Garage Door Opener Repair in San Diego

Start with what the opener is doing

Before you check anything, look at the springs from a safe spot. If one is broken, do not run the opener, and never touch the springs, cables or brackets.

• Motor runs, door does not move: a stripped drive gear, a broken trolley, or a trolley left disconnected by the release cord. See opener runs but the door stays.
• Door lifts a few inches and stops: often a broken spring, not the opener. Stop pressing the button.
• Door closes, then reverses: the sensors, the travel limits, the force setting, or a door binding in its track.
• Nothing at all, no lights: the outlet, a tripped breaker, or the logic board.
• Wall button works, remote does not: the remote battery or programming, covered on remotes and keypads.

Gear and sprocket, trolley, chain and belt

On many LiftMaster, Chamberlain and Craftsman chain and belt openers, a nylon drive gear inside the motor head turns the sprocket that moves the chain or belt. After years of lifting, or months of lifting a door that is out of balance, the gear teeth wear away. The motor hums, the door stays put, and fine plastic shavings collect inside the motor head.

We replace the gear and sprocket together, grease them, and set the chain or belt tension. The trolley, the carriage that rides the rail and connects to the door arm, can crack or stop latching; we replace it when it will not re-engage.

We also find out why the gear wore out. A heavy, unbalanced door chews through gears, so we test the balance before the cover goes back on.

Logic board, codes, travel limits and force

The logic board is the control center of the opener: it reads the remotes, the wall button and the sensors, and it runs the motor. Power surges and age are the usual causes of failure. Many newer openers flash a diagnostic code, so we read the code and test before blaming the board; the opener light blinking page lists the common codes. An opener that beeps is usually reporting on its backup battery, covered on opener beeping. Boards are model-specific, and we quote one once we know your model.

Travel limits tell the opener where open and closed are. Set wrong, the door stops short, or presses into the floor and reverses. The force setting decides how hard it pushes before it gives up. Turning the force up to make a sticky door close weakens the safety reverse, so we fix the binding instead.

Safety sensors and the reverse test

Every opener sold in the United States since 1993 must have an entrapment-protection system, almost always a pair of photo-eye safety sensors mounted about six inches off the floor. When the beam is blocked, the door will not close. A blinking sensor LED usually means the eyes are out of line, something is in the beam, or a wire is cut.

We realign, rewire or replace sensors as needed; see safety sensor repair and sensor light blinking. Every opener job ends the same way: we block the beam to confirm the door reverses, then close the door on a board laid flat on the floor to confirm it reverses on contact.

LiftMaster, Chamberlain, Genie and Craftsman

• LiftMaster and Chamberlain are both made by the Chamberlain Group. LiftMaster is sold through professional installers and Chamberlain through retail stores. LiftMaster's wall-mount openers, which turn the torsion shaft directly, have their own page.
• Craftsman openers were made by Chamberlain for Sears, so Chamberlain parts and remotes usually fit.
• Genie is an Overhead Door Corporation brand, with screw, chain and belt drive models and Intellicode rolling-code remotes.

The builder-grade openers that went into 2000s tracts such as 4S Ranch, and the builder chain drives still running in San Marcos, have been working for many years, and gears, boards and sensors are where they give out. If you are not sure what is on your ceiling, our guide to identifying your opener helps.

When a new opener is the better buy

Repair is the right call for a gear, a trolley, a sensor or a setting on an opener that is otherwise sound. Replacement makes more sense when:

• the opener has no safety sensors at all, which means it predates the 1993 rules;
• the logic board and the gear have both failed, or parts are no longer made for the model;
• it is a loud chain drive under a bedroom and you want quiet;
• you want battery backup, which California has required on new openers since July 1, 2019, or control from your phone.

We price both so you can compare. See opener replacement and installation and our guide to repairing or replacing an opener.

Where we do this

We cover all of San Diego County, same day in most cases. Some of the places we work:

• Vista
• Oceanside
• Carlsbad
• Encinitas
• Del Mar
• National City
• Bonita
• Eastlake and Otay Ranch
• University City
• Ocean Beach
• Carmel Mountain Ranch
• Rancho Peñasquitos
• Allied Gardens and Del Cerro
• San Carlos
• All service areas

Related guides

• Repair or Replace Your Garage Door Opener?: When a garage door opener is worth repairing and when to replace it: drive gear, logic board, rolling code, California battery backup law and drive types.
• How to Identify Your Garage Door Opener Brand and Model: Find your garage door opener's brand, model and remote type: where the label is, what the learn button color means, Genie tells and drive types.
• Garage Door Won't Open or Close? A Safe Checklist: Garage door stuck? Safe checks in order: power, wall control lock, remote battery, sensor lights and release cord, plus which symptom needs which repair.