Top Garage Door Problems: #5 When Your Garage Door Has a Mind of Its Own
A well-functioning garage door makes life easier and safer. It provides a way of protecting your vehicle inside the perimeters of your home, gives you access to a large space for doing messy projects, and provide ample storage area for all kinds of household items. Garage doors and openers are designed to obey your commands at the push of a button, so when they develop a mind of their own, it is inconvenient and disturbing. Here are the most common problems with garage doors opening, closing, and otherwise misbehaving on their own.
Garage Door Opens Randomly
It can be unnerving when a garage door opens randomly by itself. Even more disconcerting is when this happens when no one is at home. When garage doors act up in this way, it is usually caused by the transmitter in the remote control or wall unit. Most often, a remote has gotten stuck somewhere with the activation button depressed. Searching out the lost remote and deactivating it is the solution in this case.
Another possible cause of random garage door openings is activation of the remote control by a neighborís remote device. Older garage door opener devices did not use a large enough number of frequencies between devices, and the possibility of having a remote with the same frequency as a neighbor was fairly high. Newer rolling frequency remotes use millions of codes which are changed automatically each time the remote is used, making it virtually impossible for another device to activate your garage door. Rolling code devices also make it much harder for thieves to activate the remote as well.
Door Closes Partway and Reopens
This problem is most commonly caused by a something being on the ground below the door activating the emergency reopening mechanism. Debris stuck in the tracks can also cause the door to act as if it has hit an obstacle and reopen.
If your garage door is doing this, look carefully inside the tracks and on the ground below the door for any debris that could be triggering this safety feature. If all is clear, there could be a problem with the door limit settings as described below.
Door Closes and Then Reopens
In this case, the door closes all the way and then reopens immediately. This is usually caused by an incorrect adjustment of the limit settings on the opener. Consult your garage door owners manual for instructions on how to adjust the limit settings.
When the limit settings are not adjusted correctly, when the door touches the ground it ìthinksî it has hit an obstacle and the emergency reopening mechanism is activated.
Garage Door Opener Runs But Door Does Not Move
You press the button, you hear the motor running, but the door doesn’t budge. First, check and see if the lock on the door has been set. Then, make sure there are no obstacles in the tracks or overhead preventing the door from opening. If not, a lifting spring or cable may be broken or disconnected. Fixing this is not a typical do-it-yourself job. Call a professional for help.
Door Closes Suddenly With a Bang
A door that opens normally, but closes with a sudden bang is showing signs of a serious problem with a broken torsion spring or cable. When a door is doing this, there is a potential for a serious accident or injury because the emergency reopening mechanism may not be functional and a person or pet could be trapped under the door as it closes.
Garage doors that are out of control at any point as they open or close should be serviced by a garage door specialist as soon as possible.
The best way of avoiding all of these unnerving and potentially dangerous problems with your garage door is by having it regularly serviced by a professional garage door service technician. Then you will never have to worry about your garage door developing a mind of its own.
