# You can't always tell which spring or opener is on the wall. A photo narrows it down.

Source: https://garagedoorscience.com/academy/show-homeowners-what-you-see/name-the-spring-or-opener-from-a-photo · part of [Show homeowners what you see, keep your crew sharp, and get found](https://garagedoorscience.com/academy/show-homeowners-what-you-see) · 5 min

A customer calls: there was a bang and the door will not open. Your tech arrives, and the spring on the wall is not one you carry. Knowing what is up there before anyone orders saves a second trip. A photo can tell you some of it, and this lesson is about which part.

It is about naming the part, not replacing it. DASMA, the door makers' trade group, says replacement of springs on garage doors should only be performed by a trained door systems technician. Nothing in this lesson is a step in that work.

## What a photo can show

- **Torsion or extension.** Clopay, a door maker, says torsion springs sit above the door on a metal shaft, and extension springs run parallel to the tracks on either side.
- **The wind.** DASMA's terminology sheet uses red for left side, right wound, and black for right side, left wound. IDC Spring, a spring maker, says that color is on the winding cones and cable drums on most springs.
- **The paint mark.** DASMA's color chart pairs each torsion wire size with a color, but the colors repeat: red alone marks five wire sizes. So a paint mark gives you a short list of sizes, never the size.
- **A break.** Clopay says the most obvious sign is a visible break or gap in the spring itself.

## What a photo cannot show

The inside diameter, the length and the door's weight are not in a picture, and a photo cannot tell you how much life is left. DASMA says color coding provides only partial identification. Between them, DASMA, IDC Spring and Clopay say that to choose or order a spring you need its length, diameter, wire size and wind, and the door's weight.

So treat the photo as the first read. Your technician measures before anyone orders.

## Openers too

Photograph the label on the motor head, close enough to read the model number, and the check reads the brand, the model and the color of the learn button.

## Reading the result

Every result says how sure the check is: high, medium or low. A low read names no wind, no wire sizes, no brand and no model, and it is shown to you but not saved, so a guess never sits in the job record. A read the check is sure of is saved with your job note, where your company's team can see it and no other company can. Each photo uses one check from your company's monthly allowance.

## Try this

Open [Spring and opener ID](/developers/team/springs) and check a photo of a spring or an opener you already know, so you can see how the result reads before you rely on it on a job. The app needs you signed in, on a company team whose plan includes it. If you are signed out, the link opens the sign in page, and once you are in it takes you straight to Spring and opener ID.

## Go further

- Lab: [The Science of Garage Door Springs](https://garagedoorscience.com/labs/science-of-garage-door-springs)
- Video: [Spring Safety · Intro](https://garagedoorscience.com/videos/spring-safety-intro)
- Article: [Torsion spring wire gauge chart: what to tell a technician](https://garagedoorscience.com/blog/torsion-spring-wire-gauge-chart)
- Article: [The torsion shaft assembly: what it is, what it does, and where the danger lives](https://garagedoorscience.com/blog/torsion-shaft-assembly-explained)

## Sources

- [TDS 160, Sectional Garage Door Terminology](https://www.dasma.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/TDS160-Sectional-Garage-Door-Terminology.pdf)
- [TDS 171, Official Color Codes for Torsion and Extension Springs](https://www.dasma.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/TDS171.pdf)
- [How to Measure Garage Door Torsion Springs](https://idcspring.com/resources/articles/measure-order-torsion-springs/)
- [Garage Door Spring Systems: A Buying Guide for Homeowners](https://www.clopaydoor.com/residential/buyingguide/garage-door-spring-system)