Posted on: June 15, 2017
It can be incredibly frustrating to try and leave the home only to find that your automatic opener isn’t functioning properly and that your garage door won’t fully open. In these moments of frustration, it’s possible to find a simple solution that can get your garage door working properly again.
In most cases, it’s necessary to call a local garage door repair specialist — but feel free to try these do-it-yourself tests first. See the video for more on how to proceed when your garage door won’t fully open.
Where to Begin
Your garage door is designed to sense any resistance or obstruction and to stop working in those moments so there’s no damage to the door or the opener and there’s no safety issue. When your garage door won’t fully open, start by closing it fully and then pulling the emergency release handle down and back toward the trolley to disengage the automatic opener.
As you open the door, look for any signs of resistance or obstruction. Examine your jams, rollers and tracks carefully for anything that might be causing the breakdown. Pay the closest attention to the spot where your door is stopping. Do you see any sticking or binding issues in that spot?
Testing It Again
Manually close your door again and then pull the release straight down. Once you press the remote or your wall-mounted button, the trolley will travel backward and reengage the automatic opener. Once reengaged, test out the opening mechanism again. If you’ve cleared an obstruction or taken care of binding or sticking, the door should work properly. If not, you can try two other options before calling your local garage door repairman.
Option 1: Force Limits
Your first option is to increase the force limits of your garage door opener slightly. The location of this adjustment is different for different garage door openers, but consulting your instruction manual should indicate where you can find and manipulate these controls. After raising the force limits, try your garage door once more. If it still doesn’t work, move on to Option 2.
Option 2: Travel Limits
Your second option is to increase the travel limits of your garage door slightly. Again, these will be in different locations on different garage door openers. Consult your instruction manual to find the right spot for adjustment. Once you’ve raised the limits slightly, try the door again.
Call on Broten Garage Door Sales
If your garage door is still not functioning properly, it’s time to call on a local garage door repair service. At Broten Garage Door Sales, we’ve been providing local garage door repair in Palm Beach and Broward Counties in Florida since 1955. We are your full-service option when your garage door won’t open or when you experience garage door frustrations of any kind.
Contact us today about local garage door repair service.
