Why Does My Garage Door Act ‘Crazy’ Sometimes

There are enough things in life that annoy us on a daily basis. One of those things just might be your garage door. Are you having problems keep your garage door open? Does it work sometimes but will not at others? It can be very annoying when you do not know when your garage door is going to come crashing down! Not just annoying but scary. Since your garage door is the heaviest piece of equipment in your home, if it should happen to fall down, it could seriously harm anyone in the way of the door when it falls.

Knowing just how dangerous it could be when your garage door will not stay open should be enough to contact your local Newnan garage door service, such as Newnan Garage Repair. With the help of a professional garage door service, you’ll be able to have the problem resolved without causing harm to yourself. However, before you incur any unnecessary expenses, you might want to find out what is causing the problem. There are some things that you can handle if you know exactly what is wrong with your garage door.

Here are some of the reasons you may be experiencing a problem with your garage door:

1. Remote Control/Transmitter

All you really need to do is check to make sure your remote has batteries that are actually working. This is usually the last thing people consider when they are having problems with their garage door yet it is often the reason the garage door is being temperamental.

Press the control on your wall unit transmitter or remote to see if it still operates your garage door. If it does, your problem is likely due to your hand remote. If you carry more than one remote or transmitter, make sure you change the batteries in all of them. This is not only the most practical thing it do it is the most affordable.

2. Photo Eyes Need Adjusting

Before the photo eyes of your garage door were ever thought about, kids would take chances trying to beat the garage door before it comes down. This is extremely dangerous and fatalities have resulted from this type of kids play. Garage doors that have been designed since 1993 now have something that helps keep you and the young ones safe; photo eyes. The photo eyes transmit a beam. When there is something blocking the beams, the eyes will detect this and automatically reverse the doors. This is a safety precaution that prevents the door from closing on something or someone. Without it, your garage door could cause grave harm to someone or seriously damage personal property.

If you start to notice that your garage door will open but when you try to close it via the remote, this may mean that there might be a problem with your photo eyes. Dirt and grim can build up on the lenses after some time has passed. This will affect the way these work. If you’ve ever bumped your car into the garage door, you could have misaligned the eyes. When they do not match up, they will not be able to function the way they should.

The first thing you can do is to make sure the lenses are free of debris. You can simply take a soft cloth and gently wipe the lenses clean with a streak-free cleaner. If you wipe to hard, you could actually scratch the lenses so remember to be careful when cleaning the photo eyes.

Now it’s time to check the photo eyes. They should be pointing in the same direction and angle. When they don’t line up, they will not be able to detect that something is in their path. This will make the door remain open. From the ground up, measure the height of both photo eyes. You can use a level to make sure they are directly across from each other. If you see anything that is slightly off, you can correct it by brining it back into alignment.

These are two simple and safe ways to resolve the problem you may be experiencing with your garage door remaining open.

3. Transmitter Problems

If you notice that your garage door will not come back down, it could be due to a problem with your transmitter being out of range. Everyone’s garage door and transmitter has a certain range that they need to be in to work properly. If you are around the corner and you’ve pressed the transmitter button several times but the door still will not open, try waiting until you are directly in front of your garage and try again. This should resolve the problem.

If you are within range and you’re still having a problem with your garage door opening, make sure your antenna isn’t hanging from the opener inside your garage and being blocked by something. It needs to be clear of obstruction so that it can receive the signal to operate the door properly. You can visually inspect the antenna to make sure it isn’t damaged. If it looks damaged or your uncertain, contact a professional garage door service to assess it for you.

Another easy fix, if you suspect that the problem may involve your transmitter is to make sure you haven’t sat something on it. It is easy to sit something down on top of it without knowing it. Finally, check to make sure your neighbor’s frequency isn’t interfering with yours. Check your manual to determine how to change your transmitters frequency. They offer specific instructions on how to do this. If you’re apprehensive about doing this, a garage door professional can always assist.

As you can see, there are quit a few things you can do on your own to remedy the problem. However, without any knowledge at all about what could be causing the trouble, you are unable to do any troubleshooting. Even when troubleshooting, be cautious and remain safe by being alert to dangers around you.