Whether you are a homeowner or a home renter, you may have come across a garage door that just would not open. This happens from time to time, especially in a big storm that knocks out the power. The reason the garage door will not open can be as simple as the power being out to something much more complicated. It is good to know the difference and when you need to call in the professionals to help you get your garage door up and running again. Below are several possible reasons that your garage door won’t open, and what to do about them.
-
A Blocked Photo Eye
If you have ever tried to open or close your garage door, and it starts to move then quickly reverses direction, this could be because the photo eye is blocked by some object. It could be something as simple as a leaf that got blown in by the wind. The fix is equally as simple. All you need to do is move the object that is blocking the eye, and your garage door will go up and down again.
-
No Power To The Motor
If you press your garage door button and nothing happens – no lights come on, no sounds are made, nothing – then it could be that your garage door lift motor operator is not getting any power. To fix this, first make sure that the unit did not come unplugged. If that is not the problem, then check your fuse box to make sure the breaker did not get tripped.
-
Transmitter Batteries
If you try and try to use your garage door remote to no avail, then it could be that the batteries are dead and need to be replaced. Depending on your remote style, you may need a screwdriver or a small coin to open the back of the remote and replace the battery.
-
Broken Spring
Unless you are not home when it happens, you will likely know when your garage door spring has snapped. If you try to use your garage door, and the motor runs but nothing happens, check your spring(s). You may notice an obvious break in the coils. If you are home when it happens, you will hear a loud pop as the spring snaps. This will require professionals to come to your home to replace the spring(s).
-
Snapped Cables
You may have noticed that there are some heavy-duty metal cables that run along the side of your garage door. If one of these snaps, then your garage door will not be able to move as it will be pulled to one side. This is another situation that will require a professional to come out and replace the cables.
-
Lock Mode Activated
On some garage door there is an option to either electronically or manually lock the garage door. This means that no matter what you try, the garage door will remain in position until it is unlocked.
-
Keypad Sync
If you have try to replace the batteries, check all the parts and make sure that no parts are broken, and it remains shut, there is another possible solution. It is possible that the code between the remote and the motor is out of sync. You will need to reset the code to ensure that they match, then your garage door should be back to working normally.
