When Your Garage Door Breaks Down

Nothing is more ominous than getting ready to leave your home, only to hear the rumbling of your garage door motor working in vain as the door refuses to budge. Or even worse, the motor may not even work at all, leaving you stranded in your garage. While some homeowners who use their garages as an extra room may not have this issue, not all of us have this luxury. For those of us with our cars still parked inside, we rely on our garage doors to be functioning properly day in and day out, but when they fail, here are some basic steps you can take to try and take care of the simpler causes before calling a professional technician out.

First and foremost, check the trolley on the track. This is the little mechanism that connects the door to the drive that actually does the lifting. Sometimes, this device can become disconnected for whatever reason, and in these cases it's a simple matter of clicking it back into place. This can also be used in an emergency, such as when the power goes out: most garage doors have an emergency release cord that you can pull on to manually disconnect the trolley, allowing you to pull the door up on your own. Be sure to reconnect the trolley once the power is restored. If it keeps getting disconnected, though, this may be a sign of a deeper underlying issue that may require professional assistance.

Next, take a look at the opener itself to see if the light is coming on, or if it responds to the remote. Be sure to try any remote garage door openers you may have as well as the opener in the garage itself. If there seems to be no sign of power, check to make sure the opener is still plugged in, and that the power source is working. Replace any dead batteries or faulty cables if you manage to isolate the issue. If none of this helps, this again may be an indicator of a bigger problem that would require a garage door technician to solve.

There are many other possibilities as to why the door is not functioning. Even though a garage door installation doesn't have as many moving parts as other devices in a home, the complexity and potential danger of troubleshooting a garage door quickly ramps up past the basic steps, making it dangerous for the average homeowner. Never attempt to tamper with the spring or the track without a clear idea of what to do, or you may end up damaging the installation or even get injured, as these parts are under a lot of tension.

For the best Temecula garage door service, call Afficient Garage Doors at 951-541-0460. We service the Fallbrook, Murrieta and Temecula areas and are family owned and operated, with over 15 years in the garage door business. We handle all aspects from maintenance and repairs to complete reinstallation and remodeling. If your door doesn't work and you can't figure out why, we've got you covered!