Garage doors can be extremely convenient for homeowners who are looking to provide safety and protection for their cars, belongings, and garage interiors. However, garage door function isn’t always easy or trouble-free, and issues can crop up. Knowing what to do when your garage door won’t open can help to minimize your frustration.
How Does Your Garage Door Work?
Before we can address the issue of your garage door light blinking without opening the door, we must first address how your garage door works. When you push the button on your remote or enter the appropriate code into the garage door entry pad, it will send a code to the receiver unit. This unit is typically positioned on the ceiling of your garage.
As it receives the code from your remote or entry pad, the unit turns on the drive motor. Depending on the type of garage door opener you have, it can use a belt, chain, screw, or direct drive opening system to pull the door into its upward position. If everything works smoothly, you simply hit the remote or enter the right code into the entry pad, and your garage door will open fully. Once you’re inside, you hit the button again, and the door will close securely.
Garage Door Light Blinking
When there’s an issue with the garage door opening system, the light will blink. This built-in alert system is meant to catch your attention and caution you to be safe while assessing what the prospective problem is with your opening unit.
Typically, you can learn more about the potential problem by watching the pattern of the blinking that the light emits. Most garage door manufacturers will set different blinking patterns for different garage door issues. However, the blinking pattern will vary depending on the specific manufacturer of your garage door opener. You should check your manual for the system to determine what the specific blinking pattern you’re experiencing is indicating.
The Locking Feature
Many new garage door openers come with a built-in locking feature to provide more safety for your home. At any point, you can engage this locking feature from the entry pad on your wall. This will prevent any remote synced to your garage door from being able to open it.
This is ideal in cases where you may have lost your garage door remote and don’t want whoever finds it to be able to gain access to your garage. It can also be perfect when you leave on vacation or when your garage door is receiving maintenance service. You can do a quick check on your entry pad to see if this locking feature is on. If so, you’ll want to hold down the unlock button for at least five full seconds to disengage the locking system.
Wiring Issue
Another reason your garage door light may be blinking and not opening the door is faulty wiring. Whenever there’s an issue with the wiring of your remote, entry pad, or the internal wiring of the actual opener, your door will not open. Wiring issues could be caused by a couple of different factors, including improper installation, shorting out, and corroded wiring. If you believe that your garage door opener has a wiring issue, it’s best to call in the professionals for assistance.
Motor Issue
Over time, your garage door opener motor will undergo normal wear and tear. When something breaks inside the motor, the door will not open. Also, if the motor becomes overheated due to overuse, the door will not open. In both of these scenarios, you’ll see a blinking light and no movement of the door. If you’ve already checked to make sure the door is unlocked, you should rely on a garage door professional to assess if your garage door motor has failed or overheated.
Get Repair Service Today
AAA Garage Door and Gates is happy to provide residents throughout the entire Glendale, AZ region with top-quality garage door repair service. Our helpful technician can also assist with all of your garage door, commercial, gate, and EV charging station needs. Simply give us a buzz today, and we’ll get you on the schedule.
