FAQ

Safety, maintenance, and “how to” tips were provided via State Farm Insurance, The Genie Company, and DASMA (Door and Access Systems Manufacturing Association). Please refer to your owner manual before attempting any adjustments. Access Garage Doors cannot be held liable to any injuries or property damage. We strongly recommend hiring a professional to fix your problem.
Garage Doors and Garage Door Openers Safety Tips

The garage door is usually the heaviest moving item in a house, sometimes weighing as much as 300 to 400 lbs. This creates a safety hazard, especially for children who are smaller and may not be aware of the dangers. most injuries involve fingers and hands caught between the door section as they close. Children and small animals can also be trapped under a closing door.

“At Access Garage Doors your safety is a priority, so all new doors come with Dura-Safe pinch resistant section from the inside and out. All our Electric Openers come equipped with The Protector System safety beam sensors, and an automatic reversing feature”

   1. No one should stand, walk, run under a closing door
   2. Never allow children to play near the garage door
   3. Children must be taught to go for an adult when assistance is needed. *Adults should learn how to use the Emergency Release in case of emergency*
   4. Install garage door button at least 5 feet from ground, and in full view of the garage door.
   5. Never operate a garage door that you cannot see.
   6. If your opener was manufactured after Jan 1, 1993 it should have a reversing feature. Test this feature by allowing the garage door to close onto a 2×4 placed under the door. *If your opener is built prior to Jan 1, 1993, it doesn’t have this reversing feature, consider replacing the opener.
   7. Visually inspect the garage door springs, rollers, pulleys, cables, and track on regular basis. Look for loose or worn parts.
   8. Do not attempt any maintenance around the springs. The springs, their mounting brackets, cables, and other associated hardware are under high tension. If a part were to break or come loose, it could cause serious injuries. An experienced individual should do this work.
   9. The homeowner should be cautious about increasing the closing or opening force on a garage door opener, and should instead continue reading and address the cause of the problem…in other words, sometimes it’s better to use finesse then the proverbial “bigger hammer”!

FAQ

   1. What opener do I need to purchase?
   2. Who should I buy the garage door opener from?
   3. Why do I need an insulated door?
   4. What maintenance should I perform?
   5. If my garage door has 2 springs and one breaks, should I replace both?
   6. My garage door only opens or closes part way then reverses.
   7. I don’t have an access to my garage and the power fails, the opener stopped working, or I left my remote inside. How can I get access inside?
   8. The light bulb on my opener keeps burning out.
   9. How do I program my remote?
  10. How do I program a keyless pad?
  11. The chain on my opener is loose.
  12. How do I use the manual release on the garage door opener?
  13. My door is noisy, struggling, or too heavy to lift.
  14. Why is my opener safety sensors not working or flickering?
  15. Can I replace my own broken spring or cable?
  16. How do I measure for a new door?
  17. How do I program my built-in car home link button to operate my garage door opener?

1. What opener do I need to purchase?

Both openers are built with the same mechanisms. However the belt drive is quieter. When there is a bedroom above or near the garage and noise is a factor a Belt drive would be best. However the chain drive is built tough for continuous strain over years of the garage door openers life.

2. Who should I buy the garage door opener from?

When purchasing an opener from a hardware or retail store it is for “Do it yourself”. With no in home warranty which becomes crucial due to the fact that hardware and retail stores do not offer you a diagnostic or repair warranty which means your obligated to higher a professional. In addition the garage door opener which is bought through a garage door company are built different. Garage door openers come with a solid rail and chain to avoid buckling and bending over time other than the ones you purchase from a hardware or retail store. The average cost of a new opener purchased from a hardware or retail store is between $200 – $300.00.plus $115.00 for installation. The average cost of an opener purchased and installed through a garage door company is $350 – $ 450.

3. Why do I need an insulated door?

There are two factors to why a consumer would consider an insulated door:

   1. The first factor is durability, because of the insulation backing it makes the door more rigid and dent resistant compared to a non insulated door. Making it fell like a solid wood door.
   2. The second factor is energy efficiency in a case where there was a room above or attached to the garage and where the garage temperature is a problem

4. What maintenance should I perform?

   1. Check your cables. Visually inspect the cables that attaches the spring system to the bottom brackets on both sides of the door. If these cables are frayed, worn, or rusted on the bottom brackets, they are in danger of breaking, which can cause injury. *Due to the dangers associated with high spring tension, these cables should be replaced only by a trained technician.
   2. Check your spring. Every so often operate your door manually to make sure that your spring is lifting the door weight properly. A 10 year old child should be able to lift the door easily. Do not attempt any repairs or adjustment to a spring, do not overload turns onto the spring beyond its capability. This work should only be performed by trained technicians.
   3. Check your rollers, track. A noisy door is a problem waiting to happen. Due to the fact that your opener pushes the door not pulls it down, worn out roller bearings, or bent tracks can rewind your opener. Try to lubricate your rollers, if not, they might need to be replaced on the door to preserve your opener.
   4. Perform lubrication. It is recommended that you apply silicone with teflon spray lubricant to your springs, drums, rollers, track, hinges, and opener chain and belt every 6 months. *Do not use heavy grease, for it will harden up and collect dirt and grass which would worsen the door operation. Make sure to clean any grease applied on before.

5. If my garage door has 2 springs and one breaks, should I replace both?

Important tip: Always replace door springs as a set! This may not be obvious to a novice, but it makes sense. If one spring has broken, can the other spring’s demise be far behind? Add that little bit of common sense to the fact that the strength of a spring decreases with use. The use of a new spring with an old spring can cause an imbalance in the door operation. If you have 2 separate doors with one door spring broken, it is highly recommended to also replace the other door spring if it is of the same age as the other broken spring. The breaking of a spring can cause some serious injury when it breaks depending on the door position, and cause damage to your opener.

6. My garage door only opens or closes part way then reverses.

   1. Make sure nothing is catching or is obstructing the travel of the door.
   2. Make sure your safety sensors are working properly.
   3. Operate your door manually to feel any obvious obstructions. Remember the door might feel light when pulled up or down, but because of how an opener pushes the door it is quite different. Look for signs of too much weight, noise, and imbalance in the door.
   4. Do not just increase the travel force on the opener for you are instructing the opener to perform a more difficult job it wasn’t intended to do, you will damage the opener gear or housing.

7. I don’t have an access to my garage and the power fails, the opener stopped working, or I left my remote inside. How can I get access inside?

You are not alone. Many homes have limited access to their garage. When the electricity goes out, the opener decides to fail, or you leave the remote accidentally inside, the garage is as secure as a bank vault. There is a garage door accessory called an emergency release kit. The lock mechanism is installed into a hole on the garage door. When the key is turned the body of lock can be pulled through the hole pulling a cable that is attached to your opener release inside the garage, allowing you to lift your door manually. In case you are locked out and have no emergency key release installed on your door, we can drill a hole in the door and try to “fish” the release on your opener. We then can replace the hole with an emergency key release.

8. The light bulb on my opener keeps burning out.

This normally is due to the fact that your door is shaking causing it to burn out.

9. How do I program my remote?

   1. Dip switch style: Inside the remote is a set of switches normally 1-10 that you can switch into different position. That same set of switches is located on the back of your garage door opener or on a receiver box. just match the setting of each number to match the opener.
   2. Learn code style: If your opener is equipped with a learn code button technology, activate the learn button by pushing it then push the remote button 2 times.

10. How do I program a keyless pad?

   1. Dip switch style: If your opener has a dip switch numbers on the back you more likely will need the original programming instruction of the keyless pad you are programming. In worst cases you can always purchase a new version of keyless pad to operate with an older garage door opener.
   2. Learn code style: most brands follow the same coding instruction. Push the learn code button on the back of the garage door opener then enter your code in to the keyless pad and push “enter” or “learn code” 2 times to accept the code.

11. The chain on my opener is loose.

This may be due to an excessive pull on the opener, or broken chain sprocket. Check to make sure the chain sprocket above the garage door opener is not broken or bent. Test your door manually for any extra weight or drag. Tighten chain. Most opener chain tensioner is located on the chain itself in the form of a locking nut above the garage door opener by tightening the tension screw.

12. How do I use the manual release on the garage door opener?

To release: Most brands require you to pull down the rob and at the same time back or forward depending on the opener model to stay disengaged.

To reattach: Depends on your opener brand pull on the rob once, pull the metal lever up or direct the pin at the end of trolley to go in to position then run the opener till it engages automatically.

13. My door is noisy, struggling, or too heavy to lift.

   1. Your door should be light enough for a 10 year old child to lift easily, if not your springs are worn out. This may cause damage to your opener or sudden spring breakage that can cause injury. Do not attempt any adjustment, this work should only be performed by trained technicians.
   2. Regardless of the age of your door it should work smoothly and quietly. Do the necessary lubrication and do a visual inspection on the rollers, cables and tracks. Because all door components depend on each other your door should not be struggling otherwise YOU WILL DAMAGE THE DOOR & OPENER COMPONENTS.

14. Why is my opener safety sensors not working or flickering?

Your safety beam sensor must be working in order for your garage door opener to operate. If the indicator light on your sensors is off, one or a combination of things can be happening.

   1. Make sure there is nothing obstructing the path between the two sensors.
   2. Check to see if the sensor didn’t get knocked out of alignment, if so then move it around to face the other sensor.
   3. Check for any broken or cut wires from the sensor to the garage door opener.

*Remember you should always see a solid light, the smallest flicker can be enough to reverse your garage door.

15. Can I replace my own broken spring or cable?

The torsion spring is under high tension and requires special tools for adjustment. Because of the high tension, the torsion spring, and any part associated with the counterbalance system, should be adjusted only by a professional. These parts include: the springs, the cable, the corner brackets attached to the cables, the cable drums, and the center bearing brackets that hold the tension spring shaft.

16. How do I measure for a new door?

 Step #1

Measure door opening width and height in feet and inches. This determines the size of door needed. The rough opening should be the same size as the door.

Step #2

Measure for side-room: 3-3/4″ is required on each side for installation of the vertical track for standard extension spring, standard torsion spring and EZ-Set Torsion Spring System T, 5-1/2″ for EZ-Set Extension Spring SystemT.

Step #3

Measure area labelled “headroom” – distance between the top of the door opening (“jamb header”) and the ceiling (or floor joist). 10″ is required for the standard extension spring or EZ-Set Extension Spring System. 12″ is required for standard torsion spring and EZ-Set Torsion Spring SystemT. If you have restricted headroom, special hardware is available. Additional headroom is required for installation of an automatic garage door opener.

NOTE: If door height extends above the opening, the headroom measurement should be adjusted proportionately.

Step #4

Measure area labelled “backroom” – distance is measured from the garage door opening toward the back wall of the garage. Door height plus 18″ is required. Additional back room may be required for installation of an automatic garage door opener.

17. How do I program my built-in car home link button to operate my garage door opener?

   1. Make sure the ignition is on in your vehicle.
   2. Start by erasing any existing code by holding the outside buttons till the indicator light starts to flash.
   3. Position the hand held remote 1-3 inches away from the desired button on your home-link.
   4. Using both hands push and hold the garage door remote and the desired home link buttons at the same time moving your remote closer until the home link indicator goes from flashing slowly to repeatedly.
   5. Locate and push the learn code button on the back of the garage door opener, then return to the vehicle and push the desired home link button again to activate.