What's wrong with my garage door?
Tap what the door is doing. Two or three questions later you'll see the likely cause, what you can safely check yourself, what not to touch, and whether it can wait.
Heard a bang? Don't touch the springs or the red cord
Question 1
What is the door doing?
Pick the closest one. You can go back and change it.
How this works
A garage door is a heavy panel held up by springs and cables, moved by an opener and watched by two safety sensors. Nearly every fault shows up as one of a handful of things the door does — so the questions start there, not with part names.
Each answer narrows it down to the most likely cause. The “safe to check” list only includes things a homeowner can do without going near anything under tension: batteries, power, the wall control, the sensors, the lock, the floor. Everything else is on the “do not touch” list for a reason.
It runs in your browser and nothing you tap is sent anywhere. It's a likely cause, not a diagnosis — the technician confirms what has actually failed when they see the door.
Questions people ask
- Why does my garage door open but not close?
- Most often it is the safety sensors near the floor. If something breaks the beam between them, or one is knocked out of line, the door refuses to close or goes back up — usually with the opener light flashing. Clear the doorway, wipe the lenses and check that both sensor lights are steady.
- Why does the wall button work but not my remote?
- Then the opener itself is working. If it is one remote, try a new battery first. If every remote and the keypad stopped at once, the wall control may be in lock or vacation mode, or the remotes lost their pairing after a power cut.
- Is it safe to open a garage door with a broken spring?
- No. The springs hold the door's weight. Without them it is very heavy and can drop, and pulling the red emergency release on a door that is up can let it fall. Leave it closed if it is closed, keep clear if it is open, and have a technician deal with it.
- Can I adjust or replace a garage door spring myself?
- Please don't. Springs, lift cables and the bottom brackets are under very high tension, and they injure people every year. The safe checks are the ones in this tool — batteries, power, sensors, the lock — and nothing that involves the springs.
- Why does my garage door touch the floor and then go back up?
- The opener thinks the floor is an obstruction. Its travel limit or closing force has usually drifted, or something has changed on the floor. The closing force is a safety setting, so turning it up to make the door close is not the fix — have a technician set and test it.
- What does the red cord on a garage door do?
- It disconnects the door from the opener so the door can be moved by hand, for example in a power cut. It is only safe to use when the door is closed and the springs are intact. If a spring might be broken, leave the cord alone.
Shopping for a new opener instead? Try the opener picker.
Rather just talk to someone?
Phones answered around the clock. Free estimate — the price is agreed before work starts.