At some point in your garage door’s lifetime, you’ll likely face a situation where the door won’t close or shut completely. However, it won’t always take an expensive repair or replacement to get back a functioning garage door system. The truth is that garage doors can stop for very simple reasons like dirt and can oftentimes be fixed right at home. Before you call a professional service, take a look at these seven common issues that prevent garage doors from closing and how you may be able to repair some of them yourself.
The Remote Battery Is Dead
The garage door remote is what sends signals to the door and tells it when to open or close. However, these remotes must be powered by batteries in order to function properly. If the battery dies, the remote will no longer have power or be able to send signals to the door. To find out if this is the problem, you can try replacing the battery right at home. If the remote is not working you can also check the wall button inside the garage. Some of them have lock modes that can temporarily disable them.
Door Is Out of Track or Jammed
There are different reasons the rollers can come out of the track. Sometimes the tracks are bent or damaged. Surprisingly, doors can sometimes operate like this, although it generally isn’t a good idea to leave it unresolved. Once the door starts to jam, the situation can get bad quickly. Especially if someone tries to force it correct. Particularly if the door is sitting crooked in the tracks there is probably a spring and cable failure that has to be resolved. Doors can also jam due to obstructions and being out of adjustment. Sometimes the problem is simple and obvious, but this certainly isn’t always the case.
The Safety Sensors are Faulty
The safety sensors are important for garage doors, and the most common reason an operational door won’t close. They help keep the door from shutting on objects, humans (especially toddlers), and pets. Many things can go wrong with the safety sensors that will prevent your garage door from fully closing. Commonly, the sensors can become out of alignment and continuously send a signal that there is an obstacle in the way whether or not something is there. Other times they might not be getting power and are unable to send the correct signal. Power failure to the sensors is often caused by a short in the wire, but in some cases, the sensors will have to be replaced.
The Sensors are Dirty
If the sensors are dirty, they also won’t be able to send proper signals and will likely tell the system that an obstacle is in the way. You can actually see these sensors on each side of the garage door about 6 inches from the ground. They appear to have a little camera built into them. To clean them, simply wipe the lens part with a cloth and gentle cleaning solution until all dirt or dust is removed. It can also help to knock debris and pine needles off the bottom of the door, especially if it is having the most trouble as the bottom of the door crosses in front of them.
The Limit Settings are Incorrect
The garage door limit settings tell the system how far the door should move in order for it to close completely. When the limit settings are wrong, you will often see the door stop midway or not stop when it is supposed to. If the door tries to keep shutting into the floor, it will immediately lift back up. You can try changing the settings on your own first with an instruction manual and by locating the limit settings knob or buttons but if they keep changing it is usually a sign that something is wrong with the motor. Be careful though because overdoing the settings can make the problem worse.
The Tension Springs or Cables are Broken
Tension springs are crucial for safe and effective garage doors. They allow the doors to raise and lower slowly. Without them, the garage door would be a heavy dead weight. This can be a serious safety hazard if you unlatch it from the garage door opener, allowing it to slam shut at full force.
While all garage doors must be installed with these tension springs or cables, over time metal fatigue can cause them to snap. Once snapped, they will have to be replaced by a professional. They generally don’t give much warning that they are close to their breakpoint, but there are some methods for estimating spring life. To prevent this dangerous situation from happening, you can have them checked occasionally by a garage door pro to make sure there is no damage or wear on the cables.
The Emergency Disconnect Latch is Enabled
The disconnect switch is what allows the garage door to be opened and closed manually when there is a power outage. That rope that you often times see hanging from the motor is connected to the disconnect switch. Motor models have latches that work differently, but by pulling it down it will usually switch the door into manual mode. Don’t use the rope to drag the door shut. If you press the garage door button and the drive (usually a chain, belt, or screw) starts running, but the door doesn’t close, it’s likely that the disconnect switch is enabled. To reattach it, put the latch back to its original position and run the motor to reconnect it to the drive. The exact process here functions uniquely with different opener system models.
What to Do When Your Doors Won’t Close
The first thing you want to do when the garage door isn’t closing is to try and discover the problem. You can visually check for many issues such as dirty sensors or the disconnect switch and may also be able to guess the issue based on the behavior of your garage door. For example, if the garage door starts closing and then continues to rise back up, the problem is likely sensor-related.
Pro Tip! If the garage door operates easily by hand your problem will likely be related to the motor.
Using the knowledge that you’ve gained from reading this, you may be able to fix a few common issues on your own. Afterward, be sure to perform a couple of tests to make sure that the problem is resolved and that the door is safe for further use. You can check that the door fully closes when no obstructions are in the way. Of course, not all problems can be solved right at home. When entire pieces of the system need replacement or something is going on inside the motor, it’s recommended to call a company specializing in garage door services for help.
Contact the Professionals at Closing Time Garage Doors
Sometimes, troubleshooting garage door issues aren’t easily achieved on your own. When you can’t find a solution to your system, call Closing Time Garage Doors to receive expert services. Just a call or text away, getting in touch is easy and soon a member of our team will be right over to assess the situation. We handle everything from discovering the problem and ordering the parts, to installing them at a fair price. If you live in the Atlanta area or surrounding cities, then our convenient garage door services are available to you. Give us a call today! 678-695-6400