5 Reasons Your Garage Door Is Not Working

A garage door serves many functions. It can enhance your home’s exteriors, ensures your car and equipment are safe, and add convenience to your lifestyle. But hardly do most people think of their garage door often until they stop working. When that happens, it can cause a huge inconvenience if your car is inside and you want to leave. Naturally, you will try to fix the issue yourself. But before doing that, you need to know if it is a problem you can fix or if you need to let a garage door repair professional handle the situation. Take a look at some of the common reasons your garage door may have stopped working.

The Torsion Springs are Broken

One of the reasons your garage door may stop working is if the torsion springs break. If you are at home when this happens, you are likely to be rattled by the loud bang you will hear coming from the garage. Garage doors tend to be heavy, hence the loud noise. If the torsion springs are broken, you will need garage door spring repair services to have them fixed. Avoid using the garage door or opening it until it has been fixed. Note that springs are prone to wear and tear. They have been designed to handle only a particular number of cycles. So with time, this is bound to happen to anyone.

Photo-Eye Is Dirty, Blocked, or Misaligned

If the garage door does not close all the way or keeps stopping, the photo-eye could be blocked. A lot of garage doors manufactured since the 1990s have this safety feature. When blocked by another object or dirt, your garage door will not work properly. The photo-eye has been designed to respond to any obstruction immediately. Even a small object like a wad, pencil, or paper may trigger the photo-eye to stop the movement of the door. You can simply fix the issue by removing the dirt. However, if the issue is misalignment, call a professional for photo-eye realignment.

The Garage Door Is Not Responding to the Keypad or Remote

If you are pressing the remote and the garage door is not responding, try moving close to it. This happens when you press the remote but you are not within the transmitter’s range. Wait till you are close to the driveway, then press the remote. If that does not work, check that the antenna is not damaged and nothing is blocking it. Your remote control or keypad may also need a battery replacement to function. If, after all these trials, the garage door is still not responding, call a professional to check what the problem could be.

Something Is Wrong With the Track

When there is something wrong with the track, you will hear a squeaky sound as the garage door tries to slide down or up. For instance, the track can be misaligned because of damaged or loose hardware, causing the panels to dislodge from the track. If you hear a rubbing noise each time the door gets a particular spot, the tracks are misaligned. You can realign the track yourself by tightening the loose screws. But if this does not solve the problem, hire a garage door repair company for the job.

Snapped Cables

This problem is worse than broken springs. Cables are what help bring the door up and down. They hold an important role, and if they are broken, your garage door will not be supported, hence falling back to the ground. This problem usually arises if the tension springs are broken and not rectified in time.

If the problem with your garage door is significant, let a professional come and fix it. Even if you do not injure yourself while trying to fix it, you may make the problem worse, and this will only cost you more money.