Your garage door opener is an appliance within your home that you likely do not pay all that much attention to until it stops working. A broken door opener can make it impossible or at the very least much more difficult to access your belongings in your garage, including your vehicle. In order to prevent such a disruption from taking hold, you should pay attention to a few early warning signs that can help identify when you should consider replacing your current opener before it fails.

1. Odd Noises

The first indication that your garage door opener may not be working properly and is nearing failure is if you notice that it makes a number of odd and loud noises while working. Grinding, screeching, and other irregular noises can point to excessive wear on the interior moving parts, including damage to the motor. This is more than an annoying sound: it actually represents excessive or irregular friction, which increases the rate at which these internal parts are worn down and also increases the likeliness of the opener completely giving out at some point in the near future.

2. Opening and Closing Randomly

Another sign of wear and damage to your garage door opener is if it opens or closes on its own, without you touching the keypad or remote. This is a relatively rare problem, but points to damage to the wiring attached to the opener causing the motor to kick into gear without warning. While unlikely to cause damage to the opener, this can be a security concern as it gives anyone passing by access to the interior of your garage.

3. Sporadic Operation

In a related but different train of thought to the above point, your garage door opener may need to be replaced if you notice that it will only respond to your remote or keypad at certain times. Once again, this points to a wiring issue (if dead batteries are not to blame, that is) or a burnt out or struggling motor that is simply unable to continue operating normally.

In some cases, you may find that your garage door opener will only be able to lift the door part of the way up before it stops working - though this can be because of other mechanical issues with the door as well. In any case, getting a professional garage door contractor to inspect your system can help determine and fix the issue quickly.

For more information, contact a company like Guaranteed Door Service.