Talking About Garage Door Maintenance and RepairsTalking About Garage Door Maintenance and Repairs

Few things are more frustrating than when you come home and the garage door won't open – except maybe trying to leave for work and that happens. Typically, any issue dealing with opening and closing indicates a problem with the garage door opener. Some repairs you can do yourself, but some require professional expertise.

Switch Doesn't Work, but Remote Does

Sometimes, you can open the garage door with the remote, but not with the wall switch. For this problem, you probably need to replace the wall switch and wires. To test the wall switch, open it up and touch the two wires together. (They're low voltage.) If the opener runs, the problem is with the switch. If the opener doesn't run, the switch and wires need replacing. Unless you're comfortable working with electricity, this is best left to the experts. If you do decide to attempt the repair yourself, buy the switch that's compatible with your opener and follow the enclosed instructions.

Door Only Goes Down When Switch is Held

If you have to hold the wall switch to get the door to go down, there's probably an issue with the alignment of the safety sensor. Check the safety sensors – there should be a small, lit light on each. If there is, align them so that they don't prevent the door from going down. If there are no lights, you'll need to replace them. Again, this repair requires some electrical work, so either purchase a kit or ask professionals to complete the job.

Garage Door Doesn't Close Completely

If your garage door gets stuck before closing completely, the problem may be the close limit switch, according to About Home. If that's the case, locate the limit screws on your opener, and adjust them with a screwdriver. Another problem might be a dent or bend in the track. For that, use pliers and a hammer to fix the dent. Otherwise, you might have a broken cable – that's a repair for the experts.

Lights Don't Work

Your garage door opener should trigger the lights when the door is opened. If this isn't happening, and everything else is working well, your opener probably has a bad light socket. Replacing the light socket isn't too tricky except it requires removing the circuit board from the opener. To do this, remove the light cover and bulb, and disconnect the switch and safety wires. Remove the screws holding the board, and remove it. This exposes the socket, which just pops out. Replace this, and reassemble the opener. The light should work fine.

While some repairs are do-it-yourself projects, others require professional expertise, like problems with garage door springs.