Q: My garage door opener is not opening the door all the way up.

A: Garage door openers have safety functions built into the opener. The opener will not open or close if the door is to heavy because or broken parts. These functions are there to protect homeowners and the opener itself. Sometimes the opener is the problem and sometimes its the door itself that won’t function properly.

This is one of those malfunctions that have many different causes. Starting with the most common reasons. Broken Torsion springs ( Torsion springs are tubular and attached to torsion pole that runs along entire door and located above door opening or at the back of the door next to the opener if you have one.) will make a door too heavy for the opener to open properly. A door that has not been lubricated on a regular basis will make door difficult to open. A garage door that has lost tension in the torsion spring will make door slightly more heavy and the force on the opener is not strong enough.

First you have to determine where the problem is coming from, The door or the opener. Disconnect opener from the door by pulling down on the openers emergency release cord. (emergency release: red handle and or red cord hanging about 1 to 2 feet long down from opener.) This will allow you to open the door manually. If you are having trouble getting door up than it is most likely the door that has to be diagnosed. If the door goes up easily than you have to look at the opener. Any problems with your door should be looked at by a technician. And sometimes if an opener just needs an adjustment you can do this with a ladder and a screwdriver.

I have diagnosed doors and had trouble trying to figure out what was keeping it from going all the way up. And found that it was some storage items on shelves near door that were keeping door from opening. Or a simple adjustment to the opener can fix door being a little to heavy. Other times the door was installed improperly and rubs against wall when going up.

The only thing a homeowner should do without a technician is to find out the manufacturer’s toll free help line from the internet. They are really good at walking you through simple adjustments to the opener. This may save you paying a technician to make a service call.