Garage Door Opener Repair

Is it something I can do myself?

Or will I break garage door opener even worse?

Garage door opener repairs frequently need a qualified garage door technician to perform, but there are repairs that you can do yourself to save money. The one repair that a uncertified person should not attempt is the replacement of a torsion spring in a roll up garage door. The energy stored in a coiled up spring can cause severe injury to anyone not trained to do the job.

There can be many reasons for a garage door failing to open. Over time, track or door misalignment can occur causing the system to bind and fail. First have a look around the floor and see if there is anything that has obviously fallen off onto the floor. Anything found would be a decent clue to the problem.

Next check the tracks for any obstructions. Sometimes a horizontal track can start to droop downward over time until the door begins to stick. Wind can cause the door to move one or both of the vertical tracks, that are frequently lighter than the horizontal ones. It is common for lighter vertical tracks to be held by insufficient brackets to keep it secure.

Occasionally the tracks can be damaged or dented by something banging into them. Give the tracks a good check over, and if they seem okay then check the door itself. Make sure it has not come out of alignment and that it is straight vertically. If the side of the door is damaged in any way it can easily become stuck in the tracks.

This type of damage to tracks or door can sometimes be fixed by hammering out the dent, though it's best to replace the affected section of track since more problems will likely come up in it's weakened state. In this case you are advised to get a professional to do the job since it could require the whole door to be taken down for the repair.

Sometimes the rollers and hinges can get damaged. A broken roller can be replaced by unbolting the hinge and taking the roller out of the track. Reverse this to replace the roller. The procedure is quite simple and easier to do than to explain! If you have to tap the bolts out, use a block of wood to hammer on to prevent damage to the bolts. Make sure that you tap the bolt fully in before tightening the nut.

The bottom rollers where the cables attach have to be replaced with door up, and if any of the bottom rollers are affected make sure that you take the tension off the cable first. You won't make that mistake twice! You must also support the door panel before doing any of this or you could break it. A suitable sized thick piece of wood can be used for this.

If your springs are damaged or worn and need replaced, get a professional to deal with torsion springs, normally attached to double garage doors. They are under very high tension and are dangerous to anybody who is not trained. Extension side springs are easier to replace. Disconnect the opener from the door using the emergency release cord then open the door completely, and hold it open with C clamp attached to a track right up to a roller so that the roller cannot move.

Now disconnect the two ends of the spring: one will be connected to the garage door track and the other to a pulley. Make sure that any safety cables are removed first. Attach the spring in the same way as it was before, then replace the safety cables, disconnect the C clamp and do everything in reverse order. Reconnect the opener and remove the support from the door.

If the opener itself goes wrong, stops working or the door opens by itself, then first check the remote. Make sure that the batteries are OK and that the light is on. Check out the opener for a short. This can sometimes cause a door opener to operate erratically. Use a multimeter if you have one to check out the circuits.

It would be unusual for the remote to go wrong other than a drained battery, and the openers generally work fine unless they are not maintained properly. Obviously make sure that power is getting to the motor, and the remote is sending a signal.

If your garage door stops working properly, it is usually in the mechanics rather than the electrics. If you keep the whole system maintained properly and clean then you should rarely have to carry out a garage door opener repair.