How to Tell When Your Garage Door Opener Is Broken

If you’re like most homeowners, you take your garage door opener for granted. It’s easy to fall into the habit of expecting it to operate the way it should when you need to get in and out of your garage. However, these openers do wear out over time and in most cases, will give warning signs before they full give out. It’s up to you to be able to identify when it is broken so you can get it fixed and avoid having to pay for a replacement before you need to. The following will help you determine if you should contact someone for garage opener repairs.

Check Your Garage Door

It’s easy to blame the opener itself if your garage door doesn’t open as expected. However, sometimes the garage door itself is the problem. You can save yourself a lot of time and money by checking the door over first. Look at the edges of the garage door from the inside and the outside to see if there is a misalignment somewhere or if one of the springs has broken. An easy way to check if your garage door is the problem is to attempt to open it manually. If it is difficult to open by hand, chances are the opener isn’t at fault.

Check the Opener

If the garage door seems to open the way it should manually, it’s time to inspect several aspects of the opener itself. First, you should check whether the lights of the opener are working properly. If not, there’s a chance you have tripped the circuit breaker and this simple fix will resolve the issue. However, if the lights are working, the opener may need a hard reset. To do this, simply unplug the unit and plug it back in after a few seconds. This should reset the system. If this doesn’t fix the problem, you need to call in the professionals to help you diagnose the problem and determine whether they can fix the garage door opener or a replacement is necessary.

What Can the Professionals Do?

In general, the most common problems you will encounter with your garage door opener are malfunctions in the logic board or stripped gears from regular use. Both of these issues can be resolved with a repair, but it’s important to weigh the cost of these services against replacing the entire unit. In many cases, a replacement garage door opener is more affordable than repairing your old one. However, it’s still important to call in the professionals to evaluate your garage door opener if it isn’t working as it should. They can provide you with a cost estimate on the repairs so you can make the most informed decision and save yourself time and money. A replacement isn’t always the best and most cost-effective solution.

Always check your garage door opener warranty to see if the repair may be covered. If not, it will be up to the repair technician to determine if a repair can be made or if they should suggest a full replacement. When you call, they will likely ask you what the problem is, so they know how to proceed. This often means talking to the office personnel. Unfortunately, these individuals may not be able to answer all of your questions. Therefore, it’s often best to ask to talk to one of the technicians.

If your garage door opener isn’t working the way it should, contact us to schedule an appointment for an assessment of your unit.

0 replies

Leave a Reply

Want to join the discussion?
Feel free to contribute!

Leave a Reply