Garage door won’t close? Start with the sensors.
If your garage door won’t close, or closes and then goes back up, the cause is usually the safety sensors near the floor: wipe both lenses, make sure nothing is in the beam, and line them up until both lights are steady. If the door is crooked, a cable is loose or you heard a bang, don’t force it down. Call a technician, and lock the house door into the garage until it is fixed.
A door that won’t close leaves the house open, so this is the call we get most at night. The good news: most of the time it is the safety sensors, and you can fix that yourself in a few minutes.
1. Check the safety sensors (the usual cause)
Two small “eyes” sit on the track a few inches above the floor and shine a beam across the opening. If the beam is broken, the opener won’t close the door, or reverses it.
- Look at the lights. Both should be lit and steady. A dark or blinking light means the sensors can’t see each other.
- Clear the beam. Move bins, bikes, leaves, spider webs, even a hose. Anything in the path stops the door.
- Wipe both lenses with a soft dry cloth.
- Line them up. Loosen the wing nut, aim the sensor straight at the other one until its light goes steady, then tighten.
- Low sun? Late-afternoon sun shining into a sensor can blind it. If the problem only happens at one time of day, that’s the likely cause; a sensor shade or swapping the two sides fixes it.
- Wires. Check for a chewed, stapled-through or unplugged wire running up to the opener.
2. Other causes, from easy to serious
| What you see | Likely cause | Who fixes it |
|---|---|---|
| Closes, then goes back up just as it touches the floor | Close limit or force setting, or a high spot in the floor | A quick adjustment; part of an opener visit ($120 – $250 if parts are needed) |
| Remote doesn’t close it, wall button does | Remote battery or the wall button’s lock mode | You: new battery, turn off lock |
| Opener runs but the door doesn’t move | Trolley disengaged (red cord pulled) or a stripped gear | Re-engage the trolley; a stripped gear is a repair ($120 – $250) |
| Door stops partway, crooked or scraping | Bent track or a roller out of the track | Technician ($150 – $300). Don’t force it |
| Loose cable, one side lower than the other | Frayed or snapped lift cable | Technician ($150 – $250). Leave it where it is |
| Heard a bang, door very heavy or won’t move | Broken spring | Technician. See spring replacement cost |
| Bottom freezes to the floor in winter | Ice under the weather seal | You: chip the ice, keep the floor dry |
3. How to close it safely tonight
- If the sensors are the problem: press and hold the wall button until the door is fully down. Most openers allow this override while the button is held. Watch the door the whole way.
- If the opener won’t run: with the door straight and both cables tight, pull the red emergency release and lower the door slowly by hand. Use the inside slide lock if it has one.
- If the door is crooked, a cable is loose or a spring is broken: don’t try to close it. Keep everyone clear, lock the door between the garage and the house, and call. We can make the door secure tonight even when a part has to wait for morning.
When to stop and call
Call or text (910) 760-1466 any time if the door is off its track, hanging crooked, has a loose cable, or still won’t close after the sensor checks. Send a photo or a short video and we can often tell you on the phone whether it is safe to use. We cover Wake Forest, Franklinton and Youngsville, Raleigh, Durham and the rest of the Triangle, 24/7 through our emergency line. Door won’t open instead? See garage door won’t open.
Door still won’t close? We answer 24/7.
Call or text JC’s line. You’ll get a real person, honest advice on what to do right now, and a truck on the way.