Owning an automatic roller garage door is great – that is until they go wrong. It is at these times you wish that you went for a standard manual up and over garage door.
When you are in trouble with your garage door, perhaps it is stuck open, stuck closed or kind of collapsed, it is always in an evening or weekend when there is no one on the end of a phone to help you out. This can mean your car is stuck in the garage or your whole property is left unsecured which can be a huge issue.
Some roller garage doors will be fitted with a manual override motor or mechanism which may, or may not allow you to close or open the garage door dependent on where the problem lies.
Often the problem is very easy to overcome with the right help. Here are some of the most common roller garage door issue I regularly come up against, and how to solve them.
Problem 1 – Garage Door Stuck Open
This problem happens a lot and generally it is simple to resolve – The main reason for this to occur is the garage door’s safety equipment. Often with a roller garage door, the safety system, for obvious reasons, will only be active when the door is closing. This means however, if the safety system does have an issue, you can generally get you door open no problem, but coming to close it is where the problem is highlighted.
Many garage doors pre 2006 will have been fitted with some kind of safety beam. Whilst the design varies from manufacturer to manufacturer then principle is the same. There is a beam or set of beams fitted on either side of your garage door opening – these are generally around a foot up from the floor. An invisible beam, generally infra-red, passes from one side to the other. If this beam is broken ie you are standing in the way the garage door will not close.
The most obvious reason why your garage door may be stuck open is the door thinks something is in the line of the safety beam. Check firstly that nothing is in the way of the line of the beams. If you have your car in the garage are you certain that it is in fully? Generally the beams sit slightly inside the opening so you have to ensure the boot is not breaking that beam.
Another reason these garage door beams fail is they get dirty with a build up of grime, or cobwebs appear on them. This can often result in the door thinking something is in the way. generally a damp cloth wiped over the beam or beams will solve this issue. I have always found that a damp cloth is necessary as often a build up or exhaust fumes can block the beam – a dry cloth or just wiping with your fingers is often not adequate.
It is a good idea to check with your manufacturer if there is away to bypass these beams. Often this can be a switch or bridge on the control box. handy if you accidentally knock one of the beams off with your car – saves the door being stuck open permanently!
Some garage door systems are fitted with a battery backup – it is all too easy to switch the power off to the garage door and be running the garage door on the backup system – this is fine until it runs down – check your fuse and check that someone hasn’t switched off the garage door power by accident – it is very easily done!
If you do have a battery backup system that is quite old, this can be a cause of a garage door problem. When the battery is requiring too much of the systems resources to charge it, it starts to pull down other vital parts of the system. Generally this can be easily resolved by turning the power off to your garage door, disconnecting the battery and turning the power back on with the battery disconnected. The garage door should begin to work after the second or third press of the button.
Next time I will be talking about if your garage door has come out of the guide channels or if your motor limits need resetting.
Over time, the actual rollers/wheels that follow the track probably need lubrication too. This is something that might not be required for five or ten years but eventually, it can lead to tension which fouls up the system.
I don’t really think about our automatic garage door at all until our electricity goes out! Then they are stuck open or closed! Fortunately there is a manual way to open/close them, but it is a pain!
Every garage door should have a pull release but be sure the cable is lone enough that you can reach it.
My Brother in law had same trouble about his garage door. He paid a lot of money just to fixed it.
I’ve had the issue with my garage door not closing a few times… But luckily for my house we have a manual rope pull on it to close and open the garage door if need be. They can be the most frustrating devices at times.
Chriss last blog post..
Good post about a common problem. I think it is crucial to always make sure that there is a manual option available in a crisis. Here is South Africa we recently had fairly regular power outs. Many of our friends were really stuck. At times like these a good old manual garage door can be a very welcome sight indeed!
Every garage door I have had in my life has had problems! It seems like they are built without testing or something.
I have a garage door that is broken – it seems that the rollers are causing enough friction to cause the emergency stop to engage and reverse direction.
Yeah, it is true that openers can create some problems. But they are worthwhile. I hate opening and closing the garage door myself.
I have encountered same problems with our garage door and it makes me really sick. I decided to change it.
I never think about the garage door at all until the electricity goes out or my wife runs her minivan into the door (happened twice now – quit laughing).
Thanks for the article. You really discussed the problems that most of the people encountered nowadays. I do have same problems on my garage door and I spent a lot of money just to fixed it.
The garage door nightmare is hared by quite a few I see. reminds me of my own.
Some times I think cold weather can a cause of it. What do you think?
Recently, I had the exact problem you describe, an automatic roller garage door, stuck open, and on the weekend. Fortunately, I was able to get someone out to fix it.
Joel
Garage door problem is very common problem. My Brother In law have a problem on their garage door last week and he paid a lot just to fixed it.
yes it is very common. Sometime it stuck and didn’t open. My friend told me that the problem that she encountered on her garage door is..she have to wait 15 minutes before it open.
Im really facing trouble with my old garage door, the door is kinda collapsed. And guess what, still i didnt get any help. Im thinking of buying a new roller automated garage door 🙂
I am not really surprised when I read your blog. It is true and I always encountered garage door problem. That is kinda hard.. I spent a lot of time fixing it.
I have that same problem.. sometimes our garage door stuck and didn’t open for about 15 minutes.
Garage door problem usually happen during winter.. maybe it is because of the weather.
if you take some care for your garage door , you can avoid some common problems like cleaning the dirty hinge roller by kerosene,lubricating the roller bearing atlest twice a year,At least once a year, test and replace batteries in the remote controllers.
You have to maintain the garage door properly by oiling it to avoid these problem
I am not surprised when I read about garage door problem. It is a very common problem and some of my friends experienced same problem.
Joes last blog post..
ive lost my remote to my garage door ,closed position
Many people encountered different garage door problem now.Glad that ours is still in good condition.
Hi,
The Torsion Spring Assembly is the Work force of your entire garage door system. Most people assume that the Opener is doing all the work when in reality most openers only lift the equivalent of 15 to 20 pounds. The torsion springs which look like a coil in the center of a long tube that sits just above your door is the real force for lifiting and closing your door.
Often it’s worth getting help instead of trying to fix it yourself. You often find that people end up doing more damage instead of fixing the problem…
Garage Doors should be serviced at least once a year, IMHO. Messing around with the hardware and springs can really hurt you if you don’t know what you are doing.
After my automatic garage door closes, there is a triangular slit opening (5/8″ at the high, right angle) between the garage floor the the bottom of the door on one side only. The other side closes completely. Is there anything I can do on my own?