How to Re-Attach Your Automatic Garage Door Opener

When you open your garage manually, the door can sometimes detach from the trolley on the carriage. Don’t worry, it’s one of our most popular service questions. This can happen if the power goes out during operation or other system malfunctions occur with the garage door or the opener.

Fortunately, the solution is quite simple in most cases. The first thing to check is that the power is back on so that after you re-attach the door to the opener you can test your work. If possible, try to shut the garage door so nothing comes crashing down during the repair. 

Emergency garage door opener

Now you’re ready to re-attach the door in four easy steps:

  1. First, you need you to make sure the garage door is open. You’ll have to do this manually since it isn’t attached to the operator.
  2. Just pull the red cord straight down to disengage the door from the opener. Once that’s done, you can move the whole door back manually. These aren’t very heavy and it’s not too difficult to do – just make sure there isn’t anyone in the way. Remember safety first!
  3. Once the door is all the way up, pull the red cord at an angle. You’ll hear a *click*. This means the door is secured in place and should be attached to the opener once again.
  4. Now, push the button for the operator, i.e., the button that opens your garage door. The trolley will move by itself and connect back to the door. You’ll see the two align and fit into place.

That’s it! It’s that simple. Go ahead and push the button again, just to make sure everything works again. The two should be synced up and ready to go.

Common times for automatic door detachments

Power outages are the most common times when this happens. What happens is that the trolley will continue opening or closing at the time of the outage, and may become disconnected with the door. It also happens when people manually open or close the garage door, should the operator be off for any reason.

It’s also possible there may be an issue with the garage door or the opener. You’ll want to make sure the door is closed (if possible) while investigating any possible issues with the door or opener. Because one thing you don’t want to happen is the garage door crashing down while inspecting the tracks, sensors, or torsion spring.

If there are issues with the torsion spring or the garage door itself, call Ponderosa Garage Doors. Trying to fix or replace a torsion spring can be very difficult and may be doing more harm than good. In fact, if there is a problem with any part of the door, give us a call. Garage doors are very heavy and one false move could be disastrous.

Even if the garage door opener is the culprit, you’ll still want to make sure the door is closed. If you’re handy with tools, you may be able to do a little investigating yourself. Just make sure to take the appropriate precautions, such as having someone steady the ladder while you take a look. 

Now that you know how to properly disengage the opener from the garage door and safely inspect the situation, you should be able to fix the simple stuff. After all, garage doors are simple in nature – they can run into problems but they’re typically not too difficult to repair.

If there are problems that are too much to handle on your own, or if you have any questions, give us a call at (503) 730-0444. We’ve been operating in the Portland/Vancouver area since 2003 and know garage doors inside and out. Contact us today – we look forward to hearing from you!