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How to Trouble Shoot a Garage Door Opener
Disclaimer -- The follow is intended only for your information. Garage Master, Inc. accepts no liability for the content of this article, or for the consequences of any actions taken on the basis of the information provided. Garage Master, Inc. recommends that experienced professional service be retained to perform all necessary maintenance on your garage door.

You first check the door's operation to see if the opener is the problem.

Start by unlocking the opener mechanism so the door is now set for manual opening.

• Check if the door can be opened smoothly by hand. If it runs smoothly and with little effort on your part, then the door is properly aligned and balanced.
• If not, you might have to straighten misaligned tracks.
• If the tracks or wheels are misaligned, then there will be resistance and possibly jerky movement, which makes it difficult for your door to open and close.
• To realign the tracks, you first loosen the screws that hold the track brackets to the opening or, depending on your set-up, the bolts that secure the tracks to the brackets.
• Next, you adjust the bracket or track so it's aligned properly, and then tighten the screws or bolts back into place and reengage the opener mechanism.
• Check the spring tension on both sides of the door if it doesn't run smoothly since it may be a balance problem.
• Check if the tracks are greasy. They shouldn't be since the grease only collects dirt. If they are, clean them with a rag or soft brush and perhaps use a spray-on automotive degreaser. Also clean and lightly re-lubricate the roller-wheel bearings and axles or hinge pins.

If the door opens and closes fine with the opener disengaged, then

• Check the power to the opener.
• Use the manual open/close switch to see if the problem is from the remote control.
• Check the safety reverse to see if there is an obstacle that causes the safety mechanism to prevent the opener from closing. (See the section on "Garage Door Opener" and "To Troubleshoot a Photocell System" below.)
• If the opener can open and close the door, you should then test the safety reverse.

• Open the door and put something like a 2x4 on the floor directly under the middle of the open door, and then activate the door to close it. 
• It is supposed to reverse when it hits the board. If it doesn't, immediately consult your owner's manual on how to adjust it or consult a qualified installer.

To troubleshoot a photocell system

• If the photocell system does not work properly, first try resetting the system. You might have a reset button, but if not, you'll need to shut off and then restart the power to the opener. You can do this either by unplugging the opener from its electrical socket or by turning it off at the house's circuit breaker panel.
• If that doesn't fix the problem, you'll need to check the wiring between the opener and the photocell transmitter module for loose connections or damage. You might have to take off the module and rewire them to the opener with some new, short wire leads to test if the old wires were the problem. If the short wires work, it means you need to replace the old wires with new ones of proper length and then reattach the module.
• If the new wiring doesn’t solve the problem, then either the modules or the sequencer board in the opener are defective and need to be replaced.
• If you decide that you need to replace the receiving sensor for your system as well, remember to put it on the side least likely to have direct sun.
  

Garage Door Opener

There are several reasons for the system to not work at all.

One is that there's no power. Test if the power is working by plugging in a lamp or tool to the opener's socket. If it doesn't run either, check the house circuit breaker or fuse to see if they've been disengaged.

If power doesn't appear to be the problem, unplug the opener and check if the wiring has come loose.

Damage could also be due to lightning. If lightning has fried your opener, you have to replace it. You can prevent this from happening again by using a ground fault circuit interrupter (GFCI) to ground the door's tracks to a lightning rod.

Other reasons your system isn't working may be from the programming. The opener may have been set to "Vacation" and you'll just need to unlock the setting.

It could also be that excessive, rapid opening and closing has tripped the motor protection circuit. Reset the system either by hand according to your manual or wait 15 minutes for auto reset to kick in.

If the remote opener works but the wall switch doesn't, you might have faulty wiring to the switch. To see if this is the case, turn off the power to the area at the circuit breaker and then check the connections. You'll have to open up the switch and check to see if the wires are bad or if the switch is bad.

If it's the remote that isn't working but the wall switch does then

1. Check the batteries of the remote control.
2. Check the remote for correct security switch setting
3. The remote might be damaged and need replacement.