Garage Door Won't Open or Close? 7 Common Faults and What to Check First

Question 01

What is the most common problem with garage doors?

B&D, an Australian door maker, says the most common reason a door won't open is a low battery in the remote or wall button. Steel-Line says snapped springs are one of the most common reasons people call in a professional. So start with the cheap fix, and learn the warning signs of the costly one.

Match what your door is doing to a row below. Do the safe check. If the last column says call, stop there and don't try anything else.

If the safe check doesn't fix it, or the last column says call, leave it there. Thom does garage door repairs across the Sunshine Coast, and a callout is the next step.

Question 02

Why isn't my garage door opening even though the motor is running?

If you can hear the motor but the door stays put, the opener is running without pulling the door. Maybe someone pulled the release cord and it's unhooked. Maybe the door's own lock is on. A broken spring can leave the door too heavy to lift, or a part inside the opener may have worn out.

Rule out the release cord first. It may have been pulled in a power cut and never hooked back up. The manual release and power outage guide shows you how to get it back to automatic.

Some doors have a lock of their own, too. Steel-Line says these can get switched on by accident, so check yours before you call.

Is the release hooked up and the door's lock off? Do the springs look whole? Then the fault is likely inside the opener. That's a repair or a garage door motor replacement. The motor replacement cost guide helps you weigh up repair against replace.

Question 03

Why does my garage door start to close, then go back up?

Often, it's the safety beams, if your door has them. These are two small sensors near the floor, one each side of the opening. If something breaks the beam, the door won't close. Dust, a spider web, a wheelie bin or a bumped bracket will do it. A stiff door or the opener's settings can cause it too.

Clear the doorway, then wipe both lenses with a soft dry cloth. Chamberlain's support pages say one sensor shows an amber light and the other shows green. If the green one is off or blinking, the sensors are likely out of line. The safety beams and auto-reverse guide walks through lining them up and testing the auto-reverse.

Question 04

Why does my remote or wall button do nothing?

If the wall button works but the remote doesn't, start with the remote. Swap the battery first. Then check the lock or holiday button on the wall control, since it tells some openers to ignore every remote. If the remote and the wall button are both dead, check the power before anything else.

• Check the opener is plugged in and switched on at the wall.
• Test the power point with a lamp or phone charger. Check the switchboard for a tripped safety switch.
• Turn the opener off at the wall, wait 10 seconds and turn it back on. Steel-Line says this can clear a lot of faults.
• Look for a lock button on the wall control. Chamberlain says its opener lights flash twice when you press a remote while lock is on.
• Try a second remote. If one works and the other doesn't, the problem is that remote.

If a remote keeps losing its code or dropping out, read garage door remote not working.

Question 05

Why is my garage door opener beeping?

It's the opener telling you something. Chamberlain says that on its openers with a backup battery, a beep every 2 seconds means it's running on the battery. A beep every 30 seconds means that battery is low or flat. Some of its models also beep and flash their lights when the door hits something.

After a storm cuts the power, a beeping opener usually just wants the mains back. Power on and still beeping? Read why your garage door opener is beeping for the backup battery side of things.

Question 06

What does it mean if the door is heavy, crooked or went bang?

A loud bang from the garage is the classic sign of a torsion spring snapping. A door that suddenly feels very heavy or lifts crooked points the same way, or to a snapped cable. Stop using it. The opener isn't built to lift the door's full weight, and a door without working springs can drop.

Steel-Line calls it the 'snap bang crash' of a torsion spring. It also says a snapped or misaligned cable needs a professional to fix it.

A roller door that has slowly grown heavy over months is a different story. That's often spring tension that has dropped off over time. Heavy roller door and spring tension explains the difference. For a spring that has actually broken, Thom does spring repairs right across the Sunshine Coast.

Question 07

What should I do if my garage door is off its tracks?

Leave it alone. Don't run the opener, and don't try to push the door back into its tracks. B&D warns that when a door slips off its guide rails, springs or cables may be broken and could put you in danger. Keep people and pets clear, and call a technician.

A door can come off after a car bumps it or a cable lets go. Once it's hanging out of the track, it can shift or fall with no warning. Treat it as an emergency. Thom does 24/7 emergency garage door repairs across the Sunshine Coast.

Question 08

My garage door is stuck open. How do I secure it tonight?

Don't force it down and don't keep pressing the button. If a spring, cable or track is the problem, the door can drop or twist. Lock the inside door from the garage into the house, then call. Thom takes emergency callouts 24/7 across the Sunshine Coast.

That covers homes from Maroochydore, where Thom is based, down to Buddina and beyond. If the power's out and the door was working fine before, the manual release may let you close it. Read the manual release guide first, and stop if the door feels heavy.

Question 09

Why does my garage door open by itself?

Chamberlain's support pages list three causes. A remote button might be stuck down. Someone else's remote might be coded to your opener, such as a neighbour's. Or the wall button or its wiring might have a fault. Start with the remotes, since that check costs nothing and you can do it yourself.

1. 01Take the battery out of each remote, one at a time, and see if the problem stops.
2. 02Check remotes left in cars and bags. A button held down in a glovebox or a handbag can keep sending a signal.
3. 03Just moved in? Assume old remotes are still out there. The new home garage door checklist covers clearing them out.
4. 04Still happening? Leave the door shut and call. A faulty wall button or its wiring needs a technician to track down.