My garage door is on the fritz... Please advise. [Update]

"Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo" (thetomselleck) 01/13/2019 at 15:15 • Filed to: Casa de Zoidberg

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Brief video to show problem. It comes up a foot, then back down, over and over until I the emergency release or press the button 50 times. Won’t go up. Can’t identify any specific binding point. Cannot be opened manually either... 

[Update]

Uhhh... Snappy boi.

CB > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 01/13/2019 at 15:22

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Does it have any issues going back down? Do you have a motion sensor for safety stuff?

vicali > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 01/13/2019 at 15:23

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Are the little sensor lights flashing? One of my sensors bent and didn’t line up and it did that.

Second is the worm gears in the top of the motor. I replaced mine myself. It would lift a foot then go back. But you could manually open it.

Last summer one of the springs broke. It would lift it if I cranked up the adjustment on the motor. When the guy came he said that was a good way to kill the whole thing.

Check you springs.

ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 01/13/2019 at 15:24

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Spring broken?

facw > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 01/13/2019 at 15:24

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If it won’t open manually, it seems like it must be physically getting stuck somewhere? Bent track? Broken wheel? Catching on some obstruction?

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > CB 01/13/2019 at 15:24

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Yes that’s all there and aligned. Maybe there’s some debris hanging the bottom that’s trippi ng the safety thing? Hmm

CB > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 01/13/2019 at 15:25

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That’s what I’m thinking.

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) 01/13/2019 at 15:25

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Which of the springs or thingies do you mean? 

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > facw 01/13/2019 at 15:26

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Wheels are all accounted for, no bent track, plenty of gap between each wheel and track as far as I can tell.

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > vicali 01/13/2019 at 15:28

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The bulbs on the motor flash like there’s a problem, yes.

Gear or spring... Le sigh, could be. But not being able to open the door at all is really really weird.

Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 01/13/2019 at 15:32

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It really sounds like a broken spring, RIP you land cruiser fund.

His Stigness > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 01/13/2019 at 15:34

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It absolutely can’t be moved manually, or it’s just really, really, really hard and it feels like it’s binding?

If the spring in the middle broke somehow it will feel like the door is binding, but that’s because the spring isn’t providing any help and the door unassisted feels more than the house.

I accidentally unwound one side of the door, so it was unassisted, and it took two broken guys to try and lift it.

So I suspect the middle spring is broken internally and is now not doing anything.

Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 01/13/2019 at 15:35

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His Stigness > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 01/13/2019 at 15:35

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Edit:

Someone else pointed out the obvious:

The spring is broken on the right-hand side.

So you need a new spring.

vicali > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 01/13/2019 at 15:36

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Springs if you can lift it by hand when it’s unhooked.

Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 01/13/2019 at 15:37

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Check the tension in the small cables that. Are next to the edges of the door. They connect to the spring, they should be really tight.

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > Highlander-Datsuns are Forever 01/13/2019 at 15:42

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At this point, there's no fund for even an aftermarket stereo.

wafflesnfalafel > His Stigness 01/13/2019 at 15:44

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W e had a spring break a few years ago, (we have two individual single bay doors,) and holy cow did that make a racket. >BANG! < then >RATTLE, RATTLE, RATTLE, RATTLE< as the spring unwound... Can confirm, unsprung doors, even single bay, are super heavy...

His Stigness > wafflesnfalafel 01/13/2019 at 15:53

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My last garage door was the old style with the springs on the side (see below) and one spring broke one day. It sounded like something exploded.... right next to my precious Mercedes. Thankfully it nor anything was hurt.

And apparently, those types of doors are no longer legal in California. Landlords are supposed to remove them from houses. And I can see why. That could easily kill someone. At least the new style just unwinds on the pole and just causes a racket.

vicali > Highlander-Datsuns are Forever 01/13/2019 at 16:07

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Look along the top of the door. There are two big twisty springs;

They should be all connected and not separate pieces.

shop-teacher > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 01/13/2019 at 16:21

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If you're going to try fixing that yourself, be careful. There is enough tension in those things to kill you, if you make a mistake. I won't touch them personally, I call a garage door guy.

BrianGriffin thinks “reliable” is just a state of mind > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 01/13/2019 at 16:38

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At least the fix will be cheaper than if the opener was dead...as long as you have cajones the size of beach balls. 

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > shop-teacher 01/13/2019 at 16:58

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Yeah I’m not touching it . I’m frugal, but not adventurous.

TheTurbochargedSquirrel > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 01/13/2019 at 17:21

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Fun story. We used to have the style of door spring that ran parallel to the door track like this:

Then one day I was trying to use the garage door and the cable failed, launching the spring across the garage and narrowly missing the rear quarter panel of my dad’s Merkur. Now we have a torsion spring like yours with the bar down the middle. Miraculously there was no damage other than the bar holding the back of the track up being bent where the spring glanced off of it.

VincentMalamute-Kim > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 01/13/2019 at 17:32

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They have “good, better, best” springs. They’re rated on duty cycles. (Making up some numbers) like 15K, 25K, 40K duty cycles.

More of the cost in replacing the springs is labor compared to the springs themselves so i t’s worth getting the best springs and never have to deal with this again.

MUSASHI66 > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 01/13/2019 at 18:06

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Just had the same issue. $185 to fix. YouTube shows you how to do it on your own.  15 minute fix. Next time I’ll do it on my own. 

shop-teacher > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 01/13/2019 at 18:20

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Smart.

XJDano > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 01/13/2019 at 18:47

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I helped my brother change his springs. It can be done. The 4-way that has slots, there is 2 bars that fit in and you spin it. One bar rests against the wall while you reset the other bar and spin it.

Or pay $200-300 to have someone else do it. No pain, no pain. 

GLiddy > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 01/13/2019 at 21:13

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This is a DIY job. Just got to be careful and use the correct tools ie. don’t try winding/unwinding with anything but the correct rods. I think the garage door people like scaring people. It’s probably just as dangerous to fool with your coil springs on your car. Plenty of YT videos. I’m 50+ y.o. and I unwound my spring and installed a new door all by myself. Half the job is already done because the tension has already been released.  Winding was easier for me than unwinding.  But to each their own.  Good luck.

glemon > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 01/14/2019 at 02:15

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I just put three single garage doors on my new garage addition, so I am feeling somewhat knowledgeable, plus talked to other DIYers and researched a lot.

You have a double door and double springs, you want tension to be equal on both so it pulls up straight. So you will have to release tension on the good one then wrap them up and tighten it down.

Two tricks, first, if you can retrofit, get the tensioner you run from a cordless drill instead of the bar in the hole kind. Much easier and safer.

If you don't have that option and have room, work on the tension with the garage door up.  At that point springs are basically unwound and very little tension.  They will tension up when you close the door, with the spring collars all cinched down and safe

Schaef_Camaero Z/28 > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 01/14/2019 at 15:15

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I replaced the springs on my garage door when one of them broke just like that awhile back. It was pretty simple. Both springs and the winding bar were ~$100.