Loud Breaking Noise
Many signs of broken garage door springs exist. One of the most alarming noises you can hear is the unmistakable sound of a torsion or extension garage door spring breaking in your garage. It can be best described as sounding like a shotgun going off. The best way to determine that your garage door spring has broken is hearing the loud noise. Springs often break during night hours, alarming most homeowners. If you hear a loud noise coming from your garage , it would be prudent to check your garage door springs for damage. Extension springs may not make as loud of a noise as torsion springs, but can still be alarming.
Spring Coil Separation
Extension and torsion springs break at an estimated 10,000 cycles. If you hear a loud noise similar to a shotgun going off you should check the coils on your spring. Torsion and extension springs are composed of coils . When springs break they split into two separate pieces with a gap between the coils. If you see two disconnected pieces of spring (gap between them) you have a broken spring. Extension springs are similar, but they can actually break violently since they are not mounted on a shaft. Extension springs should always have a safety cable running through the inside diameter of the spring.
Opener Not Working
Garage door springs do the majority of the work in lifting an overhead door. Most spring systems pull a minimum of 80% of the door weight. If you press your opener and the door won’t raise all the way up you likely have a stripped gear or broken torsion spring. Garage door openers are not designed to lift the full weight of the garage door. They simply start and stop the process of door cycle around the radius of your horizontal track. Using your garage door opener repeatedly with a broken spring puts a lot of stress on your motor. Only use your garage door opener for emergency opening and closing.
Door Stuck Closed
Since garage door springs are designed to balance out the weight of your door a broken spring will making raising the door difficult. If you disconnect your garage door opener by pulling the red release cord and can’t raise your door by lifting you may have broken garage door springs. Most garage doors weigh between 100lbs- 200lbs based on size and material. If your spring breaks you may need to deadlift the full weight of the door. The best solution is to call a qualified repair technician or attempt to install new torsion springs by yourself. If you need to get a vehicle out of your garage you might need the help of a few strong neighbors to help pick up your garage door. Always be sure to clamp off the door or stick a screwdriver in the track so your door doesn’t slam to the garage and damage the bottom section.