The ins and outs of fixing your garage door opener

Don’t get stuck outside. If your garage-door opener or remote isn’t working properly, follow these tips.

Having your garage door remote malfunction can be a major inconvenience. To ensure you don't have to be left in the cold to open the door manually, here are some quick tips.

Weak or dead batteries are the most common cause of remote control issues so it’s good to always use quality batteries. With the environment in mind, it’s also a great idea to use rechargeable batteries. This will save you money over time.

If your contacts look worn, dirty, damp or discoloured, this could affect the efficiency of the electrical current of your batteries. This can be easily fixed by polishing the contacts with fine-grade sandpaper or a 400-grit, fine steel wool.

On every remote, there’s an eye — a light that turns on when your device is operating properly. This eye allows the infra-red signal to pass through the remote and onto the receiver inside the garage. If the eye is dirty, wipe it off using a damp cloth. On the other hand, if the eye area is badly scratched or damaged, you may need to get a new remote.

Often, all you need to do is reset the circuit boards in both the remote control and the receiver. Resetting is simple. Just remove the batteries inside the remote, and unplug the receiver from the wall socket inside the garage for one minute.

Finally, if all else fails, seek the advice of a garage-door specialist.

Please note that if your garage-door remote/opener is too far away from the receiver inside the garage, your device won’t work.