Why is my high-speed door not working?

A high-speed door that stopped this morning is usually telling you one of a few things. Here is how to read what the door is doing, what staff can safely check, and when to take it out of service and call.

What makes a high-speed door different

A high-speed door opens and closes many times faster than a sectional or rolling steel door, most often with a flexible fabric or vinyl curtain. It runs on a motor, a brake and a control panel, and it depends on its safety devices on every cycle: photo eyes across the opening, a reversing edge on the bottom bar, and the motion sensors, pull cords, push buttons or floor loops that tell it to open. Many are built to take a hit, with a bottom bar or curtain that breaks away from the side columns instead of bending. So when a high-speed door stops working, the cause is just as often a sensor, a setting or a knocked-out curtain as a broken part.

Start with what the door is doing

• Nothing happens at all. No power, a tripped breaker or blown fuse, the main disconnect switched off, or a stop button left pressed in. Albany's high-speed door manual lists power off, the main switch off and an open stop circuit as the first causes of a door that does not function.
• It opens but will not close. Something is blocking a photo eye, a photo eye is dirty or out of line, or an activator is stuck on. Albany lists a photocell that is interrupted or disconnected and an open signal that stays on as the causes of a door that does not close.
• It starts to close, then goes back up. A photo eye beam is broken, or the reversing edge on the bottom bar touched something or has a fault. That is the safety system doing its job.
• It stopped after a forklift or cart hit it. The curtain or bottom bar was knocked out of the side columns, and the door stopped on purpose. Many doors are designed to be put back in their tracks.
• It runs slow, hesitates or stops partway. A limit setting has drifted, the drive or brake is wearing, or the motor is overheating. Rytec's owner's manual says a normal run should speed up and then slow down, and treats a change in speed from one cycle to the next as a warning sign.
• It does not open when someone walks or drives up. The motion sensor, pull cord, push button or floor loop is not sending the signal, or it was knocked out of aim.
• The control panel shows a fault code. Write the code down. Each brand has its own codes, and the code tells the technician where to start.

Why high-speed doors stop working

• Power and controls. A tripped breaker, a blown fuse in the control box, the disconnect turned off, or a stop button pushed in.
• Photo eyes. Dust, frost, spray or a cobweb on the lens, or an eye bumped out of line. On Rytec's PredaDoor, a green light on the transmitter means it has power and a yellow light on the receiver means the pair is lined up.
• The reversing edge and bottom bar. A damaged edge, a pinched or stretched coil cord, or a loose wire in the bottom bar can keep the door from closing.
• A curtain knocked out of its tracks. After an impact, the panel comes out of the side columns and the door stops until it is put back.
• Activation devices. A motion sensor aimed at passing traffic can keep the door open, and one aimed too high or too low can miss the forklift it is meant to see.
• The drive, brake and motor. A worn brake, a stretched belt or chain, or a motor shut down by its thermal switch after running too hard. Albany's manual notes that a thermal switch cuts power to the drive when it overheats.
• Limits. The open and close limits tell the door where to stop. When they drift, the door may stop short, leave a gap at the floor or hit the top.
• Worn fabric and seals. A torn curtain or a worn bottom seal can catch in the side columns or keep the door from sealing.

What you can safely check

1. Check that the door has power: the breaker, the disconnect switch and any stop button on the panel.
2. Look along the opening for anything in the photo eye beams, such as a pallet, a cart, a hose or packed snow.
3. Wipe the photo eye lenses with a clean, soft cloth, and check the lights on each eye if your door has them.
4. Look at the bottom bar and the curtain. Is the curtain still in both side columns? Is the reversing edge torn or hanging?
5. Test each activator, such as the motion sensor, the pull cord and the push button, one at a time.
6. Write down any fault code and what the door was doing when it stopped.

If the curtain came out of its tracks, check your door's manual before you touch it. Some doors put the curtain back on their own when you run them fully open, and some need a technician to feed it back in. Do not pull the curtain back by hand while the door has power.

When to call a professional

Rytec's manual says to take the door out of service right away, and lock out its power, if any of its systems are not working properly. Albany's manual says only trained people should repair a high-speed door, with the power off and locked at the main switch. Call for service when:

• the door will not reverse when something is in its path;
• it makes grinding, whining or loud motor noise;
• the fabric is torn, a side column is bent, or the bottom bar is damaged;
• it stopped after a hit and does not go back into service the way the manual describes;
• the same fault code keeps coming back after a reset.

Do not keep resetting a door that keeps faulting, and do not drive through a door that is partly closed. Put up a sign so everyone using the opening knows the door is out of service.

Keeping a high-speed door running

Rytec's owner's manual asks for a short check every day: look over the curtain, the side columns, the bottom bar and the seals, run the door through at least three cycles from each activator, break each photo eye beam while the door closes to make sure it reverses, and clean dirty lenses. Then a deeper check every quarter. A door that runs hundreds of times a day wears faster than any other door in the building, so it belongs on a commercial maintenance plan with your other doors.

Common questions

Why won't my high-speed door close?

Most often something is breaking a photo eye beam, a photo eye is dirty or out of line, or an activator such as a motion sensor is stuck sending an open signal. Clear the opening, clean the lenses and test each activator. If it still stays open, call for service.

Can automatic doors like a high-speed door be opened manually?

Many can. Albany's UltraSecure door, for example, opens by hand during a power outage when you release the brake with a lever on the side column. The method depends on the brand, so follow your door's manual, and never release a brake on a door you have not been shown how to use.

How do I reset a high-speed door?

It depends on the brand. Many doors clear a fault once the cause is fixed and the door is run fully open from the control panel. If the same fault comes back, the reset is not the fix, and a technician should find the cause.

Can a high-speed door be fixed after a forklift hits it?

Usually. Many have a bottom bar or curtain that breaks away instead of bending, and the door goes back into service once the curtain is back in its tracks. When the fabric, a side column or the bottom bar is damaged, those parts are repaired or replaced.

How do you deal with a fast rolling shutter door that suddenly stops working?

Stop using it, keep traffic away from the opening, and work through the safe checks above: power, anything in the beams, the photo eye lenses, the curtain in its tracks and each activator. Write down any fault code. If none of that brings it back, take the door out of service and call.

What do blinking sensor lights on a high-speed door mean?

Each brand uses its own light pattern, so check the manual for your door. On Rytec's PredaDoor, a green light on the transmitter means it has power and a yellow light on the receiver means the pair is lined up. When the receiver's light is out, the pair is usually out of line or without power, and the door will not close until it is fixed.

What is the typical lifespan of an automatic high-speed door?

High-speed doors are rated in cycles, not years. DASMA 403, the industry's specification for these doors, includes cycle-life ratings, so the life of a door depends on how many times a day it runs and how well it is kept up. A door that runs hundreds of times a day reaches its rating far sooner than one that runs a few dozen times, which is why daily checks and regular service matter.

How much does it cost to fix a high-speed door?

It depends on what failed: a photo eye that needs lining up is a small job, while a torn curtain, a bent side column or a drive part costs more. Your estimate is free, and you approve one flat price before any work begins.

How G Brothers helps

G Brothers installs and services high-speed roll-up doors across the Denver metro, including Denver, Lakewood, Aurora, Commerce City and Arvada, on every brand and every operator type. We dispatch 24/7, our average response is about an hour and a half, common parts ride on the truck, we are members of the International Door Association, and we can provide a certificate of insurance, usually within 24 hours. See high-speed door repair and installation and loading dock door repair, read when a high-speed fabric door is the right choice, call (720) 421-6489, or ask for a free estimate.

Sources

• Rytec, PredaDoor NXT and PredaCool Owner's Manual (safety systems, daily inspection and photo eye checks)
• Albany Door Systems (ASSA ABLOY), UltraSecure 3000 Owner's Manual (manual operation, safety devices and troubleshooting)
• DASMA, DASMA 403, the specification for high-speed doors