If you find your Liftmaster garage door opener isn’t working properly, you may be able to fix the problem by yourself before calling a professional.
In this article, you will learn how to repair a Liftmaster garage door opener.
How To Repair A Liftmaster Garage Door Opener
Liftmaster garage door openers are some of the most common garage door openers available.
There’s a good reason for that, as they’re some of the most reliable on the market. However, even if your garage door opener is reliable most of the time, it can still encounter problems. If you’re having issues, here’s how to repair a Liftmaster garage door opener and get it working again.
Here’s how to repair a Liftmaster garage door opener.
Simple Fixes
In many cases, there’s going to be an easy fix for your garage door opener.
To help you get started, we collected a few things that might help you understand how to repair a Liftmaster garage door opener.
Replace the Batteries
Most of the time, you’ll find that the batteries in your remote have simply drained over time.
If you’ve been using it for a while, this is probably why the opener won’t work now. Try changing the batteries out, and try again. It’s a good idea to check the connectors too. If there’s rust, you can polish them in order to make them work again.
Lubricate the door
If a garage door isn’t properly maintained, it may not be able to open properly. Lubrication is an important part of maintenance. If you don’t do it, the moving parts may seize up or rust, stopping the opener from doing its job. Lubricate all the moving parts of your garage door, and try it again.
Unlock the doors
If your garage door isn’t opening, the simplest explanation is that the door has been manually locked. Try the lock and see if it has been shut. Open it up again, and the door opener should work as normal.
Plug in the Opener
Again, this is a very simple issue to address. The garage door opener can be unplugged, usually to allow you to work on the garage door safely. If it’s been unplugged, then, of course, it can’t work. Check it hasn’t been unplugged, and plug it back in it if it has.
Signal Issues
The next thing that can affect your garage door opener is signal issues. These will stop the garage door opening, or shut it again once it does open. Let’s take a look at what can be causing these problems.
Get in range
Firstly, check that you’re in range of the garage door. If you’re too far away, your remote may not be able to send a signal to the opener.
Garage door path is blocked
Are you finding that the door won’t shut all the way? If it keeps moving down, but then auto-reversing, that’s a sign that something is blocking the entrance. The opener has a safety measure that stops it from shutting if there’s something in the way. Check the garage door path for any blockages, and remove any you find.
Blocked photo eyes
If you’ve checked for blockages and can’t find anything, this is probably the culprit. The photo-eyes are what sense if anything is in the path of the door. If either of them is blocked, it cuts off the sensor and forces the door to reopen. Most of the time, you’ll see that the photo eyes have got dirty and that’s what’s causing the problem. Clean them off with a soft cloth and try the door again.
If that doesn’t work, the sensors may be misaligned. Tie a piece of string between them, and adjust them until the string is level. This will realign them and ensure that your garage door can open properly again.
Crossed signals
Are you finding that your garage door opens, even when you aren’t using it? That’s a sign that you’re getting crossed signals with someone else in the neighborhood. They may have an opener on a similar frequency to yours, and when they try to open their door, they’re opening yours instead. You can check your manual to see how to change the frequency, to stop this happening.
Hardware Repairs
Finally, there may be issues with the hardware of the garage door itself, rather than the garage door opener. Look for these problems if you’re not seeing anything on the garage door opener that causing issues.
Broken springs
This could well be why your garage door isn’t opening. The springs on your garage door are designed to give it the tension it needs to open. If they don’t have that tension, the door can’t open when you press the button on your remote. Check to see if the springs on your door have broken, or have lost tension.
When you check the springs, remember that they are very dangerous when handled incorrectly. If a garage door spring breaks, it can launch and really cause damage to anything in the garage. Worse, it can cause serious injury. If you believe the springs are to blame for the opener not working, you can replace them. However, it’s often best to call on an expert to help you, as they can remove and replace them safely.
Bent or broken tracks
Another reason your garage door opener isn’t working could be your garage door tracks. These are what the garage door travels on, and so they need to be perfectly straight. If there’s a bend or dent in them, you’ll need to mend them.
For minor dents, it’s simple to hammer them back out with a rubber mallet a piece of wood. If the dent is severe though, you’ll need to look into replacing your tracks. This is another job where you may want to call in a professional.
A Note On DIY Repairs
As you’ve seen on this list, there are lots of repairs that are essentially just troubleshooting. These are easy to do yourself, and so you’ll have your garage door opener working again in no time at all. If you’re having more substantial problems though, or are unsure of what to do, it’s always better to call in a professional. Keep that in mind as you look for the problem.
Now that you know how to repair a Liftmaster garage door opener, you can troubleshoot the problem before calling a professional.
If you still need help with your garage door opener, consider calling Your Garage Door Guys for help.