It can be quite frustrating when you come home from a tiring day and want to open the garage door with a remote, but it won’t open. You don’t need to panic because it is common for the garage door to have functionality issues.
The garage door is open and closed frequently and might not operate normally overtime. There are different reasons for it to happen and you will need to examine the root of the problem before you can fix it completely. Here are some common problems that you can have and how to deal with them.
Read also: TIPS HOW TO RESET GARAGE DOOR OPENER
1. Battery Needs to be Replaced
One of the most common problems that causes the garage door to not open or close with a remote is because of the expired battery. You need to remember when was the last time you changed the battery inside the remote itself.
If you are not sure whether the battery is the problem, you can easily check the transmission receiver that is installed inside of the wall in the garage. You need to push the button manually and check whether the door is activated or not. If yes, then the problem is the remote itself.
You don’t need to worry because you just need to simply change the battery of the remote to make it work again. Changing the battery is also easy because you just need to sled off the back cover and remove the old batteries and change them into the new one.
For some remotes, you will need to remove the back cover using a screwdriver. If you are not sure about the size, you can bring them to the store to get the replacements. Carefully install the batteries so that they won’t cause further problems with the remote.
2. Signal is Disrupted
If the problem is not with the battery, it might be because of the signal of the remote itself. The most common problem is because the signal and the opener transmitter are interrupted. It could be because the signal goes out of range or the opener receiver antenna itself is damaged.
You can check the root of the problem by checking the signal from the remote. You can stand within 20 feet of the garage door and try pressing the button on the remote. The signal is usually not strong enough if you stand further. If you can easily open the garage, then the remote is not the problem and the problem is more likely the opener receiving antennae.
Make sure that the antennae itself doesn’t have any excess debris and it is pointed toward the door. You also need to make sure that the antennae is not broken, but if you suspect that it is damaged, you will need to ask the professional to repair the antennae.
3. Garage Door is Locked
Another common problem that you might have is related to the door lock. One of the most common problems is that the door lock is manually locked. Some of the garage doors come with manual locks and if the door is locked manually, it cannot be activated with the remote. It is quite common because it is one of the features to improve security for the house.
If you don’t have the problems above, you need to check the locks and you need to unlock it to activate the door again.
Some of the garage doors also come with lock mode features so it will prevent the door from opening. The feature can be easily activated by pressing the button down longer and the door will lock automatically.
You may have pressed this button to activate the lock mode. You don’t need to worry because you can easily unlock it by pressing the lock down button again for a few seconds and the lock mode will be deactivated.
4. Power Cord is Unplugged
The garage door might not properly open when the operator has no power connection. One of the most common causes is because the power cord is unplugged. It can happen when you are accidentally unplugging the power cord and it will also lead to another serious problem, like circuit breaker or a blown fuse. To fix this issue, you just need to unplug the power cord again or try to plug it elsewhere if you have a faulty outlet.
5. Reprogramming is Needed
Calling a professional to help you with the problem can be the easiest solution that you are tempted to make. But before that, you can also try reprogramming the remote to the opener. It is a perfectly normal thing to do because sometimes, the signal between the remote and the opener can be disrupted, and they will need to be reprogrammed to get it to work again.
It is a very simple thing to do because you just need to press the learner button in the opener. After 30 seconds, press the button on the remote for three seconds or until the light blinks. You can proceed with trying to open or close the garage door with the remote to check whether the reprogramming was successful or not.
6. Door Wiring Malfunction
If the above methods don’t work, then the problem might be related to the wiring of the garage door system or receiver board. Before you call the professionals, you can quickly check whether it is the problem or not. All you need to do here is to unplug the open and disconnect the wires.
Then, reconnect it to the power source and clear the memory. Reprogram the remote control and unplug it again for the second time, then reconnect the wiring to the motor. Find the wall mounted control and undo the wiring. The last is to test the garage door with the remote and check whether the solution helps or not.
If not, the wiring might be snapped and it can be very dangerous for you. Damaged wiring can cause the door to fall to the ground and crush anything below it. If that’s the problem, you need to immediately call the professional to replace the cable.
