My Garage Door Won't Close All the Way

Here is the thing about a door that will not close all the way: it is not always a disaster. Sometimes it is a simple sensor adjustment a homeowner can handle themselves. But sometimes that same door that almost worked is telling you something much bigger is coming. The difference between those two situations is worth understanding.

When I get a call about a door that will not close all the way the first things I am looking for when I arrive are: are there any obstructions in front of the sensors causing the motor to think something is in the way? Are the sensors still on the track and able to see each other? How old is the motor and what are the force settings set at? Is there any damage to the gear assembly causing the travel of the motor to be off? Then we go through all the moving components of the door to check for extra resistance, friction, or weight causing the motor to malfunction.

But before I even get there, where exactly the door stops tells me a lot.

What Each Symptom Actually Means

1. Door Comes All the Way Down, Touches the Ground, and Pops Back Up

This is almost always a gearing issue inside the motor. The gear assembly is worn or damaged and the motor cannot complete its travel properly. But here is the important thing to understand: gear damage does not just happen on its own. It stems from a heavy door that has not been properly balanced. The motor has been overworked for a long time trying to compensate for a failing spring system and eventually the gears pay the price.

2. Door Stops Right at the Sensor Level and Reverses

When the door gets down to the spot on the track where the sensors are mounted and reverses back up, we are usually dealing with friction and vibration causing the tracks to move, which moves the sensors out of alignment. This can happen from summer heat causing swelling in the tracks, or from worn rollers that have not been maintained and are dragging instead of rolling. The vibration from a struggling door shakes everything loose over time.

The Flash Codes Your Mcotor Is Sending You

Most homeowners have no idea their motor is actually communicating with them through light flashes. Here is what two of the most important ones mean on most LiftMaster, Chamberlain, and Craftsman units:

What You Can Try Before Calling

If you are seeing 10 flashes or your wall button says "sensors momentarily obstructed," here is exactly what to do:

How to Realign Your Safety Sensors

       
1. Look at the sensors at the bottom of each side of the track. Find the one with an orange or yellow light. This is the sending sensor. It will always have a light on as long as it has power.
       
2. Now look at the sensor on the other side. It should have a solid green light. If it is off or flashing, that sensor is out of alignment.
       
3. Loosen the wing nut that holds that sensor to the mount on the track. Do not remove it, just loosen it enough that the sensor can move.
       
4. Wiggle the sensor around slowly until the green light goes solid.
       
5. Once you have a solid green light, tighten the wing nut back up. Your problem should be solved.
       
6. If you cannot get that green light to go solid no matter what you try, something else is going on that a simple adjustment is not going to fix. You can manually hold down your wall button until the door closes all the way to secure your home, then call a professional to come out and diagnose what is happening.
     

Sensor alignment is the one thing homeowners can often handle on their own. Everything else on this list needs a professional. Call us and we can walk you through the sensor fix over the phone before you even schedule an appointment.

Do not keep hitting the button and hoping it works. We all do it. The door almost closes, we hit the button again, it works, and we move on with our lives. But a garage door that malfunctions does it for a reason. This is a moving part that weighs anywhere from 150 to 1,000 pounds. When it tells you something is wrong, pay attention no matter how small the issue seems. A small issue that got ignored is how we end up on a Sunday morning with a door that will not move at all.

The Thing Most People Never Realize

When a door will not close it is not always the end of the world. Sometimes it really is just a simple sensor adjustment that a homeowner can do on their own.

But here is what everyone should understand. We notice the door did not close so we hit the button again and it ends up working, and then we forget about it and move on with our lives. A garage door malfunctions for a reason. When a moving part with a motor that weighs 150 to 1,000 pounds tells you something is off, we should pay attention no matter how small the issue is or whether a simple adjustment fixed it in the moment.

These moving parts need maintenance yearly. An expert eye can spot upcoming serious issues before they turn into the kind of emergency that leaves you locked in or your home wide open. The door that almost did not close today is the door that completely stops working in three months if nobody looks at it.

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