Garage Door Not Closing
Enhance Your Home’s Safety and Convenience
Not Closing: Problems and Solutions
Is your garage door not closing?
This can be incredibly frustrating and it leaves us homeowners in a vulnerable place – especially if we have to get moving!
Your time is valuable – and in this article we’ll discuss the most common reasons why your garage door is not closing. Some of these can be addressed by you and others take a professional. The DIY we reference here is Don’t Hurt Yourself!
Here is a short list of the main reason why your garage door is not closing:
~Safety Sensor Photo Eyes are not aligned or blocked
~Garage Door is blocked
~Opener has a bad computer board
~Transmitters have poor batteries or connections
Safety Sensor Photo Eyes
The safety sensors are part of a UL325 residential building code that creates a safety mechanism to protect young children, pets, people in general, and even property from having the door close down on them.
When the photo eyes are not aligned or blocked – the door openers will not close. And often, they will reverse completely open and if there are lights that work ont he machines, they will flash a couple of times and perhaps have an audible clikcing noise.
There are two photo eyes and should be on either side of the garage door about 6-12″ off the ground. One eye is ‘sending’ the signal and can be a solid yellow or red color. The other eye is ‘receiving’ and this tends to be a solid green when there is a full connection. When not connected, or when misaligned, this eye may be flashing green or off completely.
If your garage door is not closing, chek your photo eyes on either side of your garage door and see if there are two solid lights. If there is one off, or flashing, take a look at the direction of the eyes and align them so they are looking at one another.
You may notice the eyes being dirty, or perhaps a cob web was created over one. Make sure they are clean and unobstructed. Then ensure they are aligned. These can get knocked by the trash can, rakes, bikes, animals — you name it. This is a very common reason why a garage door will not close.
Garage Door is Blocked
Quite simply, if the door cannot go down due to a vehicle or tool in the way, the operators of today are deisgned to reverse themselves and not close. If this scenario is playing out for you, check the photo eyes noted above, and then check the garage door and it’s track.
Everynow and then a bold can come loose, or something falls into the track, which can cause friction if not a complete block. Garage Door operators are deisgned with a force limit which prevents them from cruching property, people, or damaging other parts of the garage door system. When undue friction is added to the system, the openers will revers and fully open.
Inspect the track and door area for any obstruction, remove the obstruction and try closing again.
Opener has a bad computer board
Another reason for a garage door to not close is a bad operator board. This is the computer that runs the operator system and occasionally these go bad. What generally causes these to go bad are electric surges caused by electrical storms or poor wiring in a home. In general, the indicator to whether an operator has a bad board or not is inconsistency. Perhaps the door works one day and the next day it doesnt. Or perhaps it ghost opens when you did not intend it to.
Bad boards can be incredibly frustrating and hard to disgnose. And most of the machines if made within the last 10 years or so have computer board replacements available. A professional can help determine if a board is bad on a machine and source a correct replacement easily.
Transmitters have poor batteries or connections
If your door not closing is occurring only when clicking the hand helpd transmitter, you can explore the transmitter and it’s connection. This means your wall button will work consistently for both opening and closing your garage door. In general this determines your photo eyes are engaged and aligned, your door is not obstructed, and your operator is running well.
Your transmitter has a small battery on board and if it’s a few years old, replace this battery and try again. It may have worn out.
If you battery is new, there could be a dropped code or perhaps frequency noise due to LED lighting or wifi signals. For a dropped code you can reprogram this to your machine and likely be good to go — this can indicate a board going bad overtime however and may be something to consider replacing if a 15 year or older machine.
Frequency noise can wash out weaker garage door signals and deteriorate distance and effectiveness of transmitters. One reason why Kooler supplies the Sommer Opener is due to their high frequency – they run above 900mzh where most others are under 500mzh. The higher the frequency the longer distance it can travel and the stronger it is. New LED lighting and smart homes can erode connections as they cause noise in the ‘channels’ and make some connections difficult. A professional craftsman can help you determine if this is the case in your home and we can help you upgrade or strengthen signals.
In summery – a garage door not closing is dangerous, frustrating, and there are multiple reasons why your garage door won’t close. Take a look at the list with the priority being the photo eyes. And if there are ongoing troubles reach out to Kooler and we’ll send one of our background checked professional craftsman your way.
Great Service!
At Kooler Garage doors, we pride ourselves in great service. Our service vans are fully loaded with everything we need to get the job done right. You’ll see us coming too with our branded trucks and you’ll receive a text notification with a picture of your garage door service tech. All parts of Kooler’s mission to beautifully secure your home.