Everyone in the house is ready to head off to work or school. You step out into the garage and hit the remote for the garage door. The door opens just fine. You back out of the garage and hit the remote to close the garage door, but it won't close! Now what?
The garage door will not close completely.
There can be many reasons why your garage door won't close or open when you hit the remote. Sensors, tracks, and rollers may be out of alignment. You could have a broken tension spring, or the batteries in your remote could simply be dead.
No one ever considers all of the components involved in a garage door's proper operation. Your garage door and garage door opener have many moving parts, and if one of those parts gets out of alignment or malfunctions, it will not operate properly.
Let's examine why your garage door and garage door opener might not work.
Safety Sensors
One of the primary culprits for garage doors not working correctly is the safety sensors. They are on either side of the garage door and are typically mounted to the tracks. They should be located about 6 inches from the ground. These sensors provide safety if something blocks the sensor’s path, such as when the garage door is trying to go down.
Safety sensor: a green light indicates the beam is not blocked.
If anything blocks the light beam between the two sensors, the door will not go down. Check to make sure there is nothing blocking the beam. Occasionally, a sensor may get bumped and misaligned. Another potential problem could be a broken wire at one of the sensors. Sometimes, spider webs and dirt may obstruct the lens of a sensor. This can be easily remedied by cleaning the lens with a soft, damp cloth.
I had an issue at one of my homes. If I tried to close the garage door at a particular time in the morning, the sun would shine on the sensor and cause it to malfunction. After a thorough inspection of all of the components, I found that if I shaded that sensor from the sunlight, the door worked fine.
Batteries and remotes
If batteries power your car's remote control, ensure they are not dead and replace them if necessary.
Tracks and rollers
Once you have performed an inspection of the sensors, you will want to check the garage door track and rollers. If there is any misalignment or loose components, your garage door may need to be fixed and closed. After carefully inspecting the whole track and its components, you must ensure everything is completely aligned. Make a note of whether or not the rollers and track need to be greased. If rollers are worn or corroded, consider replacing them. Call a professional if you feel there are any significant alignment or roller issues.
Garage door tracks and rollers.
Tension springs and cables
Above your garage door, you will see a large shaft that goes from one side to the other. One or two large torsion springs will be on this shaft, with cables leading from the shaft to the bottom of the garage door on each side. This torsion spring counterbalances the weight of the garage door. Older garage doors may have a tension spring alongside the horizontal garage door rails.
Perform an inspection of these springs and cables. If you have a broken spring, it should be visible. If a spring is broken, there may not be enough counterbalance to allow the garage door opener to lift the door.
Note: If you are ever sitting around watching TV and you hear a loud, large sound like a meteor hitting your house, it may be that a torsion spring broke at your garage door. A broken torsion spring releases a lot of stored energy. If it goes, you will hear a loud, ominous boom and vibration.
Garage door torsion springs and disconnect latch.
Garage door disconnect latch
If you have a garage door opener attached to your garage door, there will be a disconnect latch on the opener track where a metal linkage connects to the garage. This linkage is usually a short section of rope with a red handle.
In a power outage, you can pull this red rope handle to disengage the garage door from the door opener track. This allows you to lift the garage door manually. If someone has accidentally disengaged this mechanism, you may have to reset it so it engages with the garage door track chain.
Garage door auto-reverse sensitivity settings
Your garage door opener will have adjustment screws on the sides or back of the unit. These sensitivity screws can be used to adjust the travel of your garage door as well as how much force it will exert before it reverses direction. This safety setting can be adjusted so that if the garage door comes into contact with something while traveling downward, it will reverse and go back before causing damage. Newer garage door openers set their sensitivity by performing a sequence on the system. Instructions are usually printed on the garage door opener.
Loose drive chain or belt
If your drive chain or belt is loose, it may cause the door not to operate smoothly. This uneven motion may trip your sensitivity sensors, which will not allow the door to close. These sensors are labeled for up force, down force, up travel, and down travel. A properly adjusted chain or drive belt will have approximately 1/2 to 1-inch sag.
Summary
After carefully inspecting the items listed above, you must decide whether you can resolve the issue yourself or need to call a garage door specialist. Things such as broken springs and cables are best left to a professional. Taking time to periodically inspect your garage door, garage door opener, and its components will help keep it running smoothly when needed.
At HomePro Inspections, our home inspectors are trained to inspect all areas of the home. Any issues found are documented in your home inspection report and recommended for resolution by yourself or a qualified professional.
Visit our website today to learn more or to schedule your home inspection in the Rochester, Owatonna, and Faribault, MN areas. You can contact us at (507) 202-8942 or by email, or use our online “Schedule Now” feature to schedule an appointment.