There are several indicators that your garage door opener needs to be replaced.
- Slowing down
- Noisy
- Stalling
- Won’t start up
- Unreliable
- It’s 15 years old
Any of the above indicators are a good sign that you should start looking for a replacement opener.
Slowing down.
As your opener ages it will tend to slow down a little. That is expected but if your door opener starts to become significantly slower then it is a good sign that it’s nearing the end of its life. This is a good time to plan for the obsolescence of your opener before it stops working all together.
Before you make the call to get your door opener replaced try testing your door by hand. With your door in the down position, disengage it from the opener and lift your door by hand. If your door feels heavy then you may just need a service on the door. If however your door feels like it’s running free then an opener replacement is likely.
Noise.
Older AC openers are typically noisy but the wrong kind of noise can indicate a serious problem with your opener. When listening to your opener be sure to separate out the noise from your door. Different faults will produce different noises. If you are an experienced door technician then you will know what each make and model or opener should sound like.
Some sounds are a product of natural wear and tare and can be ignored. Other noises indicate key issues with internal motor shafts or transfer assemblies. Crunching sounds are always bad and you should stop using your door opener until you have it looked at.
If your door opener is noisy going up but sounds ok when going down then it is likely that the internal motor shaft bearings are worn out. Additionally if your door opener has become much louder then somethings not right.
Stalling.
Stalling is what it is called when your door stops during travel even when there is nothing obstructing the path of the door. Otherwise it is called jamming. If your garage door opener is stalling when going either up or down then there can be a few reasons. The first thing you want to do is test your door by hand to see if it is balanced and running free.
While your door is disengaged from the opener try running the opener to see if the chain reaches the stop limits. If it does then it may just need a force adjustment to account for the weight of the door. However if it stalls while disconnected from the door then you will likely need to replace the opener.
Opener won’t start up.
If you have tried to operate your door opener and you are getting no response then it might be a sign that your opener is dead and needs to be replaced. The first thing you should try is turning it off at the powerpoint for 10 seconds then on again. You do this to clear any logic lockups on the board.
If you have electronic limit setting on your opener you can also try resetting the limits. If your opener won’t let you reset the limits then it is time to replace the opener.
The last thing to do is check to see if the fuse has blown on the opener. Garage door openers usually have slow burn fuses that last a long time. But like all things they degrade with age.
Inconsistent and unreliable.
As openers wear out they can start to present with intermittent issues. They may work fine one day then the next day it can take an effort to get them going. Sometimes they will go up but refuse to go back down again.
Unreliable operation is frustrating to the user and difficult to fix for a technician. In many cases a service and adjustment might give the appearance that the issue is repaired only to have the problem come back again.
What the technician needs in order to fix a problem is specific cause and effect. Intermittent issues present themselves inconsistently without indicating a clear cause.
The best way to truly rid yourself of intermittent and unreliable openers is to have them replaced.
It’s 15 years old.
It is quite natural for garage door openers to reach an age when they are most likely to cause you problems. If you have an opener that is 15+ years old then you are reaching a point where it is more likely than not to break down.
You can wait for it to stop working as long as you have a plan for what to do when that happens. For example, do you know how to open and close your door without the opener. Not knowing this can result in your cars being trapped in your garage.
Additionally your calls to have the opener replaced could be delayed for a couple of days. Technicians get busy and can be booked out a week in advance.