The last thing you want to hear when you’re rushing out the house is an aggressive beeping coming from your garage door motor. Although this can be frustrating, it is often an easy fix. Here are some reasons why your door may be beeping, how to fix it, and what you can do to prevent issues in the future.
Why is my Garage Door Motor Beeping?
Your Garage Motor may beep depending on the model if one or more of the following is true:
1. A Safety Sensor Issue is Present
Your garage door may have safety sensors, the beeping in these cases typically indicates, that your garage door’s moving path is obstructed. If your sensors are misaligned, your garage door motor may also beep. If your door has safety sensors, they will emit a beam that has to be unbroken for the door to close completely. If these sensors are misaligned or something is blocking the beam, your motor may make a noise to indicate the obstruction.
These sensors can also become covered with dirt over time. Cobwebs, dust, and grime can impede the sensor and cause beeping. You can gently clean them with a soft, dry cloth. In less likely cases, the sensor may be damaged. If the sensor is not emitting a proper signal, the garage door motor may beep to indicate an issue.
2.The Battery levels
Most modern garage door motors are standard with a backup battery to ensure continuation during power outages. When power is interrupted due to loadshedding or other factors, the motor switches to the backup followed by a number of beeps to indicate the switchover. The motor should revert back to normal once your power is back on.
Many garage door motors will begin to beep if the internal battery level of the motor drops below a certain percentage. In this case, confirm that your garage door’s battery is the issue by checking if it is receiving an external charging source but not charging or not charging past a certain percent.
How do I Make the Beeping Stop in These Cases?
In this case you can replace the battery of your garage motor and the beeping should stop once the new battery reaches a sufficiently high charge level. typically garage door motor batteries have a life span between two to three years, as such its important to keep their life span in mind the next time beeping starts the time between battery replacements could give you a quick answer in future.
If the beeping persists, you should consult your garage door motor’s manual. Each motor is unique and will have recommended actions you should consider before resorting to more extreme and expensive measures.
When all else fails how do I make the Beeping Stop?
Assuming you have established the following:
- The power supply is working normally
- The battery is charging normally
- Sensor obstruction or sensor misalignment is not an issue
Things become slightly more complicated, as its possible the beeping may be as a result of an error code on the motor being triggered. Alternatively, like so many in South Africa if you have a backup battery for your garage door this beeping may suggest that that backup battery is no longer supplying the main unity with sufficient power.
This can be tricky to detect if your main battery runs off your backup as the problem may seem to be the main battery, but the backup is no longer supplying the main battery with enough charge. At this point it becomes impractical for some to identify the problem and take appropriate measures to address the beeping.
Should you reach this point it is best to call a professional to have your garage motor looked at. After all this if the beeping is a major problem, its typically possible to unplug the unit’s battery from the power source and switch over to manual control till repairs are complete.
3. Opener Issues
Certain garage doors may have overload protection standard with them. If there is a significant amount of resistance against the door when it opens or closes, the garage door motor may beep and stop the door to prevent any further damage to the unit or door. In the odd occasion, your garage door remote may be incorrectly programmed.
Your garage door opener may beep if it has been incorrectly programmed. We recommend contacting a professional to ensure the system is properly reprogrammed. As it goes with every mechanical device, garage door openers and many of its other components have a lifespan.
If your opener is older than 10 years and is still beeping despite all the above troubleshooting, then it may be near the end of its functional lifespan. In this case, you should consult a professional to conduct repairs or source replacement parts.
Preventative Maintenance
If beeping garage door motors are a recurring issue in your life, then here is a list of considerations and maintenance tips you can implement to reduce the chance of future beeping episodes:
- Test your safety sensors every month by breaking the beam intentionally. Test it while the door is opening and closing to ensure a comprehensive check.
- Frequently check your sensors for cleanliness and alignment. Feel free to wipe them down with a cloth. We recommend using a microfibre.
- As per the manufacturer’s suggestion, replace the battery in your garage door motor every few cycles. Batteries naturally degrade over time and therefore need to be frequently replaced to maximise their efficacy, especially if you live in South Africa where it may be used more often than you might like.
- You can also change the batteries in your garage door remote. Whether you notice a decrease in responsiveness or a beeping from the remote, it is good practice to change them at least once a year.
- Hire a qualified technician to conduct annual or period inspections on your garage door. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. By having your door inspected annually you can catch any potential issues before they become a more expensive problem for you and your home.