There are plenty of things that might go wrong with your garage. You might find that the electrical work is not up to snuff, or that there simply is not enough storage space for your vehicles and extra items in what you had originally imagined as a spacious two-car garage. However, one of the most common things you might discover to be problematic with regard to your garage is that your garage door is simply not opening. There are plenty of reasons that your garage door might not be opening, most of which are relatively easy fixes.
Dead Batteries in Your Transmitter
This is the first thing that you should check out before moving onto the other reasons present throughout the course of this article. The fact of the matter is, the problem might be as simple as the batteries being dead in your transmitter.
There are a few ways to test this. First and foremost, are you able to open the door by hand? If so, then it's not an integral problem with the moving parts of your garage door, but most likely an electronic problem. If you have a battery tester, it is recommended that you test the batteries at this point. If not, it is recommended that you merely replace the batteries. Even if the batteries are not the issue, it is an incredibly inexpensive way to check if this is the case.
Sensor or Photo Eye Is Blocked
Most garage doors that have been released in the past 20 years have what is commonly referred to as a photo eye or sensor due to the fact that in 1993 a federal law mandated a secondary reversing system, like sensors, be present in all garage doors. These are two sensors that are located on either side of the garage door approximately 5 to 6 inches from the ground. An infrared beam goes back and forth between these 2 sensors and anything that passes through them when the garage door is in motion will cause the garage door to be sent back to its original standing position.
The problem with your garage door could be that these photo eyes are blocked. It is recommended that you take a dry rag and wipe down both sensors and check to see if anything larger is blocking the path of them. If so, remove the items blocking the sensors.
Outlet Issues
There might be an occasion, for whatever reason, that you must unplug your garage door's electronic mechanism from an outlet. If this is the case, simply plug the electronic mechanism back in and make sure that the garage door is in working order. There might be another issue with the outlet, however.
If your garage door is plugged in already, don't discount the fact that you might have an outlet issue. Plug another appliance into the outlet to see if it doesn't work; if it doesn't, run an extension cord from your garage door's electrical component to another outlet in the area. If this does work, it is recommended that you call an electrician to discuss what to do about the faulty outlet.
Sensitivity Adjustment
Sensitivity is an option on garage doors that determines when and if it will move from one position to another (namely open to closed or vice versa). This is something that can be adjusted either on the electronic component of your garage door or on the remote. Consult your owner manual for information on how to adjust the sensitivity of your specific garage door. If you can't figure out how to adjust the sensitivity yourself, you will need to call in a garage door repair professional.
Garage doors occasionally have issues. Hopefully, you now know what to do in case you come across a situation wherein your garage door will simply not open. For more tips or assistance, visit resources like http://www.702garagedoors.com.
