Is your garage door not closing? There are several reasons why a garage door may not be closing. A problem such as a garage door not closing can very often be identified and resolved by a homeowner. Overhead Door Company of Northern Kentucky has outlined below the most common reasons why a garage door may not close in order to assist you with determining if the problem can be fixed on your own or if you should contact a professional IDEA certified garage door technician to make the necessary repairs.
Please remember that the garage door is the largest moving object in your home and if improperly handled during a repair or maintenance, it can cause severe personal injury and damage to your home. If you are unfamiliar with the operation of a garage door, it is recommended to contact a professional IDEA certified garage door technician to make the necessary repairs.
The Most Common Reasons Why a Garage Door Will Not Close
- Safety Sensor Problem
- The safety sensors are mounted near the bottom of the garage door and are typically located about six inches above the ground. These sensors are part of the automatic garage door opener and send a signal across the length of the garage door. The purpose of the safety sensors are to detect if anything crosses the path of the garage door while it is closing. If there is something in the path of the garage door, the safety sensors will not allow the garage door to close properly.
- Obstruction Problem - If there is an obstruction, the safety sensors detect that there is something under the path of the garage door and will not allow the garage door to close. Typically, the LED's on the safety sensors will blink to indicate that the problem is an obstruction. Sometimes the obstruction can be as simple as a broom or shovel blocking the safety sensors. The obstruction could also be as obscure as a cobweb interfering with the safety sensor lens cover. To resolve this problem, simply remove the obstruction.
- Wiring Problem - The safety sensors are powered by low voltage wires that are connected to the garage door opener motor. Due to various reasons, the wiring in the back of the safety sensor or on the garage door opener motor can be disconnected. If the wiring is disconnected, the safety sensor LED's are typically off because they are not receiving power from the motor. If you find the wires disconnected, simply reconnect the wires to the terminals on the back of the safety sensor. The ends of the low voltage wire can also be corroded causing the safety sensors not to receive power and therefore not allow the garage door to close. In this case, remove the low voltage wire, cut the old ends off, strip off the wire covering to create new ends and reconnect the new ends to the safety sensors.
- Out of Alignment Problem - The easiest safety sensor problem to resolve is an out of alignment issue. In order for the safety sensors to operate properly they must be pointed directly at each other. Sometimes, the safety sensors can be knocked out of alignment by familiar items in a garage such as a bike or lawn mower. If the safety sensors are out of alignment, the LED's will be blinking. Simply, adjust the safety sensors so that they are pointing at each other again to resolve the problem.
- Faulty Safety Sensors - If have checked for obstructions and all the wiring appears to be connected and not corroded and you are still not able to identify the problem, the safety sensors may be faulty and need to be replaced. Replacement safety sensors can be ordered online at https://overheaddoorpartsonline.com/safety-sensor-kits-photocells/
- Faulty Garage Door Opener
- The automatic garage door opener is compromised of several electronic components such as a circuit board, wall console or push button, optical sensor and transformer. If any of these electronic components are faulty, the garage door opener will not function properly and may not allow the garage door to close. Assuming that you have checked the safety sensors for the issues listed above and you determine that the problem is with the garage door opener, it is recommended to contact a professional IDEA certified garage door technician to make the necessary repairs.
- Broken Springs or Cables
- Broken Spring - A garage door utilizes springs that are under a tremendous amount of tension. These springs allow the garage door to open and close. If a spring is broke, the garage door becomes too heavy for the garage door opener to open and close the door properly. Very often you can see that a spring is broken because it has a gap between the coils as the photograph depicts above. If you determine that the problem is a broken or damaged spring, it is recommended to contact a professional IDEA certified garage door technician to make the necessary repairs.
- Broken Cable - Garage door cables are attached to the bottom of the garage door and are then attached to the springs by either using a pulley or drum assembly. If a garage door has a broken or damaged cable, the door may appear the have a broken spring. Since the cables are attached to the springs which are under a tremendous amount tension, it is again recommended to contact a professional IDEA certified garage door technician to make the necessary repairs.
As you can see, some of the problems outlined above can be identified and resolved by a homeowner. However, there are also many problems that should be repaired by a professional. If you are located in Greater Cincinnati or Northern Kentucky and need an IDEA certified garage door technician to repair your garage door, click here to schedule an appointment.
Overhead Door Company of Northern Kentucky is a second generation family owned company that provides residential and commercial garage doors, automatic garage door openers, dock equipment, commercial steel entry doors, retractable awnings and garage storage solutions to Greater Cincinnati communities such as Hyde Park, Loveland, West Chester and Mason and Northern Kentucky communities such as Florence, Hebron, Burlington and Ft Mitchell. Overhead Door Company of Northern Kentucky has been a proud distributor of Overhead Door products since 1947.
For more information about Overhead Door Company of Northern Kentucky, visit our website at www.OverheadDoorOnline.com
