Why Won’t My Garage Door Close?
Common Problems—and How to Fix Them
We’ve all been here before. You leave your house and go to close your garage door, only to find that it just won’t do what it’s supposed to do. While this can be a frustrating part of having a garage, most of the reasons why a garage door won’t close all the way are relatively easy to identify and fix.
Here are three of the top culprits for a garage door that just won’t close.
1. Something is blocking the garage door.
Sometimes the solution when a garage door won’t close all the way is right in front of your eyes—literally. If there is something in the path of the garage door—large or small—it is simply not going to shut. Before worrying yourself over bigger problems, conduct a quick check to make sure that there aren’t any objects or debris preventing the door from fully closing. This is always the best case scenario, as the solution is as easy as removing whatever happens to be in the way.
2. The photo eye is out of alignment.
The photo eye, commonly known as the garage door safety sensor, is the next likely culprit when a garage door won’t close all the way. The purpose of the photo eye is to detect anything that might be in the way of a closing garage door—from an object to a person. Although this safety measure is incredibly important and has helped save many lives, it can be frustrating when it comes out of alignment and causes problems.
The first course of action is to inspect the photo eye visually for dirt and debris. Sometimes a dirty photo eye won’t function properly, and it just needs a quick and gentle cleaning. If that doesn’t do the trick, check the alignment of the eyes to make sure they are even. If you find that they aren’t, use a level to adjust them to equal heights.
3. The garage door limit settings are off.
Most garage door openers have a setting that indicates how far the garage door must travel in order to close. If this isn’t set properly during installation, or if it gradually drifts from the original setting, then the garage door won’t stay closed. Essentially what happens is that the door will hit the ground before the opener thinks it is supposed to, triggering it to assume that it has struck something in its path. The door will then immediately reverse as a safety measure.
The good news is that the garage door limit settings can be adjusted, however the location and procedure vary from one model to the next, so figuring it out can be a little tricky.
If you’ve checked for all these problems and you still find that your garage door won’t stay closed, it’s a good idea to call in the professionals. Here at Champion Overhead Door, we’ve encountered all the reasons why a garage door won’t close all the way in our many years of servicing residential and commercial customers. We’ll come out and diagnose the problem, then do whatever it takes to fix it so that you can enjoy a properly functioning garage door again in no time.