Signs of Faulty or Broken Garage Door Springs

We all expect our garage doors to work when we want them to. If you open and close your garage door 4 or 5 times a day, you can expect something serious to go wrong in between 5 and 10 years. When something does go wrong, it is often the garage door springs that cause the problem. Most garage doors operate using one of two types of spring; there are the torsion spring system and the extension spring system. Broken springs should only be repaired by suitably qualified garage door professionals. Problems with your garage door springs will show themselves in different ways.

Common Signs of a Broken Torsion Spring System

1) The door does not fully open

When you have broken garage door springs, to avoid further damage, the door opener force sensitivity system kicks in and stops it from hitting the motor.

2) The door’s top section is dented

Garage doors can weigh up to about 300 lbs. If there is no door sensitivity system, the motor keeps trying to pull the door open. If the door is too heavy, something will give, and it is usually the top door section.
3) You see a gap in the spring

A torsion spring system has one or two tightly wound springs over the top of the door. When one of these springs breaks it partially unwinds, and leaves a visible gap.
4) You hear a loud bang

A lot of energy is released when a spring breaks. That energy converts to noise. Many people hear a bang, and look to see if something hit the house. They see nothing obvious, and do not check to see if they have any broken garage door springs.
5) The door falls too quickly

You might not notice that the door opened slowly, but you notice how quickly it closes. It does that because one of the springs is no longer working, so the whole of the door’s weight is being controlled by one spring.

Common Signs of a Broken Extension Spring System

1) Door movement is jerky
This is common with an extension spring system. There will be one extension spring on each side of the door, so when one breaks the door is not being controlled on that side.

2) The door’s movement is crooked
This is also common. Because one side has no support, and the drive mechanism operates on the door’s center, the movement becomes crooked.

3) You notice a cable, or something, hanging down from the door
Broken extension springs can fall out and hang down. If you see something wrong, it is probably one of these snapped springs.

If you have a faulty or broken spring, it must be repaired professionally, so contact All Pro Door Repair.