Garage Door Will Not Close: The Six Usual Causes
A garage door that will not close is most often a photo eye safety sensor problem: misaligned sensors, a blocked beam, sun glare, or a damaged wire. Other causes are a travel limit set wrong, an obstruction in the track, worn rollers, or a down force setting that is too low.
Start with the sensors, because it is usually the sensors
Two photo eyes sit near the floor on each side of the opening, about six inches up. One sends an infrared beam and the other receives it. Break the beam and the door will not close.
Check, in this order:
Is anything in the way? A bin, a bike, a garden hose, a leaf caught in the bracket. It takes very little.
Are the lenses dirty? Cobwebs and dust are enough. Wipe both with a dry cloth.
Are they aligned? Each sensor has an indicator light. On most brands, a steady light on both means aligned; a flickering or off light on one means they are not pointing at each other. They knock out of alignment easily, often by something bumping the bracket.
Is the sun on them? Direct low sun into the receiving lens washes out the beam. If the fault is time of day dependent, this is why.
Are the wires intact? The wire runs along the wall at floor level, which is exactly where it gets caught, stapled through, or chewed. Look for damage.
Realigning sensors is a five minute job. If you are being quoted an opener replacement for a door that reverses on closing, ask what the sensors were found to be doing.
The other five causes
Down travel limit set wrong. If the limit tells the door to travel further than the floor allows, the opener meets resistance and reads it as an obstruction. Adjustable on the opener itself.
Down force set too low. The opener has a force setting for how hard it may push. Set too low, an ordinary bit of friction stops it. Set too high, it becomes dangerous, so this is worth getting right rather than simply turning up.
Obstruction in the track. A bent section of track, a loose bracket, or debris. The door will usually stop at the same point every time, which is the clue.
Worn or seized rollers. A roller that will not turn drags. On the way down, gravity is helping, so this shows up as a door that goes down roughly and stops.
The door is out of balance. A door with tired springs is heavier than the opener expects. On the way down it can gather speed and trip the safety limit.
The test that tells you which
Pull the manual release and move the door by hand, slowly, through its whole travel.
Smooth all the way, stays where you leave it: the door is fine, so it is the opener, the sensors or the settings.
Rough at one point: you have found the obstruction or the bad roller.
Wants to fall or fly up: the spring balance is wrong, and that is the root cause.
What each fix costs
| Cause | Typical fix |
|---|---|
| Sensor alignment or cleaning | Often part of a $95 tune-up |
| Sensor replacement | $75 to $200 |
| Limit and force adjustment | Part of a tune-up |
| Roller replacement, full set | $100 to $250 |
| Track repair | $150 to $400 |
| Spring rebalance or replacement | $170 to $400 |
Related questions
Why does my garage door close then immediately reopen?
Almost always the safety sensors or the down travel limit. The opener thinks it hit something. If the sensors are clean and aligned, the limit is probably set so the door presses into the floor and the opener reads that as an obstruction.
Can I close the door if the sensors are broken?
Most openers let you close by holding the wall button down continuously, which overrides the sensors. Use it once to secure the garage, not as a permanent arrangement. The sensors exist because doors have killed children.
Why does it only happen in the afternoon?
Direct sunlight hitting a photo eye lens can wash out the beam. If your problem is time of day dependent and your garage faces west, that is very likely the cause. A small shade over the sensor fixes it.