garage door starts to close then goes back up
Written by Queen City Garage Doors on January 13, 2022

When Garage Door Starts To Close Then Goes Back Up - Causes and Solutions

It's frustrating when you intend to close the garage door, but it closes down and then rolls back up. You might have kept many precious belongings in your garage, so it is vital to ensure its security.

The garage door acts as the first line of defense to your essential belongings; however, compromising with it can make your items vulnerable to theft.

Therefore, you must ensure that the garage door works properly. There can be various reasons behind the non-working of the garage door, and make sure you note each of them and try to repair it yourself if possible. Here we have tried to mention some reasons to help you figure out the fault in your garage door.

Why Isn't The Garage Door Closing?

If your garage door starts rolling back up, then there might be a possibility that something is blocking the door. A minor dust or dirt deposit on safety sensors can cause this action.

A safety sensor is a device fitted in your garage door responsible for restricting overhead door shutting down. 

It senses someone below the overhead door and prevents them from crashing down. This safety measure protected small children and animals unaware of the closing door, and maximum force sensors work if the safety sensor is not responding.

How Can You Fix The Garage Door?

Before reaching professional help, it's better that you fix the door by yourself. Many reasons can be behind the garage door reversing back, which might help you are enlisted below.

Safety sensors do not work properly

Safety sensors or safety beams are inserted in garage doors for safety purposes. They emit an invisible straight beam of light from one end to another and sense if something crosses it.

The beams ensure that nothing comes under the overhead garage door, and they also enable it to reverse the overhead door when needed. Faulty safety sensors could be stopping your garage door from closing completely. You should check if any of the below-mentioned reasons persist:

  1. The sensors or the photo eyes work 4 to 6 inches above the complete width of the garage door's path. Make sure that the floor is clear. Some unnecessary stuff may be bisecting somewhere in the way.
  2. Misalignment of sensor light can be responsible for the non-closing of the door. Double-check if the photo eyes are blinking or closed. If yes, then it is possible that the beams are not reaching the receiving eye due to misalignment. Henceforth, You need to adjust its alignment.
  3. Another possibility can be the deposition of dust or debris on the photo-eye, which may act as a hurdle between sensor lights and the receiving unit. Fixing it is pretty simple, and all you need is a soft cloth to wipe on the sensor with light hands.

The garage door openers are not working properly

Garage door openers are responsible for the opening and closing of garage doors. We control them by switches on the remotes or buttons on the wall attached to the garage door.

The garage door opener is connected with a motor which enables the garage door gate to function. Any changes in the working of the garage door opener can be responsible for reversing the back of the garage door.

Garage door openers have adjustment screws for modifying force applied to propel the door closed. Friction due to rollers and tracks can be confused by reaching the floor by garage door opener. Therefore, you need to adjust the door opener to be less sensitive.

Another reason for non-functioning garage doors can be light flashes or blinking lights in the door openers. Each blinking light denotes a different problem in the entire mechanism, and you need to note the different blinking light patterns and detect the situation accordingly.

The number of blinks in a single duration denotes a particular problem. Perhaps, you need to count the number of blinks at each interval. Most garage door openers from different brands exhibit different blinking light patterns; therefore, you need to check the particular opener in its manual.

Power source

If the garage door doesn't close, you need to check whether the power supply to the unit is sufficient or not. There might be a susceptible short circuit due to overconsumption of power by a couple of appliances.

In the case of a short circuit, the circuit breaker trips to protect the garage door system from damage due to a high voltage supply. It's the reason why the garage door won't close. If such happens then you need to call a professional and reliable electrician who will detect and rectify it.

Limit settings of the door opener

Every garage door opener has its own limit setting to prevent crushing objects beneath. The limit switch determines how far the door has to go before stopping. You have the liberty to set the limit settings manually using the control system that connected the garage door.

Sometimes the limit settings are unable to determine the correct length where the garage door has to stop. The misinterpretation by the limit switch can be responsible for the non-closing of the garage door.

In the case of a non-closing garage door, there is a high possibility that you might have shifted the settings to the highest. When the door reaches the mid of its length, the opener thinks of it as the floor due to the force that is being exerted by the limit switch and, therefore it stops. If you shift it to the lowest the door will hit the ground before it is fully closed.

Damaged door cables and broken springs

Garage door cables make up for the force that is being applied on the ground by the coordination of springs and drums. Door cables greatly support the garage door to reverse back and close. In case of a damaged or broken door cable, the opener is the only hardware left that is holding the entire gate.

This can be dangerous because you cannot rely on the opener to hold the entire weight for a very long time. If such happens, then we suggest you avoid passing the door because it can possibly collapse anytime. A professional would be able to tackle this problem in the best way possible.

Torsion springs that are being used to support the whole unit can get damaged by rust or overuse. We suggest you replace them with extension springs as they are preferentially more reliable.

The garage door remote not working properly

Transmitters and remote control are used to command the opening and closing of the door. It is possible that you might have pressed it in the closed position halfway or pressed the door open by mistake.

Moreover, your garage door remote might have exhausted its battery. The owner's manual can help you in instructing the process for replacing the batteries.

Burned out logic board

The logic board serves as the central controlling unit of the whole garage door system. If something happens to the logic board, then none of the moving units will function. The primary reason behind the non-working of the logic board can be the overuse or a mischievous lightning strike which is surprisingly very common nowadays.

It's best to examine and repair it as soon as possible because you might need to save a considerable sum of money for getting it replaced. If it's non-functional, you need to replace the whole unit, and for that, you should always reach out to professional services.

Check the working of transmitters

The most common reason for the non-working of garage doors can be non-responsive transmitters. Transmitters aid in transmitting signals to control the opening and closing of the door. You can check whether they work or not by pressing the button on the wall attached to the door. Rectifying them can fix the problem.

What Happens When We Close The Door Manually?

Garage doors usually come with a remote lock but some of them have a manual lock. The manual locks were added as a backup for non-working remotes or transmitters. With the help of this feature, you can simply pull the door and manually close the door.

Once you have checked rollers and tracks then, it's possible that somebody might have closed your door manually. To unlock it you have to follow specific instructions and look for the handle connecting the entire unit. Press the handle firmly until the door closes.

FAQs

How are rollers and tracks responsible for the non-working of garage doors?

Tracks and rollers enable the door to move down. Worn-out track and rollers can act as a hurdle in the movement of the door. Sometimes dirt and debris deposit in the track and block the path. You need to clean the track using a thick brush or broom to repair it. After cleaning, you can apply a lubricant that will give a smooth passage to the moving door.

How does a garage door opener assure safety?

A garage door opener has safety eyes placed 4-6 inches above the ground. The safety eyes subject a straight beam of light that covers the area under the garage door opener. If something accidentally hits that path the garage door automatically stops moving.

Conclusion

It is frustrating when the garage door stops working. Most homeowners try to repair it by themselves. However, it's worth noting that a professional help saves you from uncertainty and future expenses as well. A good professional will curb the cause within minimum cost and suggest if you need to replace the garage door or not. You should always hand over the problem to a trusted professional in case of issues that you cannot fix.

Where To Find Professional Help?

If you are looking for a reliable professional at an affordable price, then Queen City Garage Doors is your destination. Our professionals are experts at garage door repair and track the significant cause in no time. All you have to do is call us at 980-949-0990 to know more about exciting offers and discounts.

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