Even 007 would have to troubleshoot the keypad if the garage door to MI6 won’t open

Thirty years ago, a keypad at the door was something you expected to see a secret agent use when entering their inner sanctum. Now, when entering your North Chicago garage, you use that keypad with hardly a thought. It’s second nature.

The day may come, however, when you’ll enter your secret code into the keypad, push the button to raise the door, and nothing will happen.

After a pause while you wait for your North Chicago garage door to do its thing, you suddenly realize it’s not responding. So you enter your passcode again, press the button, again, and wait, again. And, again, nothing happens.

How many times will you enter your passcode into your garage door keypad before you accept the reality that it’s not working and not going to work? That probably depends on the individual. Some will stubbornly try half a dozen times. Others, after three or four tries, will accept reality.

Accepting reality, however, doesn’t mean regressing back to the Dark Ages before keypads (or when keypads were used to keep people out of top-secret facilities). It means that the keypad needs to be fixed so that it will work again. That means troubleshooting to figure out what the problem is.

Troubleshooting goes beyond trying your passcode again and again. It includes the following steps:

• Replace the battery in the keypad. This is the first place to start and the easiest solution. Put a new battery in and give it a try. If that works, easy-peasy.
• Check the wiring inside the keypad. Are all the wires connected? Are they in good condition? If not, a fairly simple repair should have your keypad back in working order before you know it.
• Clean the keypad. Blow some compressed air inside the keypad. Consider cleaning the connections where the wires are secured. Wipe down the numbers on the keypad.
• Reset the PIN number on your keypad (if you punched your numbers in too many times, the garage door may have stopped working because you’ve done so too often).
• Reboot your garage door opener. This is a bit like starting over. You’re giving yourself a clean slate.

If none of these solutions have worked, it’s possible that you need a new keypad. If you can handle the installation yourself, you can pick up a new keypad at a box store. However, if you want a better quality keypad, you may want to go to a garage door supplier or bring in a garage door technician. 

That garage door technician can also help with troubleshooting, if you need their assistance. In any case, you’ll have that James Bond confidence back again the next time you use your keypad to open your North Chicago garage door.

Maintenance is critical to garage door longevity and reliability but beware of scams

The garage door and garage door opener are two mechanical components around the house that consistently come up short in terms of timely maintenance. If you maintain them properly, it will save you time, money and aggravation in the long run. But beware of scam artists who use your garage door and garage door opener to work their way into your pocketbook.

Proper garage door and garage door maintenance usually involves making some adjustments and applying proper lubricants in the right places and in the appropriate quantities. Con artists, however, may try to convince you that you need to spend money for repairs your garage door and garage door opener don’t need.

• One scam involves overstating the experience and expertise of a company that offers to perform maintenance, repairs or replacement of your garage door and/or garage door opener. Will they make the right adjustments and make them appropriately? Will they lubricate properly? Will they overestimate the need for replacement of parts, possibly including major components? You need to ensure that your garage door technician is actually a qualified professional who will do the job right and give you the benefit of actual experience and training.
• Another scam involves offering a Lifetime Warranty when that warranty may not be worth the paper it’s written on. It may turn out that the warranty only covers parts, or certain parts. Or it may turn out that, when you need to use the warranty, the company that installed your garage door or garage door opener has vanished into the wind and you’re left holding the bag.
• Another scam is selling you things you don’t need. Are the components of your garage door really worn out or do they just need some adjustment and lubrication? You’re probably not an expert on garage door and garage door opener maintenance and repair. How are you to know if the parts are really worn out as badly as they indicated?

The best way to protect yourself from garage door and garage door opener scams is to do some research on the company you’re thinking to hire. And, if you have any doubts about what they’re telling you, don’t hesitate to get another opinion. A quality garage door technician will understand and appreciate your caution. If they don’t like the idea, there’s probably a good reason and an equally good reason for you to toss their number in the garbage.