Garage doors protect your belongings and allow you quick, easy access to your home — if they’re working as intended. Sometimes, you may find that your garage door won’t stay shut. There is a solution to every garage-door-related hitch, however, and this helpful diagnostics guide gives you explanations and repair options for each.
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What’s Wrong With My Garage Door and Why?
To get your garage door back to perfect working order, it’s important to first identify exactly why its behavior has changed. Garage doors that return to their open position unprompted follow one of these two patterns: they either close, stop part way and then reverse, or close and open back up again. Each of these behaviors points to different causes and fixes. We’ll examine both scenarios and explain why they happen.
Why Is My Garage Door Partly Closing, Then Reopening?
When a garage door gets halfway through closing and then seemingly changes its mind, it’s most likely an obstruction issue. Here are three components that may need some attention if your garage door does not close all the way:
Your Safety Sensors Are Misaligned
Safety sensors, also called photo or electric eyes, are installed on either side of a garage door, usually 6 inches or less from the floor. They ensure nothing is in the way of the garage door when it closes. One sensor, the emitter, produces an invisible infrared beam that sends information to its partner, the receiver. If anything blocks this beam, like a car, pet or person, the sensors will trigger the garage door to open again. While these sensors are a valuable and responsible safety feature, they can cause garage doors to stop and reopen inappropriately if they aren’t properly aligned or one of them is dirty.
Here’s how to fix misaligned sensors:
- Check if both safety sensors are shining a solid LED light, often red or green, which indicates that the sensors are aligned.
- If the LED lights are both shining and aren’t flashing, gently wipe both sensors down with a cloth to clear any dust, debris or spider webs.
- If the LED lights are flashing or aren’t shining at all, they could be misaligned or damaged. It’s safest to call in a professional to repair or realign safety sensors, as live wires can be involved.
Your Door’s Path Is Obstructed
It could be that your safety sensors are just doing their job well. Garages can be home to all kinds of clutter, like DIY supplies, storage boxes and toys. If so much as a small piece of cardboard or a leaf obstructs that sensor beam, the safety mechanism will trigger the door to reopen.
Garage doors have also been fitted with auto-reverse mechanisms since the safety feature became mandatory in the United States in 1991. Even if the electric eye doesn’t sense any object on the ground in the way, the auto-reverse mechanism on the motor is force-sensitive. If it bumps against something, it will stop and retract. If your garage door’s tracks are caked with grime or debris, the auto-reverse mechanism may kick in to lift the door back up.
Follow these steps to fix a path obstruction:
- Ensure no objects are placed between the two safety sensors, blocking the beam.
- Check your door tracks for build-up, remove any debris, and wipe them down with a dampened cloth.
- Call an expert to deal with more heavy-duty track obstructions like warped metal or damage from wear and tear.
Your Garage Door Opener Is Malfunctioning
Your issue could be as simple as a pair of old batteries in your remote. It’s also possible that the connection between your garage door and your remote has been disrupted. There could be damage to the internal circuit, or, rarely, your remote could be experiencing radio interference from other remote control devices nearby, such as your neighbor’s garage door.
Fix a malfunctioning remote with these steps:
- Try closing your garage door using the fixed button inside the garage. If it works perfectly, replace your remote’s batteries, and you should be good to go.
- If new batteries haven’t solved the problem, reset the programming on your remote using the garage door manual’s instructions.
- If neither solution works, your remote or wall control unit may be faulty, requiring the attention of a professional garage door specialist.
Why Won’t My Garage Door Stay Closed?
If your garage door closes all the way and reopens once it’s hit the ground, it’s likely due to damaged springs or incorrect open and close limits. Both require some tweaking of the hardware of the garage door setup. While it’s fine to have a crack at adjusting limits yourself, a practiced expert should replace or mend springs to be safe.
Your Torsion or Extension Springs Are Damaged
Extension springs are found in older garage door systems, while torsion springs are more commonly used in contemporary installations. They work differently, but both store energy to open and close the door and counterbalance its weight. If your garage door won’t stay down when closing, damaged torsion or extension springs can be the cause.
Extension Springs
Extension springs are found on either side of older or single-car garages. The springs stretch or “extend” while the door closes. If these springs are worn or misaligned, they may not be able to provide the tension necessary to make the garage door stay shut.
Torsion Springs
Torsion springs are usually fitted horizontally above the opening to the garage and twist to provide energy to lift up the door. Similarly to extension springs, when torsion springs become damaged, misaligned or worn, they may lack the tension necessary to keep the door closed.
Here’s how to fix worn garage door springs:
- Fixing torsion and extension springs requires the skills, equipment and experience of an expert in garage door system installation and repair. It can be dangerous to try to realign these springs yourself because they can store a lot of force even when damaged.
- Ensure you discuss a regular maintenance plan with your provider to prevent spring malfunctions like this in the future.
Your Open and Close Limits Need Adjusting
Garage doors need to be programmed to know when they’re properly closed, and for that, they have a limit switch. It’s usually located either on the door tracks or the opener mechanism. If your door is programmed with a limit that is lower than the ground, it will see the ground as an obstacle and reverse to avoid it.
Adjust your garage door limit switch by following these steps:
- Most limit switches can be adjusted with a flat-head screwdriver or by pressing one of two buttons. Locate your switch and grab a flat-head screwdriver if necessary.
- Use the flat-head screwdriver to twist the knobs slightly anti-clockwise, decreasing the limit. If your switch has buttons, press the “down” button.
- Test the garage door to see if it reverses once fully closed. If it does, adjust the limit and try again.
- Garage door brand, weight and torsion all play a role in finding the perfect limit for your door, so if you aren’t up for some trial and error, hire an expert.
When to Get Professional Assistance
When it comes to fixing components of a garage door system, hiring a professional technician will give you higher quality, longer lasting and safer results. While changing the batteries of a garage door opener might not warrant a callout, electrical wiring and high-tension springs can be a significant safety risk to even a practiced, tenacious DIYer. It’s always best to give your garage door provider a call and check if the issue you’re having needs a trained hand or if it’s one that you can take care of yourself.
AAA Garage Doors has been in business for over 25 years and employs our own team of trained garage door technicians, not subcontractors, to ensure high quality and transparency. For expert repair, replacement and installation services, request a quote for professional garage door services you can rely on.
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