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Troubleshooting Your Commercial Door: Why It's Not Closing Right & When to Call an Expert
A faulty garage door can really throw a wrench into your daily routine. As a business owner, facility manager, or maintenance professional, you’ll want your commercial door back in working order quickly. When your door won’t close correctly, one of your major entry points is exposed, which can jeopardize your building’s security, create energy inefficiencies, and disrupt your normal flow of operations.
These are a few common reasons why your commercial garage door isn’t closing and how to fix the problem.
How to safely troubleshoot your commercial door.
The International Door Association (IDA) encourages you to look and listen when troubleshooting your commercial door. First, check around the door and tracks for any obstruction that could be blocking movement.Examine your Guides for any damage or excessive wear. Then inspect your end locks on the curtain to make sure they are intact on the slats, non-damaged, and not showing any undo wear. Next, listen for any odd noises, like loud scraping and grinding, which could point to misalignment or mechanical problems.
Common reasons why your commercial door isn’t closing.
Dirty or misaligned photo eyes: Commercial garage doors are equipped with photo eyes to prevent them from closing if something is in the way. These photo eyes are located on either side of the door. Spider webs, dust, or other debris can cover the sensor lens, which can be cleaned with a clean, dry cloth. To check if your sensors are misaligned, look for a blinking LED. This means that the light beams are not aligned and the sensors are not in sync. One sensor will always display an LED light, but the receiving sensor will only be on if it is lined up with the beam from the sending sensor.
Issues with safety edges and other entrapment devices: If you suspect an issue with your safety edges or entrapment device, you’ll want to contact your local dealer. Because these issues can be complex, it’s best to call in a professional.
Low spring tension: Your commercial garage door comes standard with enclosed factory-lubricated springs, which eliminates the need for routine maintenance and extends the life of your door. However, after some time, the door springs may stretch or relax, which can make your door harder to open. If you have a door that’s a few years old, you may need to reapply tension to the unit.
Troubleshooting for your commercial garage door
Clean and realign sensors: Start by wiping your sensors to remove cobwebs, dirt, and debris with a clean, dry cloth. If the sensors are misaligned, you can loosen the wingnut on the receiving sensor and move it around until the LED light glows steadily. Once you’re aligned, tighten the wing nut. If this doesn't work, there could be an issue with the wiring. Make a call to a local Cookson door technician.
Adjust your spring tension: If your door is manual or if you have a chain hoist and it’s easy to open but hard to close, spring tension is probably too high. If you push up on your door and it’s hard to open and easy to close, or if you hear your motor struggling, then your spring tension is too low and may need to be adjusted. It's important to have a commercial garage door technician determine what’s causing the problem and make the proper adjustments. Always leave rollup door spring adjustment to the professionals since torsion springs are under extremely high pressure and can be dangerous if they snap.
When to call a professional garage door tech.
You can troubleshoot some commercial door problems on your own, but most issues require a trained commercial garage door technician. If you encounter mechanical or wiring problems, spring tension issues, or if you’re not sure what might be causing the issue, it’s always recommended to contact a trained professional.
Your commercial garage door is key to keeping your business running. You’ll need to address issues quickly to make sure that your garage door is safe and reliable. If you need more help, or if you're unsure of how to resolve the issue, reach out to a Cookson garage door specialist to get your door back in working condition. To keep your door running at its best and reduce downtime, set up a preventive maintenance plan.
