Power Outages in Plano, TX

A garage door opener is hanging from the ceiling

We have all felt the pains of experiencing the harsh inconveniences that non-automatic garage doors give us. Especially in bad weather, wishing that all we would need is a simple click of a button to open up our garage door. On the other hand, automatic garage doors will likely never go back to a manually opening door. It makes us appreciate the conveniences that an automatic garage door offers, when on the flip-side when we may lose power, it’s highly important to understand some simple tips on how to open a garage door manually in case you need to get out for work or some other emergency.

A person is holding a red screwdriver in their hand.

Going into manual mode

Essentially, all garage door openers have what’s called a bypass switch for certain situations such as power outages, or even if a remote opener dies. On almost every door there will be a long rope that hangs that has a red handle on the end. This is called the emergency release cord. This manual release cord disengages the trolley from the attachment point to the rail. Pulling this will now put the garage into manual mode so if the door is up, it might come crashing down. For safety precautions, always disengage to trigger the handle when the door is closed.

Staying in manual mode

The emergency release cord controls the spring attachment in the trolley. If the opener motor is malfunctioning or the power will be out for a long period of time, then you may have to stay in manual mode. Then you want to continually open the garage door in the manual state, it’s always important to pull the red rope down and towards the back of the garage so you can avoid it getting caught in the tracks.

Going back to automatic mode

You will likely want to take full advantage of the conveniences of an automatic door after the power restores in your home. To re-engage the trolley attachment, pull down on the cord towards the garage opening to keep the lever from engaging. This time you will have to pull up on the door until it snaps into place and you’re back in the automatic mode.

Taking precautions

If you find that there may be damage to a cable or the door opens unevenly, make sure to contact us here at Plano Overhead Garage Door to have one of our Garage Door Experts out to your area in no time. Springs and other garage features can be dangerous to work with and doing a DIY project could result in irreversible damage. Our Technicians have the tools and experience at their disposal to repair your garage door opener safely and efficiently.

By Nick McGregor , General Manager of Plano Overhead Garage Door

Tags: Disengage Garage Door Opener , Easy to Use Emergency Release Cord in Plano, TX , How Lift Garage Door , Opening Garage Doors in Case of Power Outages in Plano, TX , Your Red Opener Cord in Plano, TX