A garage door that starts down, stops short and goes back up is one of the most common calls we get from homeowners around Dallas-Fort Worth. Most of the time the cause is simple, like a blocked or misaligned safety sensor. Sometimes it points to a worn part or a spring problem that needs a technician.
This guide walks through the usual causes in the order we check them, which checks are safe for you to do, and which ones to leave alone.
Short version: look at the two small sensors near the floor first. If they're clear, clean and lined up and the door still won't close, stop pressing the button and give us a call.
Start with what the door is doing
The way a door fails tells you a lot about the cause. Watch it once from a safe spot, then match what you saw to the list below.
- It goes down a few feet, then reverses. This usually points to the safety sensors, also called photo eyes.
- It reverses the moment it starts down. Also usually the sensors, often a sensor that is knocked out of line or has a loose wire.
- It touches the floor and then bounces back up. This often means the close limit or force setting is off, or something on the floor is in the way.
- It stops partway and stays there. This can be a track, roller or spring problem. Treat a door stuck partway as if it could drop.
- It closes only while you hold the wall button down. Most openers do this when the sensors can't see each other.
- It won't move from the remote but works from the wall button. Look at the remote battery or the lock setting on the wall control.
- The opener hums or clicks but the door doesn't move. This can mean a broken spring, a disconnected trolley or a stripped gear.
- It closes, but a gap shows under one side. That's usually a worn bottom seal, an uneven floor or a door that sits crooked.
How the safety sensors work
Every automatic residential garage door opener sold in the U.S. since 1993 has to include entrapment protection under the federal rule 16 CFR Part 1211. On most homes, that means a pair of photo eyes mounted on each side of the door near the floor, plus an auto-reverse feature built into the opener. UL 325 is the safety standard for door and gate operators.
One sensor sends an invisible beam across the opening and the other receives it. If anything breaks the beam while the door is closing, the opener stops the door and sends it back up. That's the feature that keeps a door from coming down on a child, a pet or a car.
Opener manuals typically call for the beam to sit no more than about 6 inches above the floor. Each sensor usually has a small light on it. On many models, one light stays on whenever the sensor has power, and the light on the receiving side goes steady only when it can see the beam. A light that is off or blinking usually means the beam is blocked or the sensors are out of line. Many openers also flash their main light bulb or blink a code to tell you the sensors are the problem.
Sensor problems we see most often
Something is in the beam
Start with the simple stuff. Trash cans, a broom, a box, a bike tire or a pile of leaves near the track can all break the beam. So can a spider web stretched across a lens or a wasp nest built on a bracket.
Clear a few feet of floor on each side of the opening and try the door again.
Dirty or wet lenses
The lenses are small and sit close to the ground, so they catch dust, pollen, grass clippings and splashback from rain. North Texas dust storms and spring pollen can cloud them faster than you'd think.
Wipe each lens gently with a soft, dry cloth. Skip harsh cleaners and anything abrasive, since a scratched lens can scatter the beam.
A sensor knocked out of line
The sensor brackets are thin metal and easy to bump with a car bumper, a lawn mower, a kid's bike or a stack of boxes. Even a small bend can aim the beam past the other sensor.
Look at both sensors from the side. They should face each other straight across the opening at the same height. If one is tilted, it can usually be eased back into line by hand. Our safe steps for that are below.
Low sun shining into a sensor
This one surprises a lot of people. On garages that face west, the late afternoon sun can shine straight into the receiving sensor and drown out the beam. The door closes fine in the morning and refuses to close around 5 PM.
If your door acts up only at a certain time of day, sun glare is a likely cause. Some openers let the sensors be swapped from side to side so the receiver faces away from the sun. A small shade over the receiver can also help. We can set either one up for you.
Loose or damaged wires
Thin low-voltage wires run from each sensor up to the opener, usually stapled along the wall. Over time a staple can cut into a wire, a mouse can chew through it, or a connection at the opener can work loose.
If a sensor light won't come on at all, a wiring problem is a strong possibility. Leave the wiring repair to a technician, since a bad splice can cause the same problem to come back.
Safe checks you can do yourself
These checks don't involve the springs, cables or tracks, and you don't need a ladder for them. Keep everyone clear of the door while you work, and follow your opener manual for anything specific to your model.
- Clear the opening. Move anything within a few feet of the door's path and the sensors.
- Look at the sensor lights. Note whether both are on, whether one is off, and whether either one is blinking.
- Clean both lenses with a soft, dry cloth.
- Check the brackets. If a sensor is pointing down, up or off to the side, loosen its wing nut or adjusting screw slightly and turn the sensor until its light goes steady. Then snug it back down without overtightening.
- Check the height. Both sensors should sit at the same height, no more than about 6 inches off the floor. Don't raise them higher to get them out of the way. That defeats the safety feature.
- Try the door again. Stand where you can see the whole opening while it closes.
Once the door closes normally, run the reverse test described in your opener manual before you go back to using it every day. The usual method is to lay a 1.5-inch object, such as a 2x4 laid flat, on the floor in the center of the door's path and close the door. When the door touches it, the door should stop and go back up. If it doesn't, stop using the opener to close the door and call us.
Closing the door while you wait for us
Many openers will close the door if you press and hold the wall button until it reaches the floor, even when the sensors aren't working. This is meant for short-term use only.
If you need to close the door this way to secure your home for the night:
- Stand where you can see the whole door the entire time it moves.
- Keep kids, pets and cars well clear of the opening.
- Let go of the button at once if anything gets near the door. On most openers, releasing the button stops the door or sends it back up.
- Don't do this at all if the door is crooked, a spring looks broken, a cable is loose or the door is making new noises.
Holding the button is a stopgap, not a repair. The sensors still need to be fixed so the door can protect your family on every close.
Close limit and force settings
The opener has two settings that control how the door closes. The close limit tells it how far down to travel. The force setting tells it how hard it can push before it decides something is in the way and reverses.
If the close limit is set too short, the door stops a few inches above the floor. If it's set too long, the door hits the floor, the opener thinks it found an obstruction, and the door bounces back up. Seasonal changes can affect this too. Doors and weather seals stiffen and loosen as temperatures swing from summer heat to a cold front.
Your opener manual explains how to adjust these settings. Here's our advice on doing it safely:
- Make small changes, then test the door each time.
- Never turn up the force to push a door past a sticky spot. A door that needs extra force has a mechanical problem, and more force makes the opener less likely to reverse on a person or a pet.
- Run the reverse test after any adjustment.
- Call us if the settings keep drifting or the door still won't close properly. That usually means something mechanical is wearing out.
Remote and wall control problems
If the door won't start closing at all from your car, the problem may be the signal, not the door.
- Weak remote battery. If the remote works only up close, try a fresh battery.
- Lock or vacation mode. Many wall controls have a lock button that turns off the remotes. A small light on the wall control often blinks when lock mode is on. Your manual shows how to turn it off.
- A remote that lost its programming. This can happen after a power outage or a battery change. Your manual explains how to pair it again.
- A failing wall control or a loose wire between the wall control and the opener.
Track, roller and hinge problems
The door rides on rollers inside two metal tracks. If a track is bent, a roller is cracked or a hinge is loose, the door can bind on its way down. The opener feels that extra resistance and reverses.
Signs of a track or roller problem include:
- Grinding, scraping or popping as the door moves
- A door that shakes or jerks partway down
- A visible dent or kink in a track
- A roller that has come partly out of the track
- Gaps between sections that look uneven
Please don't hammer a track back into shape or loosen the track brackets. Parts of the system can be under tension, and a door that comes out of its track can fall. We'll straighten or replace what's damaged and check the rest of the door while we're there.
Spring and cable problems
Springs do most of the lifting, and cables connect them to the bottom of the door. When a spring breaks or a cable comes off its drum, the door may stop partway, sit crooked or refuse to move. The opener can't safely make up for a missing spring.
If you heard a loud bang, see a gap in a spring, or notice a cable hanging loose, leave the door alone. Our guide on what to do about a broken garage door spring covers the warning signs and the steps to take until we arrive. Never try to adjust, wind or replace springs or cables yourself.
Weather seal and floor problems
Sometimes the door is closing fine and the trouble is at the floor.
A new or stiff bottom seal
A new bottom seal that is thicker than the old one can make the door touch the floor earlier than the opener expects. A seal that has gone stiff in cold weather can do the same. Either one can cause the door to bounce back up until the close limit is reset.
An uneven garage floor
Much of North Texas sits on clay soil that swells when it's wet and shrinks when it's dry. Over the years that movement can tilt or crack a garage slab. A door that closes tight on one side and leaves a gap on the other may be sitting on a floor that moved, not a door that's broken.
We can often improve the seal with a different bottom seal or threshold. Large slab problems are a job for a foundation contractor.
Debris on the floor
Gravel, ice melt, a dropped tool or a lip of dried mud can be enough to trigger a reverse. Sweep the area under the door before you start adjusting anything.
Why it's worth fixing quickly
A door that won't close is more than a nuisance.
- Security. An open garage gives easy access to tools, bikes and often the house itself.
- Heat and weather. In a DFW summer, an open garage lets hot air in against the house wall and the water heater. Storms can blow rain and debris inside.
- Wear. Each failed close adds strain to the opener, the rollers and the springs.
- Safety. A door that only closes with the button held down isn't protecting anyone on the way down.
If you have to leave the door open overnight, lock the door between the garage and the house and move valuables you can reach without walking under the door.
When the opener itself is the problem
Openers wear out. If yours is very old, has no photo eyes at all, or no longer reverses during the test, it may be time to replace it. A newer opener can also add features like battery backup for power outages and phone app control.
We install and service residential openers and will tell you plainly whether a repair or a replacement makes more sense for your door.
What happens on a service visit
Here's the general picture when we come out for a door that won't close.
- Look at the door first. We check where it stops, how it sounds and whether it sits level before we touch anything.
- Test the sensors. We check the lights, alignment, height, wiring and the beam itself.
- Check the door by hand. With the opener disconnected and the door closed, we check balance, rollers, hinges, tracks, cables and springs.
- Check the opener. We look at the close limit, force setting, trolley, gears and wall control.
- Fix and test. We repair what's wrong, then run the door several times and run the reverse test with you.
- Walk you through it. We'll tell you what we found, what we fixed and anything that may need attention later.
What to tell us when you call
A few details help us plan the visit and bring the right parts.
- Your address or city. We cover homes across Dallas-Fort Worth and North Texas, including Anna, Princeton, Allen, Sherman, Denison and Forney.
- What the door does, using the list at the top of this post.
- What the sensor lights are doing: on, off or blinking.
- Whether the problem happens at a certain time of day.
- The opener brand and age, if you know them.
- A photo or short video of the door trying to close, taken from a safe distance and emailed to prodoorsandgates@gmail.com.
If the door is on a barndominium or a large shop, mention that too. Our page on barndominium garage doors covers taller doors and their openers.
When to call us
Call right away if the door is stuck open or partway, sits crooked, has a broken spring or loose cable, or fails the reverse test. Call soon if the sensors won't line up, the door closes only with the button held down, or the problem keeps coming back.
Pro Doors and Gates is a family-owned company with our main location at 1940 Everheart Rd in Bells. We repair and replace residential garage doors, openers and gates across Dallas-Fort Worth and North Texas. You can see some of our recent jobs in our project gallery.
Call (903) 294-1846, Monday through Saturday from 7 AM to 5 PM, or send a request. Emergency service is available by appointment after 5 PM Monday through Saturday and on Sundays.
Please note: This article is general information for homeowners and business owners. It is not professional, legal or building code advice. Codes, permit rules and HOA requirements vary by city and county, so check with your local building department or HOA before you start work, and have a trained technician look at your specific door or gate. Never try to adjust or replace garage door springs or cables yourself.
