'Garage Door Opener Sensors' are the culprit when the garage door refuse to go down?

Not your problem? See 'Garage Door Opener Problems' and 'Overhead Garage Door Repair' for all the garage door topics.

Since 1993 all garage door openers have to have safety devices that will keep them from closing on a person or an animal. If something is blocking the sensor it will not allow the door to close unless you override them by pressing and holding the wall button.

Is there a red or blinking light on the sensor? Remove any obstructions. Clean the lens of any dust or dirt. Make sure the sensors are pointing at each other. Bend them back into alignment if needed. You should get a green light when they are working.

Garage Door Opener Sensors - Wiring Issues

The sensors have low voltage wiring that connect them to the garage door operator. If adjusting and cleaning does not work, you want to check the wiring. Check the connections at each sensor and at the door opener. Repair loose connections as needed. Also check for broken or frayed wires.

As a last resort you will have to order new sensors and replace them. Get the make and model number from your opener to get the right sensors. Release the garage door opener and use the door manually until you can get new sensors. Did you get it working? Yes. Then you have solved your garage door opener problem.

What can cause you to have garage door opener problems? Your garage door opener is both an electrical and mechanical device. It has moving parts that can break or need lubrication.

There are (1) Steps in this series. (1) 'Checking Garage Door Sensors', a safety feature on all newer door openers. (2) 'Fixing Your Garage Door Remote' covers issues with the remote. (3) 'Adjusting the Limit Switches', making sure the door closes all the way. (4) 'Door Closing Issues' and (5) 'Replacing a Garage Door Opener' are the last two topics.

Factor in the electrical and safety features and you can have a choice of problems. Can you fix them? Most of the time the answer is yes. Will it be hard? Well,,, sometimes.

Your garage door opener cannot lift the door without the springs. If a spring is broken you have a different problem. There are many things that can go wrong that are not difficult to fix. A few simple tools and a little patience and you are all set.

The information that follows will give you the insight you need or the resources to deal with your garage door opener. Use the evaluation section to determine if you want to tackle this problem.

Garage Door Opener Problems - Information

For something simple it will probably cost you a service call, around $50 to $75. A new garage door opener will cost from $250 to $400, installed. You may get sold on a new unit if someone comes out. Maybe not, but it happens. If it is something you can fix the savings could be from $50 to $400. Not bad if it only takes ten minutes.

A lot of the repairs are easy to perform. Replacing parts or the entire unit can be more work. The difficulty level for garage door opener problems will vary with the issue.

Make sure the unit has power. Check the GFCI and the Circuit Breaker. Check the safety sensor. Nothing can be in front of it and it must be aligned with the other one. There should be indicator lights that tell you it is working. A blinking light usually means something is wrong. Check the batteries on your remote control.

Assuming that nothing else is broken and the door is working, the worst thing that could happen is that you will have to lift and lower the door yourself. Locating parts could take a little time and you will get some exercise.

Troubleshooting Garage Door Openers

A common problem with garage doors is the safety sensors. They are required since 1993. The article 'Adjusting Garage Door Safety Sensors', explains what can go wrong and what to do about it.

When the weather is bad, opening your garage door from the car is a great feature. 'Garage Door Remotes' can quit working or not work properly. This article addresses the issues and solutions.

A garage door opener uses limit switches to control the travel of the door. Switches that are out of adjustment may not allow the door to close properly. The article 'Adjusting Garage Door Limit Switches' explains the problems and how to solve them.

When the door does not open or close properly, it could signal some adjustments that are needed. The article 'Garage Door Opening and Closing Problems' discusses this subject.

As a last resort, you may need to consider 'Replacing a Garage Door Opener'. They are a good idea when you have an older door opener the lacks newer safety features.

Summary

Garage door opener problems are a plague of our modern society. In years gone by, it was not that common to have a garage door opener. Now it is uncommon not to have one. It is not the end of the world if you have to lift the door manually, but it is an inconvenience. Did you find out that they don't sell parts for your opener?

Hopefully you have been able to find a solution to your garage door opener problems. This article gave you some instructions and told you what information you needed to obtain. This should have helped you to address your repair issues.

Replacing garage door hinges is the next choice if lubrication fails. Hinges that are too rusty or too old may be beyond oiling.

See the article 'Overhead Garage Door Repair' if this is not your problem.

You can purchase replacement hinges at most home supply stores. They are fairly inexpensive.

The hinges hold the panels of the door together. Do not take off more than one hinge at a time. This should be done with the door in the down position. You can use a socket wrench, a box end wrench or an adjustable wrench to remove the bolts.

Each hinge is held in place by four self threading bolts. Take them off one at a time and the hinge will come loose.

Put the first bolt into the new hinge in the hole that is not slotted, this will align the hinge. Install the bolts and you are done. Use the same wrenches, don't over tighten the bolts. So it turns out that replacing garage door hinges is not that hard, hope it was a success for you.

Lubricating garage door hinges is an important maintenance item for your garage door. The hinges are made up of metal plates that fasten to the garage door panels. They are joined together with a moving joint. Watch the garage door hinge when you lift the door.

See the article 'Overhead Garage Door Repair' if this is not your problem.

This is simple yet effective technology. Each hinge has two parts. Unfortunately, the metal that is used for these hinges is not high quality and prone to rust and corrosion. Lubricating them with oil on a regular basis will keep them from making noise and sticking.

Do you see the spots that move when the door is operating? This is where they might start to stick, make noise or seize up. Multiply this by a dozen or so hinges and you begin to see why lubricating garage door hinges is important.

The area of the hinge that needs oil is where the two sleeves rub against each other. It may take a little patience to work the oil into the affected areas.

Use a can of silicone spray and lubricate the hinges. Keep a rag handy and don't over do it. Try using the garage door again and see if the hinge moves freely and quietly. No, try a little more lubricant. Yes, well done. Your door hinges are working again.