Why Your Garage Door Won't Open
Why won't my garage door open?
What is actually causing it
Most likely first, based on what our crews find on the call.
01Broken torsion spring
The single most common reason a door will not open. The spring above the opening does the lifting, not the motor; with it broken the door weighs 150–300 lb and the opener simply cannot move it. You will often see a visible gap of an inch or two in the spring coil. Do not attempt to open the door, and do not attempt the repair — a wound torsion spring stores enough energy to break bones. Call a technician.
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.
02No power to the opener
Check that the unit is plugged in, that the GFCI outlet in the ceiling has not tripped, and that the breaker is on. Ceiling outlets on a shared garage circuit trip more often than people expect.
Safe to check yourself, with the door closed and the opener unplugged.
03Remote and wall button both dead
If neither the remote nor the hard-wired wall control does anything, the problem is upstream of the radio — power, logic board or the wall-button wire. If only the remote is dead, start with the battery.
Safe to check yourself, with the door closed and the opener unplugged.
04Trolley disconnected from the carriage
Somebody pulled the red emergency release and the trolley never re-engaged. The motor runs, the chain or belt moves, the door stays put. Re-engaging is usually a matter of running the opener until the carriage clicks back in — but only do it with the door fully closed.
Safe to check yourself, with the door closed and the opener unplugged.
05Up-force setting drifted too low
Force settings drift as springs age. The opener senses what it reads as an obstruction and stops. The correct fix is to rebalance the door, not to crank the force up — a door with the force turned up past its balance point is a door that will not reverse off an obstruction.
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 locked or frozen to the slab
A thrown side latch, or a bottom seal stuck to the concrete after a cold wet night in the Central Valley or the Sierra foothills, will hold the door down hard enough to stall the opener.
Safe to check yourself, with the door closed and the opener unplugged.
07Stripped drive gear or sheared sprocket
The motor hums or spins freely while nothing moves. On chain-drive units this is usually the nylon drive gear. It is a common, inexpensive part — but the gearbox has to come apart to reach it.
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.
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Frequently asked questions
Why won't my garage door open?
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.