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Garage Door Won't Close? Check the Sensors First

A door that goes up fine but won't come down is one of the most common calls, and often one of the cheapest fixes. Durham Garage Door Repair Pros can send help if these checks don't work.

Start with the two little sensors near the floor.

Call (919) 555-0136or use the form for a call back

Hand wiping the lens of a garage door safety sensor mounted a few inches above a concrete floor, with a small green indicator light on the sensor

Match the Symptom

Door opens, then refuses to close and the opener light blinks

The sensors can't see each other

Door starts down, then goes back up

Something in the beam, or the door is binding

Door closes only if you hold the wall button down

Almost certainly the sensors

Door reverses right before it touches the floor

Travel limit set wrong or the door binds

Door closes, but the remote does nothing

A remote or lock button issue, not the sensors

What the Sensors Do

Every opener made in the last few decades has a pair of safety sensors, also called photo eyes, about six inches above the floor on each side of the door. One sends an invisible beam and the other receives it.

If anything breaks the beam while the door is closing, the opener stops and reverses. That's what keeps the door from coming down on a child, a pet or a car hood. It's a feature you want working.

Checks You Can Safely Do

  1. Clear the path. Move recycling bins, bikes, boxes and anything near the floor by the tracks.
  2. Clean the lenses. Wipe both with a soft cloth. In Durham, spring pollen and summer cobwebs are the usual culprits.
  3. Check the lights. Most sensors have a small light on each side. Both should glow steady. A dim or blinking light means they're out of line.
  4. Aim them. If a sensor got bumped, loosen its wing nut, point it at the other one until the light goes solid, and snug it back.
  5. Look at the wires. A wire chewed by a mouse or nicked by a weed trimmer near the floor will kill the signal.
  6. Try the wall button test. Hold the wall button down the whole way. If the door closes that way, the sensors are your problem.

Bright low sun shining straight into one sensor can also confuse it late in the day. Some homeowners solve that with a small shade over the receiving sensor.

When It Isn't the Sensors

If the sensors check out, the door may be binding as it comes down. A bent track, worn rollers or a tight spot makes the opener think it hit something, so it reverses.

The wrong fix is turning the opener's force way up.

That hides the real problem and can stop the door from reversing when it should. A technician fixes the binding first, then resets the force and travel limits. See rollers and hinges for the usual cause.

Wiring failures, a bad logic board or sensors that are simply worn out are also things a technician can sort out quickly. If your opener is old, read opener repair before spending much on it.

Don't Leave It Broken

Some people bypass the sensors or just hold the button every time. Please don't. The auto reverse is the main safety feature on a garage door.

If the checks above don't fix it, send the form or call (919) 555-0136. A remote that quit is a different problem, covered on the remotes and keypads page.

Call (919) 555-0136