Garage Door Stuck After a Power Outage
The power went out and now my garage door won't work — what do I do?
What is actually causing it
Most likely first, based on what our crews find on the call.
01Trolley never re-engaged after the manual release
Someone pulled the red cord to get a car out, and the carriage did not click back onto the trolley when power returned. With the door fully closed, run the opener once and listen for the re-engagement; on most units pulling the cord toward the door re-arms it.
Safe to check yourself, with the door closed and the opener unplugged.
02Backup battery aged out or exhausted
California openers include a backup battery, and it is a consumable. Multi-day outages drain them, and a battery more than a few years old often will not take a charge afterwards. Most units flash a light or beep to say so.
Safe to check yourself, with the door closed and the opener unplugged.
03Logic board killed by the restoration surge
More openers die when the power comes back than when it goes out. A unit that is completely dead after restoration, with no LEDs at all, has usually lost the board. A surge protector on the opener circuit is cheap insurance in PSPS country.
Do not attempt this yourself. It is under spring or cable load and it injures people every year — this one is a licensed-technician job.
04GFCI tripped when power returned
The garage receptacle is usually GFCI-protected and it commonly trips on restoration. Reset it — this is the single most common cause and it costs nothing to check.
Safe to check yourself, with the door closed and the opener unplugged.
05Travel limits lost from memory
Some openers drop their learned travel positions after a long dead period and then stop short or reverse. The limits need re-teaching.
Do not attempt this yourself. It is under spring or cable load and it injures people every year — this one is a licensed-technician job.
06Door damaged while being forced open in the dark
Manually hauling a heavy door up in an outage racks the sections, slackens a cable and bends track. If the door was opened by hand during the outage and now runs badly, that is why.
Do not attempt this yourself. It is under spring or cable load and it injures people every year — this one is a licensed-technician job.
Why this happens more in California
Public Safety Power Shutoffs are a permanent feature of the California grid: PG&E, Southern California Edison and SDG&E all de-energize circuits during extreme fire weather under the CPUC's de-energization framework, and events routinely run for a day or more across whole counties. The safety point that matters most is the manual release cord. Never pull it while the door is OPEN if you have any reason to think a spring is broken — the counterbalance is what is holding that weight up, and without it the door comes down. Release the door only when it is closed, or when you are certain the springs are intact. California also requires residential garage door openers sold or installed in the state to have a battery backup, which is exactly the feature a PSPS is designed to test; if yours does not have one, an outage is a good moment to price a replacement.
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Frequently asked questions
The power went out and now my garage door won't work — what do I do?
Is this safe for me to fix myself?
How much will the repair cost?
Are you licensed?
Describe the noise. We will tell you what broke.
Most calls are diagnosed in under two minutes, with a price range before anyone drives out.
CA-GARAGEDOOR California — California contractor licence CSLB #1098234. Licensed, bonded and insured. 1-year parts & labor.