A garage door that will not close, or starts down and goes back up, is usually reacting to its safety sensors. Safety: keep the doorway clear and look at the springs. Sensors: an LED off or blinking means the eyes cannot see each other. Sun: low sun in the receiving eye. Path: a bin, a slide bolt left out or a bent track. Lock: the wall console lock.
Likely causes
- Safety sensors blocked, out of line, dirty or blinded by low sun
- Travel or force limits set wrong, so the opener reads the floor as an obstruction
- Something in the path: a bin, a bike tire, a slide bolt left out or a rag under the door
- A bent track or a roller that binds partway down
- A spring that broke while the door was closing
What you are seeing
The door starts down, travels a few feet or most of the way, then stops and goes back up. Or it will not move down at all from the remote, and the opener light may flash, ten times on Chamberlain-made openers when the sensors are the cause.
Sometimes it closes from the wall button but never from the remote. Sometimes it only misbehaves in the late afternoon, which is a clue on its own. Sometimes it will not close all the way and stops a few inches short.
Notice where it turns around. A door that touches the floor and pops back up has a different problem from one that reverses halfway down, and telling us which saves time.
What usually causes it
- The safety sensors. Openers sold in the United States since 1993 must have entrapment protection, and on almost every home that means two photo eyes about six inches off the floor. A bin, a bumped bracket, a cobweb or low sun on the receiving eye breaks the beam, and the door will not close.
- Lock mode. Many wall consoles have a lock button that shuts out the remotes and the keypad, so the door closes from the wall button and nothing else.
- A slide bolt left out. A lock bar left sticking out catches the track on the way down, and the opener reads it as an obstruction.
- Travel and force limits. If the door meets the floor before the opener expects it, the opener reverses.
- A bent track or a spring that breaks mid-close changes the load partway down.
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When it will not close all the way
Where the door stops tells you why.
- Comes most of the way down, then reverses: usually something in the sensor beam, or a slide bolt left out catching the track.
- Stops a few inches short and stays: the down travel limit is set short, sometimes on purpose after the door kept reversing. The gap that leaves is covered on gap at the bottom.
- Touches the floor and pops back up: the down limit is set too far, or a new floor coating or a thicker seal makes the door meet the floor early.
- Stops at the same spot partway down: a bent track or a binding roller at that height.
What you can safely check in two minutes
Keep people and pets out from under the door while you test it, and do not hold the wall button to force a door that keeps reversing until you have looked under it.
- Sensor lights. Each photo eye has an LED. One that is off or blinking usually means the eyes are out of line, the beam is blocked or a wire is cut; sensor light blinking has the colors by brand.
- The beam path. Move anything between the eyes and wipe both lenses with a soft cloth.
- Sun. If it fails only when the sun is low, the receiving eye is being blinded.
- Locks. Check that the slide bolt is pulled all the way back and the lock button on the wall console is off.
- Springs and cables. Look only. A gap in a coil or a slack cable means stop and call.
Which repair fixes it
We start with the sensors because they are the usual answer.
- Sensors out of line, dirty, badly wired or failed: safety sensor repair.
- Travel and force limits, or a logic board fault: opener repair, finished with the safety reverse test using a block of wood laid flat under the door.
- A bent track or a binding roller: off-track repair.
- A spring that broke during the close: spring replacement, with the door balanced before the opener runs again.
- Remotes locked out: no repair needed; turn the lock off. If the remotes still do nothing, see remote not working.
When a repair stops making sense
Sensors and limit settings are small fixes, so this is rarely a replace question. Two exceptions:
- An opener old enough that matching sensors are hard to find, or whose logic board keeps faulting. A new opener comes with new sensors and, in California, the battery backup required on openers sold or installed since July 1, 2019.
- A door whose track is bent so badly, or whose sections are so damaged, that it will not run true even after the track is straightened.
For the opener decision, read repair or replace your garage door opener.
Across San Diego
Sun is a real cause here. A west-facing garage in Pacific Beach or Ocean Beach catches the late afternoon sun low across the driveway, and it can shine straight into a photo eye. Swapping the two eyes side to side usually ends it, with a sun shield where that is not enough.
In San Marcos, plenty of garages still run the builder's chain-drive opener on its original sensors, with the wire stapled along a wall where shelves and bikes knock it out of line.
Will Not Close or Reverses: common questions
Why does my garage door go down and then back up?
Usually the safety sensors see something in the beam, or one eye has been knocked out of line. If the door touches the floor and then reverses, the down limit or force setting is off instead. Check the sensor lights, clear the path and look for low sun on the eyes. If none of that helps, the opener needs adjusting.
How do I close my garage door if the sensors are not working?
On many openers you can press and hold the wall button until the door is fully down, which overrides the sensors for that one close. Chamberlain-made openers built after February 3, 2022 no longer allow it, so those need the sensors fixed first. Watch the door the whole way and keep people and pets clear. A remote will not do this.
Can the sun stop a garage door from closing?
Yes. Strong sunlight hitting the receiving photo eye can swamp the beam from the sending eye, and the opener treats it as blocked. It tends to happen at the same time of day in certain seasons. Swapping which side each eye sits on, or fitting a sun shield, usually solves it.
Why does my garage door reverse when it hits the floor?
The opener expects to reach its down limit before the door meets resistance. If the door touches the floor first, the opener reads that as an obstruction and reverses. A new slab coating, a thicker bottom seal or settings that have drifted can cause it. Resetting the travel and force limits and re-running the safety reverse test fixes it.
Are garage door safety sensors required?
Openers sold in the United States since 1993 must have entrapment protection under UL 325, and on homes that almost always means photo-eye sensors about six inches off the floor. Disconnecting or bypassing them leaves the door with no protection against closing on a child, a pet or a car.
The FAQ page has more answers. Not sure which part failed? Send a photo and we will name it.
Where we see this
We cover all of San Diego County, same day in most cases. Some of the places we work:
Related guides
- Garage Door Won't Open or Close? A Safe Checklist: Garage door stuck? Safe checks in order: power, wall control lock, remote battery, sensor lights and release cord, plus which symptom needs which repair.
- Repair or Replace Your Garage Door Opener?: When a garage door opener is worth repairing and when to replace it: drive gear, logic board, rolling code, California battery backup law and drive types.
- How to Open a Garage Door Manually When the Power Is Out: Open a garage door by hand in a power outage: where the release is on chain, belt, screw and wall-mount openers, how to reconnect, and when to stop.
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