Why Isn’t My Garage Door Closing Properly?
Q: Why isn’t my garage door closing properly?
A: When your electric garage door doesn’t close, it’s inconvenient and dangerous. An open door welcomes animals and potential thieves. You need to be able to close your garage door without any issues. Here are several reasons that could be causing your automatic garage door to not close properly.
Physical Blocks
Many homeowners wondering, “why won’t my garage door close?” overlook this obvious problem: something impeding the door and preventing it from closing. Even minuscule objects, such as pebbles, could hinder a door. Check around the door to see if items or debris are blocking its movement.
Dead Batteries
This might seem like another obvious issue, but homeowners can neglect their garage door openers. On average, garage door batteries last a couple of years, but they can deplete quickly if you use them regularly. They can also discharge if you don’t use them for long periods of time. If your garage door doesn’t close with the remote, replace the batteries. If you see the small red light blinking on your remote, this signals a weak or dead battery.
Broken Sensors
Electric garage doors have safety sensors on the bottom to prevent accidental closing. While this is typically a safety feature, it can be inconvenient if your sensors are broken or dirty. Try cleaning their lenses or realigning them.
Faulty Springs
Garage doors will not close properly if they have broken or worn-out springs. Luckily, it’s easy to spot this problem, as the springs will display clear signs of damage. Springs carry quite a bit of tension, so it’s best to call in professionals to handle them safely and avoid injury.
Worn-out Cables
All automatic garage doors rely on cables to open and close. Over time, these cables can snap or break with regular use. As with faulty springs, you can spot faulty cables with a visual inspection, but you should leave the replacement to a pro.
Track Issues
Any track issues can also prevent a garage door from closing correctly. If there’s a blockage on the tracks, you can simply remove the item, and your door should function flawlessly. For bent or misshapen tracks, however, you’ll need to have them replaced.
Limit Screws Need Adjustment
Every automatic garage door uses limit screws to determine how far the door must move to reach the garage floor. If these screws are set incorrectly, the door won’t open properly. To adjust the limit screws, use a screwdriver to turn them clockwise to increase the limit or counterclockwise to decrease it - when in doubt, call a professional for help.
Get Your Garage Door Fixed Today
Now when you ask yourself, “why won’t my garage door close?” you have many possible answers. While it can be an easy fix in some cases, attempting DIY repair can often do more harm than good. To get professional services for any issues that arise, give us a call today!