Reasons Your Garage Won’t Open All The Way

By providing professional residential and commercial garage door service, we have dealt with all issues related to garage door repairs. Although, there are still some situations that surprise us, such as an insect nest developing on photo eye sensor or when a tennis ball manages to knock a garage door fully off track. While issues like these are uncommon, our professionals are ready and able to tackle all of your garage door issues.

Dead Transmitter Batteries

While this could sound obvious, even garage door transmitters require power to operate. If the transmitter batteries have gone dead, it is not able to provide the signal to open the garage door as it should.

Incorrect Photo Eye Alignment

You might recall a period when you were a kid where your siblings would shut the garage door, then run underneath it quickly to exit before it closed. With garage doors that were installed after 1993, this is no longer possible due to two small photo eye sensors on each side of the garage entry. The purpose of the photo eye is to transmit a beam between them, while detecting anything that may hinder the garage door from closing. It is a safety measure to avoid automatic garage doors from shutting on top of a car, person, pet, or something else that could lead to serious injuries or damages.

Incorrectly Aligned Garage Track

If you find that the garage door track has been misaligned for some reason, this can be a serious problem. Like the track in a dresser drawer, garage doors operate on a metal track that should be properly aligned for the door to move. If gaps between the rail and rollers are visible, or the rails bend themselves, you have an issue. Because of the weight of garage doors, these problems will only get worse, and could eventually be dangers to use the door.

Issues with the Transmitters

When it comes to the transmitters, there are a few things that could be leading to transmitters not working correctly. One common cause is being out of rate from the garage door itself. Like with a vehicle’s key fob, each transmitter and garage door will have their own range of function. If you are attempting to open the garage door and your house is not even in sight yet, there’s a good chance your simply out of range. Try to open the garage door as you pull into the driveway, this may provide more success with opening the door on your first attempt.

Path of Garage Door is Blocked

As stated above, for more than two decades the design of garage doors has a reverse design to prevent them from shutting on objects in the door’s path. If you are experiencing the door closing partly, then opening back up, there may be something in the photo eye senor’s pathway. This can be objects from toys or garbage cans, to insect nests and debris on the sensor, or along the track that prevents rollers from moving forward. Other things that can prevent proper movement is small rocks, mud buildup or gum. Even the smallest object on the track will keep the door from shutting to avoid crushing the object.

Broken Garage Door Springs

If your garage door suddenly stops opening, and the transmitters are in working order, the power is reaching the motor, and there’s nothing blocking the track, you might have a broken torsion spring.

Incorrectly Set Garage Door Limit Settings

There are times you may find that your garage door shuts completely as it should, but suddenly decides to open back up rather than remain closed. This is an issue that generally occurs with newly installed garage doors or old doors which need resetting. In the event this happens, it is likely the open/close limit settings on the door opener need to be adjusted.

Enabled Disconnect Switch

If you are able to hear the motor run for the length of time it usually takes to properly open or close, but the garage door is not moving, there is a chance the disconnect switch got enabled. Each garage door opener has a disconnect switch feature in the event you lose power. This will allow you to manually open or close the garage door so that your car does not get stuck inside the garage until you get the power back.

Manually Locked Door

If you are noticing the garage door motor is running for a few seconds, then turns off and the door does not open, the door may have gotten locked manually. If the door springs and track has been checked for any objects and appear to be in working order, check the manual door lock to see if it’s been engaged.

Cables or Tension Springs Got Broke

A garage door uses cables and tension springs for operating the door in a slow and safe manner. In the event the cables or tension springs break, you may begin to notice the door is shutting quickly. If this is the case, it is common to hear a bang when hitting the ground. If you are experiencing this issue, it can be very dangerous due to nothing being there to prevent it from closing on something and crushing it. It is recommended to call your garage door professional to come out as quickly as possible to get the springs or cables repaired.