Why won't my garage door open?

[tahlians]

I'm sure my electric opener is old...was there when I purchased the house. I've replaced the batteries in the remote which helped for awhile, but now the garage door will not open at all. Even by the opener inside the garage. Also, I was told if you pull the little rope/handle down inside the garage, you can open it manually. Wrong. It does nothing. Can anyone tell me what I'm doing wrong?? Or what I need to do? (Other than hiring someone to look at it, which I can't afford to do).

Thank you!!!! :)

[pgtek]

could be the motor.
I would have it check to be sure.
cheers

pg

[LI Tom]

If you cant lift the door when you pull the red cord you may have a broken spring.

Depending on what kind of spring system you have, extension (springs are on each side of the door extending from the back to the front), or torsion, (the spring is mounted above the door with a tube running from side to side.

Extension springs are relativly easy to replace if you follow directions and have the correct springs.

Torsion springs are more involved and ONLY a qualified repair person should attempt to repair these.