A garage door that will not open usually traces to one of five things: no power at the opener, dead remote batteries, a pulled emergency-release cord, blocked or misaligned photo-eye sensors, or a broken spring or cable. Check the first four yourself. A crooked or unusually heavy door points to spring or cable failure, so stop and call a technician.
When a garage door won't open, the cause is usually one of a short list of things, and several of them take less than a minute to check. Work down this list in order. It goes from the easiest checks to the ones that need a technician.
If the opener light doesn't come on and nothing happens at the wall button, check the outlet in the ceiling. Garage outlets are often on a GFCI that trips during storms or when another tool is plugged in. Reset it, and check the breaker panel.
Many wall controls have a lock or vacation button that disables every remote. A blinking light on the control is the usual sign. Press and hold the lock button until the light stops blinking, then try the remote again.
If the wall button works but the remote doesn't, replace the remote's battery first. If that doesn't fix it, the remote may need to be reprogrammed to the opener. Keypads on the outside of the door lose their code more often than people expect.
Some doors have a manual slide lock or a T-handle on the inside. If someone locked it, the opener will strain against it. Unlock it before trying again.
If the opener runs and you can see the carriage on the rail moving while the door stays put, the emergency release has been pulled. With the door closed, pull the cord toward the door, then run the opener. The carriage will usually catch and reconnect on its own.
Stand inside and look at the long spring on the bar above the door. If you see a gap of a couple of inches in the coil, the spring has broken. This is the most common reason a door suddenly won't open, often after a loud bang. Stop here. The door is now carrying its full weight with nothing to balance it, and the opener isn't built to lift it.
Look at the bottom corners of the door. Each side has a steel cable running up to a drum at the top. If one is loose, frayed or hanging, or a roller has come out of the track, the door can bind or tilt. Don't run the opener.
In freezing weather the rubber seal on the bottom of the door can freeze to the floor. Opening it with the opener can tear the seal or strain the motor. Break it free gently with a plastic scraper or let the garage warm up.
Stop at step 6 or 7. A broken spring, a loose cable or a door out of its track is not a do-it-yourself repair. Springs and cables are under high tension.
The technician explains what failed in plain terms and you approve the price before any work starts.
Call (855) 557-5454 for 24/7 service, or get a quote.
That points to the remote, not the door. Replace the remote battery first, then reprogram it to the opener using the learn button on the motor unit. If the wall button works and every remote fails, the opener's antenna or radio receiver may be damaged and needs a technician.
The door has been disconnected from the opener, usually by the red emergency-release cord. Pull the door fully closed by hand, then reconnect by pulling the cord toward the motor or running the opener until the carriage re-latches. If the trolley is stripped or the chain hangs slack, that needs repair.
Almost always the photo-eye safety sensors. They sit a few inches above the floor on both sides of the opening and must face each other with an unbroken beam. Wipe the lenses, clear anything in the path, and check that both indicator lights glow steadily rather than blinking.
No. If the door feels heavy, sits crooked, or shows a gap in the spring coils above it, the counterbalance system has failed and the door's full weight is unsupported. Forcing it can drop the door or strip the opener. Leave it in place and call a technician at (855) 557-5454.
Tell us what is going on and we will get a technician on site, on time.
