A garage door that suddenly refuses to close can be frustrating—especially when you’re trying to leave for work, secure your home for the night, or get a vehicle out of the garage.
The good news is that not every garage door problem requires a service call. There are several simple things homeowners can safely check themselves before calling a garage door technician.
Here are seven of the most common reasons a garage door won’t close and what you can do about them.
1. Check the Garage Door Photo Eyes
If your garage door starts to close and then immediately reverses, the safety photo eyes are one of the first things to check.
Photo eyes are the small sensors located near the bottom of the garage door tracks. One sensor sends an infrared beam across the opening to the other. If that beam is interrupted—or the sensors aren’t properly aligned—the garage door opener may prevent the door from closing.
Look for:
- An object blocking the opening
- Dirt, dust, or cobwebs covering a sensor
- A sensor that has been bumped out of alignment
- A loose or damaged wire
- An indicator light that is blinking or isn’t illuminated
Gently clean the lenses and make sure both sensors are pointed directly toward one another.
Safety note: Never bypass, remove, or permanently disable your garage door’s safety sensors.
2. Look for Something Blocking the Door or Track
It doesn’t take much to keep a garage door from closing properly.
Check the floor, tracks, and area around the door for objects such as tools, toys, gravel, leaves, or other debris.
Also look at the vertical tracks on both sides of the door. A bent track or obstruction can cause the door to bind as it travels.
If the track is visibly damaged, don’t try to straighten it while the door is under tension. That’s a good time to call a professional.
3. Check Whether a Garage Door Spring Is Broken
Garage door springs do much of the actual work required to lift the weight of the door.
A broken spring can cause the door to become extremely heavy, prevent the opener from lifting it, or cause the door to operate unevenly.
Depending on the type of spring system, you may notice:
- A visible gap in a torsion spring above the door
- A loud bang that came from the garage
- A door that suddenly feels extremely heavy
- An opener that runs but struggles to move the door
- A door that lifts only a few inches and stops
Garage door springs are under significant tension and should not be repaired or replaced by an untrained homeowner.
If you suspect a broken spring, stop operating the door and have it inspected.
4. Look at the Cables
Garage door cables work with the spring system to raise and lower the door.
If a cable has come off a drum, become damaged, or broken, the door may sit crooked or bind in the tracks.
You might notice one side of the door is higher than the other or see a loose cable near the track.
Don’t attempt to reinstall or adjust a garage door cable yourself. The cables are part of the door’s counterbalance system and can be under substantial tension.
5. Check the Garage Door Opener
Sometimes the problem isn’t the door at all—it’s the opener.
Try operating the door using the wall control rather than the remote.
If the wall button works but the remote doesn’t, the problem may simply be the remote battery or programming.
If the opener runs but the door doesn’t move, there may be an issue with the opener’s drive system or the connection between the opener and the door.
You should also check whether the opener has power and whether a breaker or GFCI outlet has tripped.
6. The Door May Be Binding or Out of Balance
A properly operating garage door should travel relatively smoothly.
If the door jerks, becomes crooked, stops at the same point every time, or seems unusually heavy, there may be a problem with the tracks, rollers, hinges, cables, or spring system.
Continuing to operate a door that is binding can turn a relatively small repair into a larger one.
It can also put unnecessary strain on the garage door opener.
7. The Opener’s Travel or Safety Settings May Need Attention
Garage door openers are designed to stop or reverse if they detect an obstruction.
If the opener’s travel limits or force settings are incorrect, the opener may interpret normal resistance as an obstruction and reverse the door.
However, these settings are part of the garage door’s safety system. Adjusting force settings simply to make a problem disappear can create an unsafe condition.
If you’ve checked for obvious obstructions and sensor problems but the door continues to reverse, it’s better to determine why the door is encountering resistance.
What Can You Safely Check Yourself?
Homeowners can usually safely:
- Clean and inspect the photo eyes
- Remove objects or debris around the door
- Check the opener’s power supply
- Replace remote-control batteries
- Visually inspect the springs, cables, rollers, and tracks for obvious damage
Repairs involving springs, cables, bottom brackets, or other components under tension should be left to a trained garage door technician.
When Should You Stop Using the Garage Door?
Stop operating the door if you notice a broken spring, loose or broken cable, crooked door, damaged track, or a door that feels unusually heavy.
Continuing to run the opener can cause additional damage and, more importantly, can create a safety hazard.
If the door is stuck open and you cannot safely secure your garage, let the service company know when you call. A door stuck open is more urgent than a routine repair.
Garage Door Service in Charleston, Teays Valley, Huntington and Ashland
Our technicians service garage doors, springs, cables, rollers, tracks, openers and other common residential garage door components.
If you’ve gone through the simple checks above and your garage door still won’t close properly, call Garage Door Operators at 304-757-8182 to schedule service.
Garage Door Operators, Inc.
WV Contractor’s License WV003611