Garage Door Won't Close? 7 Causes and Safe Checks
A blocked or misaligned safety sensor is the most common reason a garage door won't close. A dead remote battery, a lock button or a close limit set wrong come next. Clear the opening, wipe and line up the sensors, then try the wall button. Coastside Garage Door repairs openers on the San Mateo coast from $75.
Call (650) 777-8776.
Safe checks to try first
- Clear the opening. Move bins, boxes, brooms and anything hanging near the floor out from between the door tracks.
- Look at the two safety sensors about six inches off the floor. On most openers each has a small light: if one is off or blinking, the beam is blocked or out of line.
- Wipe both sensor lenses with a soft cloth, then turn the brackets by hand until both lights are steady.
- Shade a sensor that faces low morning or evening sun and try again.
- Check the wall control for a lock or vacation button that is switched on.
- Put a fresh battery in the remote and try it from inside the garage.
- Look along both tracks for rocks, leaves or tools in the channel and lift out loose debris by hand.
Stop and call when a spring has a gap in the coil, a cable is loose or off its drum, the door hangs crooked, or a track is bent. Those parts hold the door's full weight.
Call (650) 777-8776A snapped spring or a loose cable holds the door's full weight. Leave it closed and call us.
Call (650) 777-8776Why won't my garage door close when nothing is in the way?
The safety sensors are the most common reason. They send an invisible beam across the opening, and the opener won't close the door while that beam is broken or the two sensors are out of line. A cobweb, a dirty lens, a bumped bracket or direct sun on one sensor is enough. If the lights stay off after cleaning and lining them up, the low-voltage wire between the sensors and the opener may be damaged or corroded at a terminal, which is common in damp coastal garages. That is an opener repair, starting from $75.
Why does my garage door close and then go back up?
When the sensors are clear and the door still reverses near the floor, the opener thinks it has hit something. Three settings and parts cause that:
- The close limit is set too short or too long, so the opener expects the floor in the wrong place.
- The close force is set too low for the door's weight.
- The rubber seal along the bottom of the door has stiffened, swollen or shifted and drags on the floor.
The limit and force settings sit on the opener head, and the steps differ by model, so follow your opener's manual. A door that reverses even after those settings are right needs a look at the opener, the rollers and the balance. Run the reverse test after any change: a door should reverse when it touches a 1.5-inch board laid flat on the floor.
Why does it only close when I hold the wall button?
Holding the wall button down overrides the safety sensors on many openers, so a door that closes only that way almost always has a sensor problem. Go back to the sensor checks above. Don't leave the door working this way, and never remove or bypass the sensors: they are the part that keeps the door from closing on a person, a pet or a car.
Why won't the remote close the door?
If the wall button works and the remote doesn't, start with the remote's battery. Then check that the lock or vacation mode on the wall control is off, since it blocks every remote. If the remote still does nothing, reprogram it to the opener using the learn button on the opener head and your manual. When neither the remote nor the wall button works, the problem is in the opener itself, often the logic board or the receiver.
How do I close the door when the power is out?
Pull the red emergency release cord to disconnect the door from the opener, then lower the door by hand and lock it with the manual lock if it has one. Before you pull the cord on an open door, check the spring above it: if a spring is broken, the door can drop as soon as it is released. If the door feels very heavy, leave it where it is and call. When the power is back, run the opener and it reconnects on the next cycle.
When is a door that won't close a repair?
Stop and call when the door hangs crooked, makes a loud bang, has a loose or frayed cable, or binds at the same spot in a bent track. Springs and cables hold the full weight of the door, and they aren't homeowner repairs. Broken springs are replaced on our spring replacement service, starting from $200 for one torsion spring.
Call a professional for spring replacement. We can typically replace springs the same day in Pacifica and have your door operating again within an hour.
A frayed cable or a cable off its drum can let the door drop without warning. Keep people and cars clear of it until it is fixed. Cable repair, or setting a door back on its track, starts from $160. See snapped cable or door off track.
Contact us for a same-day cable repair appointment. Cable replacement is one of the faster repairs we perform, usually completed in under an hour.
What these repairs cost
| Job | From | What's included |
|---|---|---|
| Service call and diagnosis | from$85 | A visit, a diagnosis and the exact price for the repair before any work starts. What can raise the price: A second door or an opener checked on the same visit, distance down the coast. |
| Opener repair | from$75 | Diagnosis and repair of one opener fault, such as sensors, a remote or travel limits. What can raise the price: A failed board or motor instead of a sensor, brand-specific parts. |
| Cable repair or door back on track | from$160 | A snapped or slack cable replaced, or the door set back on its track, then a balance test. What can raise the price: Both cables, a bent track section, a spring that failed with the cable. |
| Torsion spring replacement | from$200 | One torsion spring fitted and the door balanced. What can raise the price: Two springs, a heavy or oversized door, high-cycle or galvanized springs. |
The seven causes at a glance
- Blocked or misaligned safety sensors: a homeowner check.
- Damaged or corroded sensor wiring: an opener repair.
- A dead remote battery or the lock mode on the wall control: a homeowner check.
- Close limit or close force set wrong: an adjustment in the opener manual, or an opener repair.
- A worn or swollen bottom seal: a part replacement.
- Debris in a track, or a bent track: clear loose debris yourself, but a bent track is a repair.
- A broken spring or a snapped cable: a repair, every time.
Common questions
Can I bypass my garage door safety sensors?
No. Federal rules in force from 1993 require automatic garage door openers sold in the US to reverse when something is in the door's path, and the sensors are how most openers do it. Line them up or have the wiring repaired instead. Source: U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, 16 CFR Part 1211.
Why is one sensor light blinking?
On most openers a blinking or dark sensor light means the beam between the two sensors is blocked or out of line. Clear the path, clean both lenses and turn the brackets until both lights are steady. If the light stays off, the sensor or its wire may need replacing.
How much does it cost to fix a garage door that won't close?
A service call starts from $85 and covers the visit and the diagnosis. An opener repair starts from $75, cable repair from $160 and one torsion spring from $200. You hear the exact price before any work starts.
Call (650) 777-8776.
Published by Coastside Garage Door
Door still stuck open?
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Service call from $85 · opener repair from $75