The automatic or remote garage door opener provides you with the convenience in terms of time and also ensures that you or your families have an easy time of getting onto the car and out of it. For you to have the knowledge and explore some of the common automatic garage opener problems and how to solve it will definitely assist you when the need arises. If you do not feel comfortable in fixing the problem and do not want to take risk of further damaging the situation, it is wise to seek for professional assistance rather than to it yourself. Below are some of the steps to enable you to have some knowledge and tips on how to fix your own automatic garage opener;
What you need:
- Wrench
- Phillips-head screwdriver
- Flathead screwdriver
- A rubber mallet
- Hammer
- Concentrated household cleaner
- Cloth
- Garage door lubricant spray or powdered graphite
- Household oil or silicone spray
- Screw
- Hollow fiber plug
- Carpenter\’s glue
Method:
- In order to fix garage door opener whether they roll up in sections or swing up, they all operates using spring tension that provides power for the door to moves on metal tracks fixed on the garage wall. The first thing for you to inspect is the metal tracks inside the garage and check its mounting brackets that hold the tracks. If you notice that they are loose, tighten the bolts or screws that the bracket used.
- For checking dents, crimps or flat spots, you have to work from inside the garage with the garage door closed. Turn on the lights and examine carefully of any dents, crimps or flat spots on the tracks. If you have located a damaged spots, all you have to do is to carefully pound the area by using a rubber mallet, a hammer or a block of scrap wood. But if it is badly damaged, then it should be replaced.
- Make sure that the track is always aligned and you check this by using a level. For horizontal tracks, it should be slant slightly down toward the back of the garage, while for roll-up door its vertical sections of the track are exactly plumb. Both of these tracks should be at the same height on the garage walls. If your tracks are not properly aligned, do not just remove the screws or bolts at the mounting brackets. Just simply tap the tracks carefully so that it is back into its original position. Make sure to double check the tracks level whether they are back at the right position before you start to tighten back the screws or bolts of the mounting brackets.
- The garage tracks also need to be cleaned and you can use a concentrated household cleaner and a cloth to clean the dirt and hardened grease on it. Its rollers can also be clean using the same method and make sure to wipe the tracks and rollers until it is dry thoroughly.
- The next step that you can do is to lubricate the tracks and rollers. Use garage door lubricant spray or powdered graphite on the tracks, as for the rollers you can use household oil or silicone spray. If your garage door is using pulleys, this section also needs to be lubricated and you can use the same method used on the rollers.
- For swing-up doors, you need to check the plates and its mounted spring whether its screws are tighten or not. As for roll-up doors, you have to check the hinges that is being used for holding the sections of the door whether there are any loose screws or damaged hinges. Tighten up any loose screws, service the hinges or replace damaged hinges.
- If you notice that a screw hole has become enlarged, you can simply replace the screw using a longer one that has same diameter, plus also use a hollow fiber plug dipped with a carpenter\’s glue.
- For cracked wood that you notice at the hinge, you can remove the hinge first before filling the cracks and the screw holes by using wood filler. Leave it to dry thoroughly and then replace the hinge with a new one and if possible move it to a more solid wood than the previous one.
- You can also check on the springs. For swing-up doors, you can find each of the springs hooked into holes or notches and you can adjust the spring tension by moving the spring hook to another hole or notch. As for roll-up doors, each of its spring are controlled by a spring cable on a pulley. In order to adjust it, you have to pull the cable farther through the plate above the door and also re-knot the end for maintaining the spring\’s tension. Always remember that for roll-up door, it comes with only one torsion spring that you can find at the center of the door. If you are not a professional, do not try to repair it because the tension is so great where the spring could injure you if you are not careful.
Additional Reading:
http://www.doityourself.com/stry/garageallergies
http://ezinearticles.com/?Learn-to-Troubleshoot-and-Repair-Garage-Door-Openers&id=2549675
http://home.howstuffworks.com/home-improvement/repair/how-to-repair-a-garage-door.htm
http://www.bobvila.com/HowTo_Library/Fixing_a_Garage_Door_Opener-Garage_Doors-F2138.html
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/2320592/how_to_replace_a_garage_door_opener.html?cat=6
Image Credit:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kevinshock/3175187411/
