# Garage door won't close or open: what to check

> Photo eyes, locks, opener settings or a broken spring: find what stopped your door, and what to leave alone.

Page: https://www.bluehengaragedoors.com/guides/garage-door-wont-close

## The short answer

If your garage door won't close, start with the photo eyes near the floor. When they're blocked, dirty or out of line, the opener won't close the door from a remote and will only close it while someone holds the wall button down. If the door won't open, look for a broken spring, an engaged manual lock, a released opener trolley or dead remote batteries. If a spring or cable has failed, stop: leave the door where it is and don't run the opener.

## Why won't my garage door close?

Because the opener's safety system thinks something is in the way, and the photo eyes near the floor are the first place to look. Since 1993, openers made for the U.S. have had to include a second safety reversing feature such as photo eyes, the two small sensors facing each other across the opening near the floor. DASMA, the door and opener manufacturers' association, says the beam must sit no higher than six inches off the floor so a small child can't crawl under it.

When the opener can't confirm that sensor is working, it won't close the door from a remote. DASMA explains that the door may then close only with constant pressure on a wall control. So if the door closes only while you hold the button, the eyes are the problem. Holding the button is fine for getting the door down today, as long as you watch it all the way and keep everyone clear.

- Clear the beam. Look for a trash can, a bag, a rake, leaves or a cobweb in the way.
- Clean the lenses. With the door closed, IDA, the International Door Association, says to wipe both photo eyes with a soft, dry cloth.
- Line them up. IDA says to adjust the eyes gently by hand if they look out of alignment; a bracket bumped by a bike or a mower is easy to miss.
- Read the light. Federal rules require photo eyes that need aligning to have a way to show they're aligned and working, such as a visual indicator. The rule doesn't set blink patterns, so your opener's manual explains what your light means.
- Note the sun. The federal standard tests photo eyes against a bright flood lamp aimed at the receiver 15 to 20 degrees off the beam, so if your door balks only when low sun shines into one eye, mention it when you call.
- Test again. Start the door down and wave a broom handle through the beam. DASMA says the door should reverse and go back to fully open.

## Why does my garage door go down and then back up?

Because the opener thinks it hit something. Openers are designed to reverse when a closing door meets an obstruction, so find out whether the obstruction is real. Check the photo eyes first, then the floor, where ice, a stone or a ridge of packed snow under the bottom seal can stop the door short. If it reverses at the same spot on every trip, the door is likely binding on a bent track, a dragging roller or a catching hinge, and the opener backs off when it meets the extra resistance.

If none of that explains it, look at the opener's settings. Travel limits tell the opener where closed is, and the force setting decides how hard it pushes before it gives up. DASMA's guidance is that force should be set to the minimum needed to run the door reliably, that the owner's manual covers the adjustment, and that a trained door systems technician should make it. After any change to force or travel, the federal safety instructions say to retest: the door must reverse on contact with a 2x4 laid flat on the floor. Turning the force up to push past a sticky door defeats the safety system, so fix the sticking instead.

## Why won't my garage door open?

A broken spring, an engaged lock, a disconnected opener, a power problem or a frozen seal can each keep a door shut, and the sound the opener makes points to which. If the motor hums or clicks and the door doesn't move, DASMA's troubleshooting list for motor-operated doors points to a broken spring or a door lock that was never released. Look above the door for a gap in a torsion spring coil, and check whether a lock bar or handle on the door is engaged. DASMA says door locks should be removed or disabled when an opener goes on, so the opener can't damage itself or the door.

If the motor runs and the trolley moves but the door stays put, someone may have pulled the red manual release; your opener's manual shows how to reconnect it. If nothing happens from any control, check that the opener is plugged in and that the outlet has power.

Cold can do it too. Dover averages about 79 days a year with lows at or below freezing, by NOAA's 1991 to 2020 climate normals, and a wet bottom seal can freeze to the slab. Forcing a frozen door can strip the opener's gear or bend the top section, so free the seal first.

## What if the remote or keypad quit but the wall button works?

Then the opener works and the problem is the signal. DASMA's remote troubleshooting guide says many remote problems come down to old or badly installed batteries, so change those first, in the remote and in a wireless keypad if that's what quit. Trying a second remote or the keypad helps tell a dead transmitter from a receiver problem. If your wall button has a lock or vacation setting, make sure it hasn't been switched on; the opener's manual explains what it blocks on your model.

Two other causes are easy to overlook. DASMA says certain LED and compact fluorescent bulbs create enough radio interference to affect the opener's receiver, so think back to any recent bulb change in or near the opener. And near military installations, the Department of Defense's land mobile radio system, operating since 2004, can interfere with garage door remotes; Dover Air Force Base sits about two miles south of the city. DASMA says a new opener probably isn't necessary for that kind of interference, though the remote system may need a retrofit, and in the meantime the wall button and other hard-wired controls still work.

## When should you stop and call instead?

Stop when the trouble is the counterbalance: the springs, cables and bottom brackets that carry the door's weight. DASMA's checklist is blunt. If a spring is broken, don't operate the door until it's replaced, and don't try to remove, repair or adjust springs, cables, brackets or the surfaces they mount to, because they're under high tension. The federal safety instructions warn that weak or broken springs may allow the door to fall rapidly, and the Consumer Product Safety Commission says a severely unbalanced door could unexpectedly crash to the floor.

Running the opener won't get around a broken spring. DASMA notes that openers are designed to move properly balanced doors, so an opener fighting the full weight of the door can strip its drive, kink a cable or drop the door. Unplug the opener so nobody presses the button, keep people and cars clear, and leave the door where it is if you see any of these:

- A loud bang from the garage, then a door that suddenly feels too heavy to lift
- A visible gap in a torsion spring above the door
- The door lifts a few inches and stops, or slams once it passes halfway
- A cable hanging loose, or the door sitting crooked in the opening
- Rollers out of the track, or a track bent or pulled away from the wall

## How do you use the manual release safely?

Use it with the door closed whenever you can. The release is the red handle that disconnects the door from the opener; federal rules require it to be red, and the federal installation instructions put it within reach but at least six feet up, clear of vehicles. The federal safety instructions say to use the release only when the door is closed if possible, and to use caution with the door open, because weak or broken springs may allow the door to fall rapidly.

- Close the door first if it will close. Then pull the red handle to disconnect the door from the opener, and stand clear: DASMA cautions that a door may begin to open unexpectedly when the opener is disengaged.
- Lift by the handles or gripping points, never with your fingers between the sections. DASMA says that's how many homeowners hurt their fingers every year.
- Feel the weight. A balanced door lifts smoothly and stays put about 3 to 4 feet off the floor, per DASMA's homeowner guide. If it's heavy, drops or moves faster than you lift it, lower it carefully and leave the springs to a technician.
- Never walk or reach under a stopped, partly open door. The federal safety instructions put that one in capital letters.
- If the door is stuck open and you suspect a broken spring, don't pull the release to bring it down. Keep everyone out from under it and call.
- Reconnect the door the way your manual describes before you use the opener again.

## Which repair does each symptom point to?

Match what you see to the part that failed. Blue Hen handles every one of these from our office in Dover, across Delaware and Maryland's Eastern Shore.

- Closes only while you hold the button, a blinking or dark sensor light, or reversing short of the floor: opener repair
- A remote or keypad that quit while the wall button works: opener repair
- A hum with no movement, a loud bang, or a gap in a spring: spring repair
- A loose cable or a door hanging crooked: cable repair
- Rollers out of the track, a bent track, or a door that binds at the same spot: off-track repair
- A torn or frozen bottom seal, or daylight under the closed door: seal replacement
- No photo eyes or edge sensor at all: opener installation, since DASMA says an opener without a second safety reversing feature is due for replacement

## Questions

### Why is the light on my garage door sensor blinking?

The light is how the photo eyes report their status. Federal rules require eyes that need aligning to have a way to show they're aligned and working, such as a visual indicator. The rule doesn't define blink patterns, so check your opener's manual for what yours means. The fixes are the same on any opener: clear the beam, wipe both lenses with a soft, dry cloth, line the eyes up by hand, and test the door again.

### Why does my garage door only close when I hold the button down?

Because the opener can't confirm its safety sensor is working. DASMA explains that when an external sensor isn't operating properly, the door can close only with constant pressure on a wall control, not from a remote. If your opener uses photo eyes, check for eyes that are blocked, dirty, out of line or loosely wired. Holding the button gets the door down, but watch it all the way and keep everyone clear.

### Can I open my garage door with a broken spring?

Don't. DASMA's checklist says a door with a broken spring shouldn't be operated until the spring is replaced, and the federal safety instructions warn that weak or broken springs may let a door fall rapidly. Without its spring, the full weight of the door lands on the opener or on whoever lifts it. Leave the door closed, unplug the opener, and call a trained door systems technician.

### Why won't my garage door open when it's cold?

Often the bottom seal has frozen to the slab. Dover averages about 79 days a year with lows at or below freezing, by NOAA's 1991 to 2020 normals. Stop pressing the button, since forcing it can strip the opener's gear or bend the top section. Free the seal with a plastic scraper, clear ice from the bottom of the tracks, and try once more. If it still won't move, or a spring or cable looks wrong, leave it.

## Sources

- [16 CFR Part 1211: federal safety standard for garage door openers](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-16/chapter-II/subchapter-B/part-1211)
- [DASMA safety tips: garage door openers](https://www.dasma.com/safety-tips/garage-door-openers/)
- [DASMA safety tips: garage door systems](https://www.dasma.com/safety-tips/garage-door-systems/)
- [DASMA TDS-369: automated residential garage door FAQ](https://www.dasma.com/wp-content/uploads/pubs/TechDataSheets/OperatorElectronics/TDS369.pdf)
- [DASMA TDS-364: where photo eyes go](https://www.dasma.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/TDS364.pdf)
- [DASMA TDS-374: remote control troubleshooting guide](https://www.dasma.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/TDS374.pdf)
- [DASMA TDS-375: motor-operated door installation concerns](https://www.dasma.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/TDS375.pdf)
- [DASMA TDS-167: door and opener checklist](https://www.dasma.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/TDS167.pdf)
- [DASMA opener safety and maintenance guide](https://www.dasma.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Automatic-Garage-Door-Opener-Safety-Maintenance-Guide-trilingual-3-22-24.pdf)
- [IDA: garage door care and maintenance](https://doors.org/find-a-qualified-professional/care-maintenance/)
- [CPSC Publication 523: garage door opener safety](https://www.cpsc.gov/s3fs-public/garage.pdf)
- [NOAA 1991 to 2020 climate normals: Dover](https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/data/normals-annualseasonal/1991-2020/access/USC00072730.csv)
- [Military OneSource: Dover Air Force Base](https://installations.militaryonesource.mil/in-depth-overview/dover-afb)