red, green yellow) that operates the garage door opener. If the LED light is off, it's possible that the power to the garage door opener has been disconnected. Follow a small checklist to determine the cause of the interruption, example: Ensure that the garage door opener is plugged into the outlet, check the breaker etc.


Step 2. Check that the batteries in the garage door opener remote control are operational. Most batteries in garage door opener transmitters are available at Home Depot, Lowe's and Radio Shack. Solving this common problem often eliminates the need to repair a garage door opener. Ive seen this problem many times on my service calls, so check your batteries.




Step 3. Evaluate the garage door. Verify that the garage door sits level in the framed opening. If one side is higher than the other side, it's quite possible that one of the cables have unspooled and come off of the drum or one of the torsion springs above the door has broken. STOP. If this is the case call a repair company. Do not attempt to repair this garage door problem as it poses great risk. I the door looks level, grab the release cord on the garage door opener rail to disconnect the door from the garage door opener. Make sure you do this with the door closed. Open and close the door by hand. The door should open and close easy with little effort.Verify that the rollers on both sides of the garage door are securely in the tracks and are not worn. Worn rollers normally have roller wheels that are sitting in the track at a angle. Take your finger and move the roller wheel. If it moves more than a 1/16 of a inch its time to change it. A good roller will have a wheel 90 degrees to the roller stem.

Next, check the hinges. The hinges should be free moving with no noise. Noisy hinges can mean it is going bad or that it needs to be lubricated. Here in Florida I recommend using WD-40 to lube all moving parts on the garage door every 3 months. This includes rollers, hinges, springs and torsion tube bearings.

Last, check the cables. DO NOT PUT YOUR HANDS OR FACE NEAR THE CABLES! To do this check just look at the cables to see if there are any frays in the cables. They will look like knots or small threads coming off the main cable.

If you find bad rollers, hinges or cables please call a garage door repair company out as these repairs can be dangerous and requires a service call from a professional door company.

Step 4. Check the garage door opener's safety sensors located at the bottom of the garage door, one on each side of the opening. One sensor has a sending eye, one has a receiving eye. Typically one or both have a LED light on the face of their casing. During normal operation, the LED lights should be on steady and bright. If one is flashing,ensure that nothing is obstructing the sensor's eyes (e.g. trash can, broom handle, etc.) If so, remove the object. If not, adjust one or both of the sensors by loosening the wing nut and moving the sensor Up-Down-In-Out until both eyes are pointing directly towards each other. If there are no LEDS on at all check the wiring from the opener motor head to the sensors. Sometimes these wires can be broken or grounded by a nail or staple. Now, the LED lights should be on steadily and bright. If none of these hints help the sensors may be bad and need to be replaced. U.S Door Control.com has these sensors here.

If none of the above steps help to solve the problem DIY repair gets more technical from here. The most common problems we see are broken torsion springs, stripped gears, bad circuit boards and dead batteries. Most of these repairs can be done by the homeowner with the exception of the springs or cables. These are best left to a garage door company.

A few words about garage door companies. The biggest ad in the phonebook is not always the best one. Think about it. That big ad costs a bunch of money every month. Guess were that money has to come from, YOU. Ive seen that the companies with these big ads sometimes charge four times over the normal cost. We just did a service call for a old lady here in our town. She called us out because the first company that came out did not want to come back. When we got to her home we found the problem and fixed it for 69.50. we gave her the bill and she could not believe that it was only that much. The first company came out and sold here all new parts for her garage door that she did not need. the parts that were replaced by the first company never go bad. The old lady showed me the bill from the first company. 600.00 DOLLARS! Yes, 600.00 dollars. She could have bought a whole new door for that.

When calling for a garage door company to come out ask the price of the service call and labor rates. Ask if they have workers comp and general liability insurance. This protects you if a accident should happen while the company is in your garage. make sure they have a county licence and if you really want to go far with this call the better business bureau. You will be surprised to find out just who is on that bad list.

I always advise the customers to watch the repair. This way you can see the new parts being replaced and that there is no mistakes or accidents. Also, the comapy should leave the bad parts with you. We always leave the bad parts with the customers to make sure they know we are not reselling them.

I hope this helps with your garage door opener repair. I will be blogging more about repairs in the near future. Thanks and have a great day!

How to Buy a Garage Door Opener

What to look for in a garage door opener.


My name is John Wilchynski, owner of Suncoast Garage Door Company,Inc. We are a family owned and operated business in Florida. Over 40 years have passed since our doors opened and we have learned and seen alot. I will tell you in this article about what I have learned about garage door openers and how to pick one that's right for you.

Yes, we know you can get out of the car and open the garage door by hand but that's not the way most people open there doors now days. Each year over 3 million of us buy a garage door opener. Beyond dependability, compare cost, safety, security and noise--important for garages that contain workshops or have bedrooms or offices overhead.

Instructions

Compare the drive units. Chain drives have a bad rep. Some say they are noisy and the chain breaks. This simple is not true. We install the genie PMX-500 chain drive openers and they are very quiet. In 26 years we have never had a chain break. I think anyone should consider a chain drive. Weather its a Liftmaster,Craftsmans or Chamberlain the chain drive units are good. They are not be over looked. They cost around($130 to $180). Screw drives ($150 to $250) lift the door with a threaded steel rod. These are the most installed models that we use here in our business. Look for the latest models that use a plastic-lined track to reduce noisy metal-to-metal contact. Belt drives ($170 to $350) are the quietest openers. Their flexible rubber belts dampen vibrations and eliminate the noisy metal-to-metal contact of chain or screw drives. These units work great for installations were there is a bedroom or office above the garage door opener.

Compare the openers' motors. Personally I do not care for the DC motor openers. DC motor units are susceptible to power surges and lighting. In our business here in Florida we have more problems with these units than AC units. If you still want a Dc motor unit read on. Some high-quality, efficient openers use a direct current (DC) motor instead of standard alternating current (AC) motor. A DC motor uses less electricity and its speed can easily be controlled, allowing a simpler drive mechanism to be used for reliability and less noise. It also allows for a soft start and stop cycle to eliminate loud clank sounds. The door starts closing slowly, reaches full speed and then slows down again just before it touches the floor.

Select a 1/2- or 3/4-horsepower opener instead of the basic 1/3 if you have a large or heavy door.

Also take into account your safety concerns. An automatic reverse feature stops and reverses the door if it touches something--a child playing underneath, for example. If you have children like I do, safety sensors are a must. Most every garage door opener now uses remote control,s that use rolling codes to transmit a different opening signal each time. Models with multifunctional controls may have one button for opening the door, another that switches on just the garage light, and a third that can switch on lights or appliances inside the house. Some wall panels let you turn the opener off if you're going to be gone for an extended period of time.

When considering a garage door opener think about the warranty. These vary greatly between openers. Some units only have a three month warranty. Our Genie units have one year on parts and a LIFETIME on the motor. Big difference so compare.

Lastly, I get asked the question should i install a garage door opener my self or hire a garage door company. If you are handy installing a garage door opener is not that hard as long as you follow the instructions. I see so many homeowners that never read the instructions and run into problems, then call us.

If you buy a opener and have it installed through a garage door company you have several benefits. You get the experience. A professional installation. A most of the time a longer warranty.

Hope this helps in making your decision.