The power blinks off right when you are ready to head out the door for work. You always park your car safely in the garage, but without electricity, you’re stuck. The good news is you can disengage your garage door and open it and close it manually. However, when the lights turn back on, you’ll need to know how to get the door and the motor reconnected.
It’s true, there are a few differences between each brand and model, but whether you have a Liftmaster, Craftsman, or Genie the process is pretty consistent.
Step 1: Ensure the Door is Closed Completely
A garage door is a heavy and dangerous piece of machinery. Before you pull the emergency release handle, make certain the door is fully closed and nobody is nearby. You don’t want it to come crashing down or worse, falling on someone or something.
Step 2: Find the Emergency Release Handle
The red or orange cord hanging from the top of the garage on the track is an emergency release handle. Every garage door has a version of this feature. In most cases, you will either pull the cord straight down or down and back to disengage the garage door from the opener. When the door is disengaged, you can raise and lower it manually as often as necessary.
Step 3: Safely Open and Shut the Door
Be careful as you open or close it. Don’t allow your fingers to get caught in moving sections of the door. Use the designated handles in the center or near the bottom of the door. Make sure it is properly opened as you back out your car or exit the garage door.
Step 4: Re-engage the Door
When the electricity is restored, you will need to re-engage the door before the opener can operate again. Re-engaging varies by model and type, but you will want to use the emergency release cord to drag the trolley back to the appropriate position. You might need to pull straight down or down at an angle to attach it correctly.
The door won’t automatically re-engage after pulling the emergency release cord so you might need to open the door manually more than once.
When you hit the wall button for the opener, it should re-engage the door and operate on the motor once again. If it doesn’t, continue to move the emergency release cord until the brackets lock into the opener system.
Are you still having trouble opening your garage door or re-engaging the system? Give us a call at Sunwest Garage Door at (714) 528-5670.
