Troubleshooting Mini-Guide For Your Noisy Garage Door Opener
Posted on: 13 August 2015
If your garage door opener makes it sound like there is a Chinook landing on the roof of your house every time you open or close your garage door, you may want to troubleshoot what is causing the noise. A noisy garage door can be a sign that something is wrong, but this isn't always the case. Sometimes, garage door opening systems are simply noisy due to old age. Follow the steps in this mini-guide to troubleshoot the noise coming from your garage door opener.
Inspect all the parts while the opener is off
Check over all the parts of the garage door and opener assembly to ensure that nothing is loose, damaged or missing. At this point, you don't want to tighten anything up or make repairs unless there are obvious signs, such as a loose screw or a missing bolt. Take note of where you think there may be a problem so you know where to watch while the garage door opener is working in the next step.
Watch, look and listen while the opener is working
Operate the garage door opener and watch all the moving parts while paying close attention to those areas you found in the previous step. For example, if you notice a loose bolt in the previous step, check that bolt to see if it's producing a sound while the garage door is opening or closing. Check the opener to see if it's vibrating and producing noise.
After you've checked over the potential problems, focus your attention to other parts that appeared normal or in good condition during your initial inspection. You'll be looking for obvious signs that a part is loose or damaged by the way the parts move while the garage door opener is moving. For example, a roller may look perfectly normal when the garage door opener is idle, but the roller may clank around when the assembly is moving.
Banish the noise makers for good
Now that you have a good idea of what needs attention, disconnect the electric from the garage door opener. That way, you won't get injured in case a family member tries to open or close the garage door while your hands are in the assembly.
If you've determined that the opener is the thing that is making the racket, you can stabilize the opener by framing it in or by installing a garage door vibration isolation kit. If you've determined that the door itself is the noisy culprit, you can try to install soundproofing materials to the garage door to try to keep it from rattling and making noise.
Tighten and/or lubricate the parts that you identified as the potential problems. Be careful to add only a few drops of the lubricant and follow the manufacturer's directions. After you've done that, reconnect the electric and start the garage door opener again to see if the noise is reduced. Continue going through the steps until you've found and resolved as many problems as possible by tightening and lubricating the parts and stabilizing the opener.
If the garage door is still noisy, it may be a good idea to install noise-reducing insulation in your garage walls and ceiling. If you find parts that are damaged and in need of repair or replacement, hire a garage door service to do the work for you instead of trying to do it yourself.
If you cannot locate the problems that are causing the noise, hire a garage door service like AR-BE Garage Doors and Openers to do a thorough inspection. If the technician cannot locate the problem, you may want to consider replacing the entire system.
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