If you’re wondering how to fix garage doors then our team has put together this guide to help you out. New York Gates can help you out with troubleshooting, repairs, installation, and much more! We enjoy helping our community in the Brooklyn area and surrounding cities.
How to Fix Garage Doors with Troubleshooting
If your garage door stops working then there are a few steps you can take to try to narrow down the problem. This way you can get to the root cause of the problem so you know how to fix it. Try these troubleshooting tips first:
- Make sure your opener is plugged in
- Make sure the emergency release handle wasn’t pulled. To engage the opener motor, pull the red handle down and towards the garage door
- Clean and align the sensor eyes
- Make sure there’s nothing in the path of your garage door
- Try the wall mount switch to rule out a bad opener remote
If these steps don’t fix the issue then that means your garage door issue isn’t a simple fix.
Common Garage Door Problems
Below, you’ll find the more commonly used parts of your garage door. Because of all the use they receive, these parts are more prone to breaking as they get worn out. You can use this information to help you narrow down the cause of your garage door issues.
Springs
There are a few different types of springs for garage doors. Torsion springs are typically black and are located on a bar above your garage door. Torquemaster springs are located inside of a grey tube along the top of your door. Extension springs run parallel to the ceiling on either side of your garage door.
Regardless of the type of springs you have, they all provide the lifting power for your garage door. If one spring is broken then your door will start to open but then quickly close or it’ll only finish opening if you gently press up on it. If both springs are broken then your door won’t move at all.
Rollers
Most doors have 4 sets of rollers, which are located at the top, 2 sets in the middle, and 1 set on the bottom. The rollers fit into the track and help your door easily open and close. If you hear loud grinding noises during operation or if your door operates with halting movements, then you probably have bad rollers.
Test out the rollers and make sure they spin freely in the shaft and that they aren’t cracked or have chunks missing. If your rollers become severely worn down then your garage door can pop out of the track. You can try to fix the problem by lubricating the roller bearings. If your rollers are damaged or worn down, then you’ll need to replace them.
Garage Door Opener
The garage door opener is what moves the trolley along the rail to open and close your garage door. You can have many problems with your opener and a majority of the problems we see are from a faulty opener. Some common garage door opener issues we see include:
- Opener light just flashes when you try to operate your door: Many manufacturers program their openers to blink a certain amount of times for different problems. Make sure there’s nothing in the path of your garage door and if that doesn’t work, count the number of times the light flashes
- Opener sounds like it’s working but the door doesn’t move: This can be caused because the emergency release was pulled or because the sensor eyes are aligned. Check those two things and if the problem is still happening then the gears in your opener motor are probably worn down
- Opener isn’t responsive: If your opener is plugged in but the lights don’t come on and nothing happens when you try to operate your door then the circuit board in the opener needs to be replaced
- Garage door closes but then comes back up as soon as it touches the floor: This happens when the force control settings need to be adjusted. These are located on the back of your opener
Sensor Issues
The sensors are located about 6 inches from the floor on either side of the bottom of your door. An invisible light beam connects the two sensors. If the beam is broken by an object then this tells your opener to reverse your garage door.
If the sensor eyes aren’t clean or if they aren’t aligned (such as if one gets knocked out of its bracket) then your door will start to close but then quickly reverse. Another common problem if your sensor eyes aren’t aligned is that the opener will sound like it’s working but it won’t move. You can rule out opener or spring issues by making sure the sensor eyes are cleaned and aligned.
Damaged Garage Door
If you have damaged your garage door then you might not have to replace the entire thing. As long as the track wasn’t damaged, then you can replace the damaged panels. The general rule of thumb is that it’s cost-effective to replace up to 2 panels. After that, it becomes more cost-effective to just replace the entire door.
Types of Repairs that Need A Professional
If you’re a handy person then you might be wondering if you can just fix the door yourself. If you need to replace your garage door then you’ll want a professional team to come to do the work for you. They’ll have the knowledge, tools, and expertise to make sure it’s done safely.
Another repair we recommend calling in the professionals for is anything to do with your springs. If your springs are broken or if you need to replace the bottom set of rollers that are directly attached to your springs, then please leave that to the professionals. The springs are wound tightly and are under a tremendous amount of pressure. If not handled correctly, they can injure you or damage your garage.
Call Us for Garage Door Help
New York Gates is happy to fix your garage door for you. Our team enjoys repairing doors in Brooklyn and the surrounding areas. Give us a call today so we can help you out!
New York Gates is the leading security gate and commercial garage door supplier and installer in New York City. We service all the 5 boroughs of NYC.
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