WHY CHOOSE US
Our experience and price guarantee is only exceeded by our commitment to delivering the best customer service in the industry 7 days a week.
» Garage Door Motor Repair
Garage Door Motor Repair
Garage Door Motor Repair (& Replacement)
Garage door motor repair is a serious issue that requires the attention of a professional technician. It is very important to find a reliable garage door repair service in order to get your motor problem solved, but it can be hard to know who to trust. Our group has been fixing and repairing all kinds of garage door motors for over 28 years and we have never had an unhappy customer. We are experts at what we do, so you don’t need to worry about anything when you call us for a garage door motor repair!
One of the first things we ask our customers when they call us, is what make and model is your garage door motor!. This helps us diagnose any issues before coming out to your home. Garage doors are complicated – there are many moving parts that all need to work in unison to lift, open or close the garage door safely. Garage Door Motors are a common point of failure as they have a lot of moving parts which means more potential for things to go wrong.
How to check if your garage door motor is broken!
There are many ways to check if your garage door motor is still working in your garage.
- The first thing we would recommend is confirming there is power to the motor. As funny as this sounds we have had many instances where a circuit on the fuse board has flicked, and/or the GPO in the ceiling has been switched off.
- As 99% of people use a remote control to open and close the garage door, it is important to confirm if the batteries of the remote control are flat. To do this you need to press the manual button at the back of the garage door motor.
At this point, three things will happen –
- The garage door will go up and down which confirms the batteries to the remote controls are flat, You can simply get some new batteries and get the remote controls working again. If the remote controls still don’t work after receiving new batteries, we would then diagnose that the garage door motor and remote controls are not communicating and will need recoding. Recoding is quite tricky and if not done correctly can lead to further problems so we would recommend calling our garage door repair service.
See our Garage Door Repair Services!
- The motor tries to move, but makes a jamming noise for approximately 3 seconds. This indicates that the garage door is locked or jammed tight and the motor does not have the strength to lift the door. This can be a sign that the springs or cables are potentially damaged and not doing their job as engineered. If the motor makes a jamming noise this is usually a good sign that the motor is still working. To confirm the motor is still working pull the safety release (rope) cord and try again. If the motor can move the chain or belt, then your motor is looking good for reuse! If the motor still makes the jamming noise this is a sign the sprocket which drives the chain or belt has potentially worn out or the motor has seized. This would be a sign that your garage door motor needs to be replaced.
- Nothing happens. If this is the case, don’t panic yet, we would recommend plugging another electrical device into the GPO and confirming that there is power. If there is no power from the GPO in the ceiling, we would recommend going and checking your metre box where your circuit breakers are and checking for any blown fuses. If there is power from the GPO in the ceiling, this is a guaranteed sign that the garage door motor is definitely broken.
Why a Garage Door Motor Stops Working!
Most people don’t realise the garage door motor does not actually do the lion’s share of lifting the garage door. Most garage door motors are engineered to lift between 20 to 50 kg of weight. The garage door Torsion Springs do most of the heavy lifting. If the garage door springs have not been serviced and tightened every 12 to 24 months (as recommended by the manufacturer), this ends up putting additional stress on the motor, which eventually stop working.
You can test to see if your garage door springs are working effectively by releasing the safety release cord on the chain or belt and then manually lifting the garage door from the centre. As the bottom of the door reaches the halfway mark, the door should feel quite light. If the door feels heavy, this is a sign that the springs are too loose and the motor is doing too much work. If your Springs do need tightening do not under any circumstance try and tighten yourself as you will need proper certified tools and training.
The garage door cables is another area that is not operating as designed can cause the motor to blow or seize or stop working. The steel cables are wound-up on a cable drum and the cable drum is connected to a torsion bar (tensioned by the springs). On the torsion bar are the torsion springs which do the heavy lifting. Hence if the cables are broken or have come off the cable drum they can become entangled and jam the motor.
If you have been using your garage door a lot on a hot day, this may also be a reason why the garage door motor fails to work. 90% of garage door motors have a thermal switch that will shut the motor off if it gets too hot. The solution for this is fairly easy, leave the motor for 45 minutes and let it cool down and try again.
How to Choose a Garage Door Replacement Motor!
There are four types of garage door motors available on the market. It is important to understand the differences as they are all designed and engineered for specific purposes. By understanding the different types of products in the marketplace, this will help you select the right garage door replacement motor.
Types of Garage Door motors –
- Roller Door Motors
- Sectional Garage Door Motors
- Tilta-Door Motors
- Commercial Door Motors
How to Choose the Best Garage Door Motor!
Selecting an appropriate garage door motor is unfortunately a daunting task. Every manufacturer and brand will say their motor is the best. Below are the key points we educate our clients on to ensure they get the best possible garage door motor.
- Do you live in a high wind or cyclonic area!
- Will your garage door motor be exposed to the climate or elements such as sun, wind or rain!
- Is your garage door motor for a single door or double door opening!
- Will the motor be lifting an excessively tall garage door (ie over 3m height)!
- Do you or would you require battery backup or safety beams!
- Do you need a motor that can be controlled from your smartphone while at work!
- Is noise (decibel rating) from the motor a concern!
Can the parts in the Garage Door Motor be replaced!
This is a common question we often receive from our new customers. We have thousands of second-hand spare parts that could theoretically be reinstalled into a broken garage door motor, however, this would more than likely void the warranty, and will not guarantee the problem may not appear again! An example that we see quite commonly is a worn out or broken sprocket which is the section that sits on top of the motor that drives the chain or belt. This could be replaced, but for us to take this back to the office, repair and recondition the motor would be more costly than installing a new motor.
How much does it cost to fix a garage door motor?
Replacing a Garage Door Motor is a technical job for a garage door technician. It involves removing the old Garage Door Motor, disconnecting it from the gears and motor housing, fitting a new Garage Door Motor and testing it to ensure it’s working as expected. All garage door motor replacements include our 25 point service.
In our eyes, it would be a complete waste of your money installing a brand new garage door motor if every part on the garage door was not inspected, serviced and repaired. This will ensure many-many years of uninterrupted use with your new garage door motor. If everything works on the garage door, the garage door motor is operating under optimal conditions ensuring the best chance of mechanical logjevity.
Garage Door Motors are fitted with different voltages so if you have a garage door that was made before the year 2000 it is very likely you have a 12 volt Motor. Garage Door Motors are still available in 12v for older Garage Doors but these are becoming more uncommon. Most new garage door motors now operate on 24 volts via a 240-volt transformer.
Garage Door Motor Costs!
The Garage Door Motor itself is not going to be especially expensive, it might cost around $330 to $850 (not installed) The main expense comes from labour. Garage Door Motors and the control arm which houses the drive belt are fairly bulky and require two technicians (ideally) to ensure the Garage Door Motor is in place. A fully installed new garage door motor with a new control arm fully connected with 3 new remote controls will range from $520 to $850 pending the quality and specifications.
As you would appreciate the clearest sign of a quality motor is the warranty offered and reputation.
Dynasty Garage Doors number one recommended motor is the Merlin brand as it is –
- The largest manufacturer of garage door motors
- Offers an industry-leading warranty
- Offers compatibility with smartphone apps, beam sensors & backup batteries
Notwithstanding we can sell and install any brand of garage door motor. We can also install a motor you have bought directly from Bunnings/Local Hardware store or the internet.
How Long Does it Take to Replace a Garage Door Motor!
It should take around 40 minutes (best case) for Garage Door Technicians to replace your Garage Door Motor – Some Garage Doors are very difficult to work on and will take longer if we are working in a confined space or access to the motor hanging area is limited. We have had situations in the past where there is an old vehicle under restoration that couldn’t be removed. A job like this took over 2 hours.
Is it cheaper to repair or replace a garage door opener?
You may think that you will be saving money by repairing your garage door opener, but in reality a new one could end up being even cheaper. The biggest problem we have in repairing an old brand motor is the parts and then the labour to open it up, install the part, put it back together and then deliver it back on site and reinstall. A repair could easily be a 6-week process (allowing for part delivery) compared to a full garage door motor replacement which is a 1-day process.
The inconvenience alone would not be worth it, plus most older generation spare parts are very hard to get hold of. Replacing the old motor with a newer and better quality product not only offers smartphone compatibility options and battery backup but have up to 7-year manufacturer warranties. If you have the motor and door service with our group, we will extend selected brand warranties out to 10 years.
Because garage door Technicians are not qualified Electricians we are limited in the type of repair work that we could do on a broken garage door motor. If you were to employ the services of an electrician for example to add a circuit board or new electronics, the call-out fees usually start at $170 and would make the repair unviable by the time you pay for the part(s) (probably another $150) which may have to be flown into the state. An entire cheap import brand motor (not installed) could be bought for this price.
Can I just replace the garage door motor?
We recommend that you replace the entire opener when installing a new garage door. This includes mounting hardware, rails and wireless remote devices- so don’t try reusing anything from your old unit! All our prices include a garage door motor, remote controls, control arm, drive belt or chain.
How long does a garage door opener last?
Your garage door opener should last about ten to fifteen years on average, but it’s important to not let your opener run too long without maintenance. Remember—it’s an average! Some openers may go longer or shorter depending upon the type of material used in their construction as well as other factors such as climate conditions where they reside (on-site). Keeping up with regular service can help increase their lifespan significantly so make sure you request when scheduling any future appointments for safety reasons and longevity.
Is it hard to change a garage door opener?
Installing a garage door opener is not as challenging or a difficult task that can be completed in less than two hours with the right tools. The most difficult job will be ensuring the brackets are situated in recommended manufacturer distance to allow the garage door to come up parallel with the ceiling. If the garage door motor is installed too close to the door, the door will not be 100% open hence reducing the height allowable for vehicles. The other difficult part is setting the travel limits and force settings and encoding the remote controls into the motor. On occasions even we have had to call the technical branch of the manufacturer for assistance due to the complexity of coding and setting travel limits. In some cases we have had to custom design steel brackets to suit the ceiling support structure inside the roof to ensure the motor is secure. Other times we have had to have the GPO in the ceiling repositioned by an electrician as it is in the way of the ideal location fot the motor. We would estimate two people DIY garage door motor installation ( brand new to the job) would easily take 3 hours. Even if you were to DIY yourself there is no guarantee that the motor is operating smoothly as cables and torsion springs might have to be reset. to balance the movement of the garage door.
©2020 | Dynasty Garage Doors