Garage door: won't open or won't close
This guide covers the door and its opener. When the door won't lift, see won't open; a broken spring is the usual cause, and springs and cables are pro-only. When it reverses or won't come down, see won't close; the safety sensors are the usual cause, and they should never be bypassed.
- Garage door won't open?A garage door that won't lift from a broken spring or cable, no power, dead remote batteries, a locked console, a pulled manual release or a stripped opener gear.
- Garage door won't close?A garage door that reverses or won't come down from misaligned or blocked safety sensors, something in the path, a bent track, a wrong close limit, lock mode or dead remote batteries.
Typical lifespan: 15 to 30 years for the door (steel 15–20, wood 20–30), and 10 to 15 years for the opener
Signs it is near the end:
- Springs or cables keep breaking.
- The door is noisy, jerky or hangs crooked as it moves.
- The opener strains, hums or keeps needing repair.
- Panels are warped, rotted or rusted through.
- Watch the door move and note any jerking, noise or a crooked hang.
- Look at the springs, cables and rollers for gaps, fraying or wear, from the floor. Leave any adjustment to a pro.
- Keep the safety sensor lenses clean and both sensor lights steady.
- Keep the tracks and the area under the door clear.
- Keep fingers out of panel joints, rollers and tracks.
- FurnaceFall
The furnace runs but the house stays cold, which is usually a clogged filter, a thermostat setting, or an ignition fault.
- Heat pumpFall
The heat pump runs but the house stays cold, which is usually thermostat settings, a clogged filter, or an iced-over outdoor unit.
- Washer
Water is left in the drum after the cycle, which is usually a clogged pump filter or a kinked drain hose.
- Fridge
The fridge section is warm or warming. The cause depends on whether the freezer is still cold, and the first fix is often free.
- Washer
The drum fills and washes but won't spin, which is usually an unbalanced load, the lid switch, or a drain problem.
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Snap one of these:
- the spring above the door, showing any gap
- the safety sensors at the bottom of each track and their lights
- the opener's lights or the wall console
- the cables and rollers along one side
Add a note or more photos next. Nobody calls you.
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