Common reasons why a garage door is not opening properly

A garage door that doesn’t open properly is not far from being an unsafe and useless garage door. Hence, you must fix the issue right after seeing its first sign.

Don’t hesitate to call Elite Garage Door Repair for professional garage door repair services. Our technicians will help you restore the condition and improve the performance of your garage door.

POWER SOURCE

Your automatic door opener requires electricity to function. Hence, your garage door operator won’t work if it’s unplugged or a power interruption has occurred. The same is true if you connected the opener to an outlet without a power supply.

To verify that the socket has electricity, plug in another device. If it’s working, then something is wrong with your door opener and you need to have it fixed.

On the other hand, if the socket is the problem, you can plug your opener into a different outlet.

WHY DOES MY GARAGE DOOR ONLY OPEN HALFWAY?

If your garage door only opens halfway, you won’t be able to drive your car into or out of your garage. It’s frustrating and inconvenient but you can try operating your door manually.

THE GARAGE DOOR CAN BE OPERATED MANUALLY

Manually operating your door means you won’t rely on your garage door opener to open your door. To do this, you have to pull the red emergency release cord hanging from the motor.

This will disengage the opener from the door. And then, you can finally raise your door with your hands to open it in full.

BLOCKED SENSORS

The first thing to check if your garage door won’t open all the way is the sensors. You may have neglected your safety sensors that are soiled and blocked.

Dirty sensors may cause your door to move back up although nothing is in the door’s path. To solve this, you need to clean the safety sensors using soap and a sponge.

MISALIGNED SENSORS

When you don’t maintain your garage door sensors, they may also go out of alignment. Likewise, they won’t be able to detect obstructions or lack thereof in your doorway.

In this case, you need to loosen the screws holding the sensors and realign them.

WEATHER EFFECTS

External weather conditions impact the condition and performance of your door. Precipitation and humidity, for example, can corrode your garage door’s components. Hailstones can also dent your door.

These factors hinder your door from moving seamlessly. Thus, you will need to replace these rusty and damaged parts to restore the condition of your garage door.

As a professional garage door repair company, we can fix a garage door that won’t open or close all the way. Contact Elite Garage Door Repair today for same-day garage door repair.

YOUR GARAGE DOOR TORSION SPRINGS ARE BROKEN

When garage door springs snap, they create a loud thud. You should expect this since garage doors are heavy and springs have high-tension.

If you hear such a sound, you should call a garage door spring repair specialist to replace the springs.

Do not try to operate your garage door if it has broken springs since it could lead to accidents or more damage. Additionally, you shouldn’t DIY replace the springs because your lack of expertise will only put you in danger.

YOUR CABLES HAVE SNAPPED OR POPPED OFF

Broken springs will eventually cause your garage door cables to snap. This is because the cables don’t have enough tension to lift your garage door. In case you also have broken cables, call your local garage door cable repair specialists for cable replacement.

YOUR REMOTE CONTROL IS MALFUNCTIONING

A malfunctioning garage door opener remote may be due to the following.

Dead batteries – your garage door won’t open with the remote if the latter has dead batteries. Simply change your remote battery so you can use it again to operate your garage door.
You might be out of range – your garage door opener won’t be able to receive signals out of its range limit. For this, you must move closer or install an antenna extension to increase the range of your opener.
The antenna on the motor could be damaged or blocked – Electrical devices may interfere with the reception of your antenna. Try removing such devices or relocating your antenna away from interferences to improve the reception.
If none of the solutions we mentioned worked, then you need to reprogram your remote

THE GARAGE DOOR IS OFF THE TRACK

A garage door that has gone off track is risky to operate since it doesn’t follow the guiding tracks. Your door may crash down all of a sudden, leading to injuries and more damages.

While it may be tempting to force the door back on the track, it can be dangerous. Contact a garage door technician instead so they can safely and correctly fix this kind of issue.

THE GARAGE DOOR MOTOR IS RUNNING BUT YOU CANNOT OPEN THE GARAGE DOOR

If you hear your garage door motor running but the door won’t open, then you may have loose or broken cables. You can remedy this issue by adjusting the tension of your cables or replacing it in case it’s snapped.

Misaligned sensors may also put you in the same situation. To resolve the issue, you need to adjust the alignment of the safety sensors.

THE GARAGE DOOR WALL SWITCH IS NOT WORKING

Like your remote, your garage door wall switch may also malfunction. One common reason for this is lack of electrical power, so you better check its electrical outlet. If you notice the LED light is blinking, it indicates that your door is locked or something is wrong with the sensors.

Call a licensed technician so they can diagnose and fix the issue.

LOCKED DOOR

In case someone locked your garage door from the inside, you’ll need a key to open it. You could simply ask anyone inside your house to unlock your garage door for you. That way, you can operate your door with your remote and drive your car into your garage.