My Automatic Garage Door Will Not Open

If the motor is running on your garage door opener but the door itself isn t opening don t panic.

My automatic garage door will not open.

The torsion springs are broken. Use a screwdriver to tighten the wire. If you have a dent use a block of wood against it and use a hammer against the wood to hammer that dent out. Sometimes a garage door won t open or close for one reason only the operator has no power connection.

When a roller on the garage door comes off one of the side tracks the opener won t be able to lift the door. If your garage door doesn t open but the opener motor runs for just a few seconds and then shuts off the garage door itself may have manually been locked. If there are dents in the door they need to be dealt with as they will affect the way the door opens. If you find that other lights or electrical circuits in the garage aren t operating this is the likely cause and you ll need to reset the breaker or gfci or replace the burned out fuse.

Locate the force adjustment dials. Your garage door will immediately stop and close if anything is in the field of view of the lenses. It s also possible that the circuit breaker fuse or gfci outlet powering the door opener circuit has tripped or burned out. The door should raise and lower easily by hand.

Its power source is disrupted. In the funniest of scenarios the problem will simply be due to an unplugged power cord. Shut off the power to the garage door opener. If you ve checked the door springs and the track for obstacles and those things appear to be fine check to see if the lock on the door is engaged.

The first thing you ll want to do when your garage door opens a little and then stops is to check to see if there is anything obstructing the lenses. Test your door s balance by disconnecting it from the automatic opener. You might have absentmindedly unplugged the operator as you were exiting the garage through your internal door to the house. Pull your garage door so it s about halfway open.

Perhaps the greatest cause of a garage door that will not open all the way up is a lack of balance. This can happen if a track is accidentally struck by a heavy object and bent outward. The limit setting is off. The door has dislodged from its track.

Turn the power back on and the door should open and close normally.