Why Won't My Garage Door Open?
Start with the checks that cannot hurt you or the door. If the door is heavy or a bang came first, leave it shut and call us.
Quick Answer
When a garage door won't open, the cause is usually one of three things: the opener has lost power or its signal, the door has been locked or disconnected from the motor, or a spring or cable has broken so the door is too heavy to lift. Check the power point, the wall button lock and the remote battery first. If those are fine, pull the release cord with the door fully closed and try lifting by hand. A door that lifts easily points to the opener. A door that will not budge, or feels like dead weight, points to a broken spring, and that is a job for a technician.
Likely Causes
Broken spring
The most common reason a door refuses to move. The spring carries the weight; without it the opener cannot lift the door and may hum or strain.
No power or a tripped circuit
Check the opener's light. If it is dark, the power point, plug or circuit breaker may be off after a storm or a power cut.
Lock or vacation mode on
Many wall buttons have a lock switch that blocks the remotes. A manual lock bar on the door itself will also stop it dead.
Remote battery or pairing
If the wall button works but the remote does not, a flat battery or lost pairing is the likely cause.
Snapped or slipped cable
A broken lift cable can leave the door jammed or hanging crooked. The opener may run while the door stays put.
Opener drive or board failure
A motor that runs but does not move the door may have a stripped gear. One that clicks and does nothing may have a failed board.
Checks You Can Do Without Risk
Fine to check yourself
- Look at the opener light and check the power point, plug and circuit breaker
- Make sure the lock or vacation switch on the wall button is off
- Try the wall button; if it works, change the remote battery
- Check the door is not held by a manual lock bar or a slide bolt
- With the door fully closed, pull the release cord and see if the door lifts easily by hand
- If safety beams are fitted, wipe the lenses and make sure nothing blocks them
Leave these alone
- Do not touch, loosen or adjust the springs or the bar above the door
- Do not keep pressing the button if the motor strains or hums
- Do not pull the release cord while the door is open or partly open
- Do not try to lift a door that feels like dead weight
- Do not pry at the cables or the bottom brackets
Signs It Needs a Technician
If you notice any of these, stop using the door and ring us to talk it through.
- You heard a loud bang from the garage before the door stopped working
- There is a gap in the spring coil on the bar above the door
- A cable is hanging loose or the door sits crooked
- The door will not lift by hand once released from the motor
- The motor runs but the door does not move
- A car is inside and the door is stuck shut
Services That Fix This
Describe the Fault to Us
Prefer to call? (08) 5550 0311When to Stop and Call Us
If the door feels heavy, a cable is loose or you heard a bang, stop using the door and leave it closed. Ring us to describe what happened and we will book a time to fix it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Power, signal or mechanics. A tripped circuit, a locked wall button or a flat remote battery stops the opener. A broken spring, snapped cable or door off its tracks stops the door itself. The release-cord lift test tells you which side the fault is on.
A door that is hard to lift by hand is out of balance, usually because a spring has broken or lost tension. Dry, seized rollers and sand packed into the tracks can also add drag. Do not force it; a heavy door can drop suddenly.
Many openers run for a long time with care, but life depends on use and on the door being balanced. An unbalanced door makes the motor lift extra weight every cycle and wears gears and boards early. Summer heat in garages also takes a toll.
Check the lock function on the wall button first, then the remote battery and the safety beams. If the light comes on and the motor hums but nothing moves, the door may be too heavy from a broken spring, or the drive gear may be worn.
Either the trolley has been disconnected by the release cord, or the drive inside the opener has stripped. If reconnecting the trolley does not help and the door lifts easily by hand, the opener needs repair. If the door is heavy, it is a spring.
Door playing up?
Tell us what it's doing.
Describe the noise, the gap or the blinking light. We book a time window, ring when we're heading over, and price the fix before any work begins, anywhere across Perth's north-east and northern suburbs.