The garage door in my house has been acting up lately – it would occasionally get stuck halfway when opening or closing. Other times it would reverse direction unexpectedly as if something was blocking it. Being mechanically inclined, I tried tightening things and lubricating moving parts myself. But the issue persisted.
Content
Thinking It Was the Opener
I assumed it had to be the garage door opener that was going bad after 12 years of use. Those universal motors go through a lot of cycles opening and closing the heavy door. From my research online, replacement openers can cost a few hundred dollars too. Not wanting to drop that kind of cash without being sure, I decided the best first step was to call in a pro.
Getting it Checked Out
The technician from Garage Door Opener Repair Laurel came out and listened to my description of the symptoms. He asked a few questions about how it was performing then took a look at the set up. Within 5 minutes he found the actual problem – it wasn’t the opener at all. The issue was something much simpler.
It Was the Safety Sensors!
As it turns out, the infrared sensor beams that run across the door opening had become misaligned over time. These sensors are designed to cause the opener to stop or reverse if their signal is broken by someone passing through. When they drift out of alignment even slightly, it can lead to interference in the opener thinking something is blocking the door.
A Quick Adjustment
All it took was loosening the sensor mounting brackets, making minor adjustments to their position, then tightening them back in proper alignment. The technician did this for both the sensor on the door and the one on the wall, in just a couple minutes. He then tested that the sensors were triggering as intended.
What a Relief!
We fired up the opener and it worked perfectly without any strange behavior. I couldn’t believe such an easy fix was all that was needed. The whole call-out ended up taking less than 30 minutes. And it saved me from unnecessarily replacing the whole opener prematurely!
Now I know for future reference – check the safety sensors first if an opener starts having issues. Proper alignment is crucial for them to function as designed. I’m glad I had the pros from Garage Door Opener Repair Laurel take a look to solve things quickly and easily. The door works great now with no more head-scratching problems.
Jesse Ortiz is an avid home blogger, with the goal of helping his readers find inspiration and ideas for their next project. He writes about everything from small design projects to large renovations. His goal is to help people transform their homes into something that reflects who they are.
