If you are having trouble, adjusting your garage door can make a big difference. When you push the button on your remote garage door opener in your vehicle or the mounted wall console, you expect the garage door to operate smoothly. But this isn’t always the case.
Sometimes it is an easy fix if you encounter an issue of the door not correctly opening or closing. Let’s look at how simple it can be to adjust your automatic garage door opener system installed on your garage ceiling.
Travel Adjustment Controls
Your garage door opener should have two screws indicated on the unit as up and down. These screws are called travel adjustment controls. They are easy to use to fine-tune how far your door travels up or down.
Issues With The Garage Door Closing
There can be a couple of different scenarios when it comes to a garage door not closing correctly. First, perhaps a garage door won’t close all the way, stopping before the bottom of the door touches the ground.
Or maybe your door reverses directions and begins going up before the bottom even touches the floor.
In both instances, the down travel of your door needs to increase. Using a flathead screwdriver, the down travel screw needs to be turned in the direction the arrow indicates.
How far you need to turn the screw depends on the make and model of your garage door opener system. But one full turn of the screw usually covers two to three inches of travel.
Another issue with a garage door closing may be that the door hits the floor and bounces back up. This means the down travel needs to be decreased. Again, the down travel screw can adjust this, but you need to turn the arrow in the opposite direction.
Issues With The Garage Door Opening
Really the only issue you will most likely encounter with a garage door not opening correctly is when it doesn’t open completely.
Here again, the solution could be as simple as adjusting the designated up travel screw. In this case, the up travel needs to increase. The screw would need to be turned in the same direction the arrow indicates.
After Travel Adjustment Controls Have Changed
It may take several trial-and-error attempts to fine-tune the travel adjustment controls correctly. Once adjusted and you’re sure the garage door will travel up or down accurately, you are near completion. Run the garage door one complete travel cycle. Meaning, run the door up and down to ensure you’ve set all travel adjustment controls correctly.
The final step is to test the safety reversal system. This is the safety system for any garage door with indicators at the bottom of the track. Running a test of the safety reversal system will ensure the door will bounce back up if anything is in the way. This prevents possible future injury or damage if anyone or anything is too low or too close to where the door meets the floor.
The best way to test the safety referral system is to place a 2×4 board under the garage door on the floor. When the garage door closes, it should hit the board, reverse direction and go up.
An automatic garage door not opening or closing correctly can be pretty frustrating and inconvenient. However, it usually is an easy fix. If you need help with adjusting your garage door, call the team at Door Tech, and we’ll be happy to help!