Broken Garage Door Spring Signs

Garage doors get a lot of use. Even if we only use them when go to work and come home each evening they open and close about 500 times a year. Anything getting that kind of use is subject to normal wear and tear.

Even if your garage door opener is working fine, a broken spring can park you for the day. The garage door springs do all of the actual work in lifting the garage door. The garage door opener simply adds or subtracts pressure to get the garage to open or close.

My Garage Door Will Only Go Up 6 inches

Typically you don’t know that something is wrong until you’re trying to leave and the door won’t cooperate. If you hit the wall button and the door will only open about 6”. The most common issue in these cases is the garage door safety system has been triggered. Clear the area around the garage door and make sure the sensors are straight.

If the garage door opens very slowly it can be a sign that the springs are broken. This is due to the opener having to try to pull the full weight of the garage door. If you think this might be the case close the door and pull the emergency garage door release. Try to give the garage door a lift. If it is really heavy you more than likely have a broken spring that isn’t pulling its weight.

My Garage Door Cables Look Broken

Most times when people call garage door companies saying that their cables have broken it is in actuality the springs that have failed. It can look that way because the cables will break loose and fly all over the garage. The cables many times also disconnect from the garage door and end up on the garage floor. It is quite uncommon for garage door cables to become damaged and need replacement when the garage door spring fails.

In the case of garage doors that have two torsion springs. the one that has not failed will keep the cables in place. In this situation you have to visually inspect the springs to see if one of them is broken. If the springs are in a tube you probably won’t be able to see the springs. In this case you will want to have the garage door close and pull the emergency cord. Then test the garage to see if it has disproportionate weight.

My Garage Door Is Crooked When It Goes Up and Down

If your garage door looks like privacy blinds going up crooked there is a chance that one of your extension springs has failed. There are two of these springs per door and they help pull the garage from both sides. When one breaks the door goes up crooked and can even become stuck in the tracks.

Garage Door Spring Repair

It’s incredibly dangerous to work on your garage door springs. If you think one has broken it is time to call in the experts and have it fixed by people with the right training and right tools. Give On Track Garage Door a call today and we will get your garage back in working order just as quick as we can.