Garage Door Sprocket Not Turning

Getting out of the car at the end of a long day to open the garage door can be frustrating especially when the automatic garage door opener sounds like it s working but isn t.

Garage door sprocket not turning.

The plastic gear on the drive shaft is designed to fail if the garage door gets stuck in the travel tracks protecting the expensive drive motor from damage. This speed reduction system also increases the motor torque at the sprocket so that a relatively small motor can easily pull the chain and move the garage door up and down. The most common issue that occurs is when the ridges in the gear wear out because the gear lubrication has evaporated. Shredded plastic gears are a common problem with chain driven garage door openers.

Having an automatic door opener in your garage is a great convenience but you have to give the opener and all its parts regular. As a result of the worn gear the sprocket cannot turn the chain and the door will not open nor close. There are a number of reasons why the motor will run but the chain doesn t move. How to fix a chain drive garage door when it won t open.

If the gear is worn or damaged the door won t move properly. Maybe it is as simple as a gfi or circuit breaker flipping. So if you suddenly find that the motor on your garage door opener sounds like it s running but the door is not moving checking for worn gears is the first thing you should do. However if you hear the motor turning skip to step 5.

Inside the garage door opener there is going to be a gear reduction system to adapt the motor speed to the chain sprocket speed. This turns the chain and moves the door. If the light does not come on then check the power by plugging a light or fan into the socket. Fortunately the repair is neither difficult nor expensive and it should only take an hour of your time.