Most garage doors that won’t close have a photo eye problem: the sensors near the floor are blocked, dirty, misaligned, or blinded by low sun. Other common causes are wrong limit or force settings, a bent or blocked track, a broken spring or cable, an engaged lock, dead remote batteries, cold weather, or an opener left disengaged after someone pulled the release.
Start here: the two minute check
What the door does narrows it down fast.
- Door starts down, then reverses back up, and the opener light blinks: almost always the photo eyes (causes 1 and 2).
- Door closes from the wall button only if you hold it down: photo eyes again. On many openers, including most LiftMaster and Chamberlain models, holding the wall button down until the door is fully closed overrides the sensors.
- Door touches the floor, then goes back up: limit or force settings, or ice on the slab (causes 3 and 9).
- Nothing happens at all: remote, keypad, lock mode, or power (cause 8).
- Motor runs but the door does not move: a spring is broken or the opener is disengaged (causes 6 and 7).
- Door stops partway and binds or leans: track, cable, or spring (causes 4 and 6).
Why photo eyes matter: the 1993 rule and the 2×4 test
CPSC counted about 73 children aged 2 to 14 killed under automatic garage doors from March 1982 on. Federal rules require every opener made after January 1, 1993 to have external entrapment protection, which on most homes means photo eyes. When your opener refuses to close, it is often doing its job.
CPSC recommends testing the reversing feature every 30 days: lay a 2×4 flat on the floor in the door’s path and close the door. It should reverse. If it does not, stop using the opener until it is fixed. An opener with no photo eyes at all should be replaced. See our opener replacement service.
9 causes and what to do about each
1. Photo eyes are blocked, dirty, or misaligned
Symptom: the door starts down, reverses, and the opener light flashes. One sensor light is off or blinking.
Safe check: clear brooms, bikes, and cobwebs away from the sensors and wipe both lenses. On many openers, one eye’s light goes out or blinks when the beam is broken; loosen its wing nut and turn it until the light is steady. CPSC says the eyes belong 4 to 6 inches above the floor. If one has been bumped higher or lower, move its bracket back.
When to call: if both lenses are clean, both lights are steady, and the door still reverses.
2. Sun glare or bad wiring on the photo eyes
Symptom: the door refuses to close at a certain time of day, often late afternoon on a west facing garage, then works an hour later. Or the problem comes and goes with no pattern.
Safe check: shade the receiving eye with cardboard and try again. If the door closes, glare is the cause, and a sensor sun shield or swapping the eyes’ sides usually fixes it. For wiring, trace the thin wires back to the opener and look for staples through the wire, chewed insulation, or loose terminals.
When to call: if a wire is damaged inside a wall or ceiling, or the eyes still flicker after cleaning and aligning.
3. Limit or force settings are off
Symptom: the door hits the floor and immediately reverses, or stops a few inches short of the floor, or reverses partway down for no visible reason.
Safe check: the close limit tells the opener where the floor is; if the slab has settled or heaved, the door hits early and reads it as an obstacle. The force setting controls how hard the opener pushes before reversing. Your manual explains both adjustments. Make small changes, then run the 2×4 test. Never raise the force just to make a sticky door close.
When to call: if adjustments do not fix it, or the door needs more force than it used to. That usually means something is binding or a spring is weak.
4. Bent or blocked track
Symptom: the door stops partway, grinds, or jerks. You may see a roller out of the track or a dent in the rail.
Safe check: look down both vertical tracks for anything in the way, loose bolts on the brackets, or a visible kink. Wipe out dirt with a dry rag. Do not grease the tracks.
When to call: if the track is bent, a roller has popped out, or the door hangs crooked. Keep people and cars clear.
5. Lock bar or manual lock engaged
Symptom: the opener strains, the door moves an inch or two, then stops.
Safe check: many doors have a slide lock or a T handle lock that pushes a bar into the track. Make sure it is fully retracted.
When to call: if the lock is released and the door still will not move freely.
6. Broken spring or cable
Symptom: you heard a loud bang, the door is heavy, rises crooked, or the opener hums without lifting. A torsion spring has a visible gap in the coil, or a cable hangs loose.
Safe check: look, do not touch. Stop using the opener. If the door is open, leave it open and keep everyone out from under it.
When to call: right away. This is not a DIY repair; see can I replace a garage door spring myself.
7. The opener is disengaged
Symptom: the motor runs and the chain or belt moves, but the door does not.
Safe check: someone likely pulled the red release cord. On most openers, running the opener once lets the trolley reconnect; check your manual.
When to call: if it will not reconnect, or it came loose on its own.
8. Remote, keypad, or wall button issues
Symptom: nothing happens from the remote or keypad, but the wall button works. Or nothing works and the wall button has a lit lock indicator.
Safe check: replace the remote and keypad batteries. Many wall buttons have a lock or vacation mode that blocks all remotes; press and hold the lock button to turn it off. Check that the opener has power.
When to call: if fresh batteries and resetting lock mode do not help, or the opener shows no power.
9. Cold weather
Symptom: on a cold morning the door starts down, touches, and reverses, or runs slowly and stops. The bottom seal may be frozen to the slab when opening.
Safe check: in cold, lubricant thickens and weatherseals freeze to concrete. Clear ice and packed snow off the slab under the door. If the seal is frozen down, free it with a plastic scraper or warm air, not by forcing the opener; forcing a frozen door can strip the opener’s gears.
When to call: if the door stays sluggish after it warms up, or a spring breaks on a cold morning. More in garage doors in Utah cold weather.
Utah causes we see most
Three patterns stand out. In new construction areas like Wildflower and Westlake Vistas in Saratoga Springs, tracks and photo eyes shift as homes settle. Eagle Mountain’s City Center sits in Cedar Valley and runs colder at night than the Ranches, so frozen seals and stiff lubricant show up there first. And homes built in the 2000s and 2010s are reaching the age where original springs and builder openers wear out. Our Saratoga Springs builder guide covers that by neighborhood.
How to close the door manually in an emergency
If you need the door closed now and the opener will not do it:
- Check for a broken spring first. If a spring is broken, do not pull the release on an open door. It can drop fast. Call instead.
- If the springs look intact, make sure nothing and nobody is under the door.
- Pull the red emergency release cord straight down. This disconnects the door from the opener.
- Lower the door slowly using the lift handle or the bottom section, keeping fingers clear of the gaps between sections.
- If the door is hard to control or drops on its own, let go, step back, and call.
When to call us
Call if the door reverses after you have cleaned and aligned the photo eyes, if it stops partway or runs crooked, if a spring or cable looks broken, or if it fails the 2×4 test. We will find the actual cause, show you, and quote the repair before we start. The service call is free with any repair. If the opener is the problem and is not worth fixing, we will tell you. See our spring repair and opener services, or book a tune up to catch these before they happen. Call (385) 265-1093.
Frequently asked questions
Why does my garage door go down and then back up?
Usually the photo eyes are blocked, dirty, or misaligned. If they check out, the close limit or force setting may need adjusting, or ice or debris is on the slab.
Why does my garage door close only when I hold the button?
On many openers, including most LiftMaster and Chamberlain models, holding the wall button until the door is fully closed overrides the photo eyes, so the problem is the sensors: alignment, dirty lenses, glare, or wiring.
How high should garage door sensors be?
CPSC says 4 to 6 inches above the floor.
Can I bypass my garage door sensors?
No. Photo eyes have been required on openers made since January 1, 1993 because doors have killed children. Fix or replace the sensors instead.
Why won’t my garage door close in the cold?
Cold thickens lubricant, freezes the bottom seal to the slab, and can make ice on the floor read as an obstacle. Clear the slab and let the door warm up; do not force it.
