The occurrence of garage door problems depends on numerous factors, including age, maintenance practices, and climate conditions. Often, these problems can be mild and easily fixed without having to call a garage door repair company. Let’s take a look at five simple garage door repairs you can do yourself.

1. Garage Door Won’t Respond to Remote Controls or Keypads

When the keypad or garage door remote isn’t working, start by replacing the battery. Proceed with verifying the opener’s vacation mode is turned off. Program the remote to the opener by pressing the opener’s “learn button” and then the button of your choice on the remote control a few times, until the opener clicks or the garage door starts moving. Follow these steps to program a keypad.

If your keypad or remote only works sometimes or only up close, there may be an electrical device interfering with the opener’s frequency. Otherwise, you may be looking at a defective receiver board.

2. Both the Remote and The Wall Button Don’t Work

If both the hardwired wall button and remote devices won’t operate the garage door, it’s likely that you’re having some sort of power issue. For example, the garage door opener unit may have become unplugged or the outlet is faulty.

Check your power outlets and make sure that all connections are properly secured. It’s also possible that you have tripped a fuse or circuit breaker. If there’s power coming to the outlet, and the garage door opener won’t respond, the opener’s motherboard may be defective or the motor may have overheated.

 3. Garage Door Won’t Close Light Blinks

Garage door openers installed after 1993 must comply with the UL 325 standard and be equipped with two safety sensors positioned on either side of the bottom of the garage door’s tracks or opening. For safety purposes, if the photo eyes detect an object or obstruction, the garage door won’t close, or it will keep going back up after attempting to close.

In some cases, the opener will make a clicking sound while its lights are blinking. To fix the issue, start by cleaning the sensors’ lenses using a soft dry washcloth. Proceed to troubleshoot the sensors and align them by following these steps.

4. Garage Door Won’t Open or Move

Check for a bad outlet or tripped circuit breaker. If the motor runs but the garage door won’t open or won’t move, the door’s manual lock may be engaged, otherwise, you may be looking at a faulty garage door opener. Try releasing the door from the opener using the emergency release pull. If the door travels smoothly up and down, the opener is faulty.

If the door won’t open manually, then the spring may be broken. Are the springs intact? Check the rollers, torsion assembly, and cables. Look for objects obstructing the door’s path or any obstructions along the door tracks. Inspect for any unusual gaps between the vertical track and the horizontal track, or if the tracks are bent. Align the tracks if needed by loosening the screws and gently tapping the track back in place. Re-tighten the screws once the tracks are properly aligned.

5. Garage Door Won’t Open in The Winter or in The Morning

The cold weather is often the cause. First, look for a small screw or an adjustment pin on the garage door opener unit, and then adjust the opener’s force sensitivity. Alternatively, your garage door opener limit switch may need to be recalibrated. If you can’t find the force or limit adjustments, refer to the opener owner’s manual or consult a certified technician.

Rollers, bearings, and door hinges often get stiff in the cold, meaning that the door opener might have difficulty operating the door along the tracks. Try performing basic maintenance and lubricating the garage door to help alleviate friction during the cold season. Replace the electric motor or other mechanical parts as needed.

Keep in mind that working with electricity, high level of torque generated by springs, and heavy garage door components can be risky without understanding basic repair procedures. Therefore, always be cautious when troubleshooting and fixing garage door problems. Consult a licensed garage door repair company if needed.