If you discover your garage door opener isn’t opening or closing when you trigger the remote, it may be time to change the batteries.
In this article, we’re exploring how to replace battery in overhead garage door opener so you know what to do if you find yourself in this situation.
Let’s get started.
How to Replace Battery In Overhead Garage Door Opener
In order to understand how to replace battery in overhead garage door opener, you need to know a few things about your garage door and opener.
If you suspect the batteries in your overhead garage door opener are dead, then it’s easy to find out for sure. On the control panel, there’s going to be a battery compartment on the bottom of it. On some models, the door will slide off to reveal the batteries, while others may need to be unscrewed to open up.
Get the compartment open, and take out the old batteries. Replace them with some fresh ones, ensuring that they’re placed in the right way. Most modern battery compartments will have the correct placement stamped into them, so check this before you go ahead and do it. Test your garage door opener now. If the door works, then you’re good to go.
If you use a garage door remote and the door still isn’t opening, then it may be the batteries in the remote that are dead. Repeat the same process for the remote, taking out the old batteries and replacing them with new ones. Check again and see if your door is opening.
If Replacing Batteries Doesn’t Work
Have you tried replacing the batteries, and the door still won’t open?
Don’t panic, there could be a number of reasons why this is happening. Even better, many of them can be solved by yourself, without having to call for help.
Here’s why the door may not be opening …
Make sure the opener has power
This sounds so obvious, but it’s so obvious that many homeowners don’t even think to check. Surely the door opener is plugged in? The fact is, it could have been pulled out by someone else, or it was tripped over and pulled loose without anyone realizing it. Check the plug and ensure it’s fully plugged in, and try the door again.
Check your breaker panel
The next step is to go find your breaker panel and see if the circuit for your garage has been tripped. It’s so easy for a small power surge to trip your circuit breaker and you not even realize it. If it has been tripped, flip it back on and see if that solves the issue.
Align the sensors
Most garage doors have a set of two sensors located at the foot of either side of the garage door. These are in place to ensure the door can’t close when something breaks the beam, effectively preventing personal injury and property damage.
Over time, these sensors may fall out of alignment, which in turn could result in what seems like a broken garage door. If this is the case, you will need to align the garage door sensors so they point directly at each other.
If you try this but the garage door still doesn’t work, you may need
Related: How to Tell if Garage Door Sensor is Bad
Clean the photo-eye
The photo-eye on your garage door is a safety precaution that won’t allow the door to close fully if something is blocking it. It does this by shooting a beam across the bottom of the door. If the beam is interrupted, then it senses something is there and won’t work. Check to see if there’s any dirt on the photo-eye, as this is often enough to stop it from working. Also, check to see that the wiring hasn’t been damaged, as this can sometimes happen with a leak in the building.
Look at the springs
The springs on your garage door are a vital component of the opening mechanism. They give the door the tension it needs to open, every time you need it to. Those springs do wear out over time, meaning that they lose their tension. In some cases, they’ll even break. If you can’t get the door open, take a look at the springs. Are they looking loose and worn out, or have they broken? You can replace springs yourself, but it’s a dangerous job. It’s highly recommended that you call an expert to take care of this for you.
See if the door is locked
When you use a garage door opener, it should lock the door against anyone who doesn’t have the right remote control to open it. As an additional security measure, you can also lock the manually too. This is a good idea if you’re going to be away for any period of time. If you can’t get the door open, use the key and check to see if it has been locked.
Reset your remote
One good test to do is to try opening the door with the control panel in your garage. If the door will open with this but not the remote, then it’s the remote that’s causing the issue. You can check the batteries to see if they’re dead, but if it’s not working with new batteries then the remote will need resetting. This isn’t too difficult to do. You can find the instructions for this in your manual, and reset the remote to make it work with your opener again.
If the remote doesn’t work with new batteries or after resetting, you may need to consider purchasing a new one from your local garage door service provider. There is a wide variety of garage door remotes available today, so it may be overwhelming. It’s best to stick with the same brand as your garage door opener, such as LiftMaster, and contact a professional for help programming your garage door remote.
Put the door back on the tracks
Sometimes, a garage door can be knocked off the tracks, which means it won’t be able to open. If that’s the case, you may be able to fix the problem yourself. To do this, you’ll need to pull the door open by hand and manoeuvring the door back onto the tracks. You’ll need at least two people to do this properly. If the damage is too great, you’ll need to call an expert to repair those tracks for you.
Adjust the limit setting
This is something you’ll need to do if you find the door closes, and pops open again right away. In the settings of the opener, it believes the door has hit an obstacle when it, in fact, has just touched the ground. In this case, the limit setting is too high and so will need adjusting. Again, you can change this by checking your manual. The limit setting knob is usually located on the control panel itself. Adjust the knob in small increments, until you have the door opening and closing as it should.
Conclusion
Now that you know how to replace battery in overhead garage door opener, you can effectively replace the batteries and get your garage door opener back up and running.
There are all kinds of reasons why your garage door won’t open, but many of them very simple to fix. Firstly you’ll want to check your batteries. If that doesn’t fix it, do a quick check of your door, looking for issues such as broken springs or dirty photo eyes. You’ll soon be able to fix the problem.