A garage can be an incredibly useful addition to any home, offering ample storage space and a safe space to keep a car or two. But what if your garage door refuses to close properly or even open at all? That would basically render the garage useless. There are several reasons why a garage door might not be closing.
Your garage door may not function for various reasons, including a blocked or loose sensor, dirty safety eyes, a faulty control board, or a dead battery. Closely examine your door and identify the issue; many problems are easy to fix yourself. Others may require professional attention.
If your garage door is giving you trouble, don’t worry. Most issues can be easily resolved with a bit of patience and a can-do attitude. Let’s take a look at some of the reasons your door might be stuck so that you can get it up and running again in no time.
How Do Garage Doors Work?
Your garage door is an important feature of your home, and you probably use it quite often, if not every day. Although the physics of this piece of technology appear simple, do you really understand how your garage door works?
A counterbalance system operates the garage door, which uses a force to offset the weight of the garage door. There are two types of this system, both of which rely on garage door springs to lend a helping hand.
Spring Extension System
In a spring extension system, springs are clipped to cables, which are then clasped to the bottom nooks of the door. The springs expand when the door is closed, and the energy stored in the extended springs raises the door when it is opened. This tool, however, does not last forever.
The steel of the springs gets weak and ends up breaking if the door is frequently opened and closed. A substantial percentage of energy is released when these springs break, which can cause property damage or injury.
Torsion Spring System
Torsion spring garage doors are the most prevalent form of garage door mechanism. Torsion springs are commonly put horizontally above the garage doorway.
As the door closes, cables connecting to the bottom corners of the door, causing the springs to wind up, storing energy. As the garage door is opened, the springs relax, and the energy helps lift the garage door.
The steel in the springs degrades as the door is moved up and down, and they can no longer raise the door properly after some time.
Why Your Garage Door Won’t Close
There are several reasons why your door might not be closing. You can resolve some of them on your own, but others will require professional help. Here are reasons the garage door won’t close:
1. Faulty Safety Sensors
The sensors at the bottom of the garage door, located around 6 inches (15 cm) above the ground, are the first thing to look at. When something or someone, such as your child or pet, is in the way, these safety mechanisms transmit a signal to stop the door from shutting.
These sensors cannot provide a sufficient signal if they lose power. Your garage door may be unable to close because of this. It’s also possible that these photo-eyes provide a constant flashing signal to the garage door, alerting it to an obstruction. When sensors are misaligned, this happens.
2. Obstructed Sensors
The photo-eyes on both sides of the garage door are relatively small. These small tools become dusty over time. The transmission between the two photo-eyes is disrupted, and your garage door cannot close properly.
To solve the problem, wipe them entirely with a soft cloth and a non-abrasive material. This device’s glass surface is comparable to that of the camera, so be cautious. Scraping and destroying them is rather easy. If they continue to malfunction, call an expert to examine them.
3. Limit Adjustment
When you buy a new garage door, it can close but then open again instead of remaining closed. In this scenario, verify the restriction settings of the garage door opener. The garage door limit determines how far the door must move to close completely.
If you do not set it appropriately, it will open immediately after closing.
Also adjust the limit range that determines how far the door must move before closing entirely. If the limit is too high, the door cannot strike the ground because the opener will incorrectly detect that it has hit something.
As a result, in order to avoid an accident, it will automatically reverse. Take the ladder and look for the limit settings knob on the garage door motor, as described in the instruction booklet.
The motor is usually labelled with arrows; however, the markings differ from one door model to the next. To avoid the door slamming to the ground or rising abruptly and causing damage, never over-adjust to either side.
4. Dead Transmitter Battery
The transmitters in the garage door need functioning batteries to work effectively. As a result, after the batteries run out, the transmitter will no longer signal the door.
In this circumstance, the first thing to do is see if the transmitter can still open and close the garage door. The best solution for this situation is to get a new battery. Remove it and make sure the plus and minus indicators on the outside match the ones on the interior of the transmitter.
5. Trails Aren’t Running in the Same Direction
When your garage door trails are out of alignment, you may have a serious issue. If the metal track and the door are not running in the same direction, then the door won’t work properly. As soon as you see bent rails or gaps between the rail, call an expert to repair it.
6. Track Damage
Damaged or bent garage doors won’t close properly. The state of the rails will deteriorate and become unsafe if you do not handle the issues on time. You may repair them sometimes, but you will almost certainly need to replace your garage door tracks. When the old tracks lose their shape, contact an expert to replace them.
7. Transmitters Aren’t Functioning Properly
You may be out of range of the garage door, which affects how the transmitters work or could even prevent it from working entirely. As a result, determine a safe distance from which to close the door.
Remove any obstacles that could obscure the antenna and prevent the signal from being received. Check for any potential damage and call the technician to get it restored if need be.
You should think about one more thing. If your neighbor uses the same frequencies on their garage door, it might cause issues with yours. You can change your garage door’s frequency if this is a problem for you.
8. Disconnect Switch Is Enabled
The disconnect switch is most likely connected if the garage door motor is on but the door does not close. If the garage door opener loses power, that switch is always included to allow the door to close manually.
The door will misread its connection to the motor if it is unhooked by mistake. As a result, you must reconnect it in order to continue usage.
9. Broken Tension Springs or Cables
In order to close gently and safely, your garage doors require tension springs and cables. When the springs fail, your door will close very quickly and crash to the ground with a loud bang. This is risky because it can cause serious harm.
Expert help is the best solution because the cable can easily break due to pressure on it. Recollect that clasped cables travel rapidly and can cause injury. You should inspect damages to the cables regularly to avoid serious effects.
10. Other Obstructions
Even if everything appears to be in order, your garage door may not close. If your garage door closes but then stops and reopens, look for something that is blocking it.
It might be a small rock or dirt blocking it up. The only thing you should do is clear up the dirt and remove any rock that has amassed there and remove it.
Tips For Fixing a Garage Door That Won’t Close
1. Closely Examine the Door
The first thing you should do if your garage door won’t close is to examine the situation to see if anything is blocking the safety sensors or if a toy or pebble has become lodged beneath the door. You must decide what to do to remedy the problem once you have identified it.
2. You Can Do It yourself
You may be able to solve some of the issues on your own. You can clean sensors, for example, or remove obstructions that are preventing garage doors from working properly. With mechanical breakdowns, the situation is different. It’s better to call in an expert to avoid harm or damage.
3. Try the Safety Box Test
When something is positioned beneath a modern garage door, it has a safety aspect that results in its immediate opening. It’s an incredible strategy to prevent injury to kids or dogs if you wander there by accident.
When your door won’t close properly and you suspect a problem with the system, use the easy box or board test to check the safety feature. Adjust the garage door’s limit and then place a box underneath it.
Try to close your garage door. There’s no need to be concerned if it reacts and starts opening before it reaches the box or board. But if it hits the box, a repair is in order.
4. Sometimes a Professional Is Needed
You should assign some tasks to professionals, particularly if you’re not familiar with garage doors. For example, if you have an issue with tightly coiled overhead torsion springs under high strain, you should get a technician to assist.
Even a minor inaccuracy can cause you or someone else harm. A highly skilled and dependable professional will assist you in safely resolving the issue.