When to repair a garage door system

If you have an automatic garage door in your home, you rarely think about it and the convenience it provides until it becomes noisy, breaks, or stops working altogether. Knowing when to repair a garage door system can be tricky because a simple fix can sometimes fix the problem.

Sometimes a problem with your garage door may require a visit by a garage door repair raleigh nc technician to do some repairs. The following garage door problems need a Lion Garage Door repairman, not a complete garage door replacement:

Problems with your transmitter

Transmitters are an integral part of any garage door system; you will notice if they need to be fixed! Sometimes there is a problem with the transmitter preventing the signal from reaching the opener. Check and replace the battery if necessary, as this is often the number one reason transmitters stop working.

Also, check how often your garage door opener runs. Sometimes neighbors may be using the same frequency for their garage door as you are for yours, and when they walk by and try to open their garage door, they open yours too. You might think your garage door doesn’t work by randomly opening and closing, but the truth is, it only opens when signaled by someone else. If all else fails for your transmitters, you can reset them by pressing and holding the “learn” button on each transmitter. It would help if you referred to your garage door owner’s manual for additional instructions on resetting it.

The photocell sensor needs to be cleaner or more aligned.

Two photocell sensors are located at the bottom of the garage entrance on each side of the door. They aimed at each other and fired invisible lasers through the entrance gate to identify if anything was in the path of the closing garage door. Sometimes one or both eyes get dirty or blocked by mud from your car or cobwebs growing on them. If so, gently wipe off any dirt or grime with a soft, damp towel. If the garage door still won’t close, the photo eyes may be misaligned and need to be readjusted to point directly at each other again.

The tracks are not parallel.

Over time, the track your garage door runs on can move slightly, causing the tracks to go out of alignment. You may hear a scraping sound at a certain point in the open and close cycle or notice the door slowing slightly after a certain point.

This problem doesn’t hurt the operation of your garage door, but you don’t want it to continue to operate like this for an extended period. If correctly corrected, this misalignment can worsen and lead to more severe problems that can eventually damage your entire system. So if you think your track has alignment issues, have it repaired or contact your garage door technician immediately for help.

They have broken wires or springs.

While this is a severe and potentially dangerous problem, replacing your garage door system may not be necessary. However, this is not a DIY project. If there is a problem with the spring or cable, you should turn the project over to a professional. You will know you have a broken spring or wire because you will hear a loud bang from the garage if you are in the house. Alternatively, if you close the garage door, it will close very quickly and hit the curb. Only try to open or close your garage door again once a technician comes and fixes it. The cables and springs will need to be replaced, but you should be able only to replace the entire system if there is damage to the doors, rails, or openers.

The kill switch is activated.

All automatic garage door openers are equipped with a kill switch that allows you to open your garage door during a power outage safely. Once this switch or cable is pulled, the garage door is removed from the mechanical opener and can be opened manually. Sometimes this switch can be accidentally pulled or disengaged by a large object you carry through the garage. For the garage door opener to reopen the door, you will need to reattach the opener latch to the garage door.