Garage Door Won't Close or Goes Back Up?
A door that starts down and then reverses, or won't start down at all, is almost always the opener protecting itself and you. The good news: the most common cause takes a minute to check.
- From $89 — Sensor realignment
- From $89 — Limit reset
- From $175 — New sensor pair
- 3 years — Repair warranty
Check these in order
1. Sensor lights. Each sensor, low on either side of the door, has a small light. If one is off or blinking, that sensor is out of line or its wire is damaged.
2. Something in the way. A broom, a recycling bin, leaves or a spider web in front of a sensor is enough to stop the door.
3. Low sun. Morning or late-afternoon sun shining straight into a sensor can blind it. If the problem only happens at certain hours, that's the clue.
4. Hold the wall button. On most openers, holding the wall button down closes the door even with a sensor problem. Use it only while watching the door, and get the sensors fixed.
5. Does it touch the floor and go back up? That's not the sensors — it's the close limit or force setting, or the door is binding.
Door touches the floor and reverses
The opener thinks the floor is an obstacle. Either the "down" limit is set too far, or the door is meeting resistance on the way down — from a dry roller, a bent track section, or cold grease in winter. Limit recalibration starts at $89, track straightening at $125.
Door stops halfway down
Something in the track is binding, a roller is jammed, or the opener's force setting is too low for the door. If the door also looks crooked or makes a loud noise, stop using it and call — a cable or spring may be the real cause.
What it costs to fix
| Fix | Starting at |
|---|---|
| Safety sensors — realign | $89 |
| Safety sensors — new pair | $175 |
| Travel / limit recalibration | $89 |
| Track straightening | $125 |
| Full set of nylon rollers | $175 |
Garage door won't close questions
Can I just disconnect the safety sensors?
No. Sensors are the reason a closing door reverses instead of landing on a child, a pet or a car. They're required on residential openers in the US, and bypassing them is dangerous.
Why does my garage door only refuse to close in the afternoon?
Sunlight hitting one sensor at a low angle can blind it. Shading the sensor or swapping the sensors from side to side usually solves it.
Why does the door close fine with the remote in winter but not in summer?
Heat and cold change how the door and track move, so the force and limit settings that worked in one season can be wrong in the other. A tune-up ($125) resets them for year-round use.