A garage door that will not move is one of those problems that gets worse if you keep pressing the button. Before you do anything else: stop running the opener. Almost every expensive garage door job we see started as a cheap one that somebody forced.
What follows is how to work out what is wrong without touching anything under tension.
First: is it the door or the opener?
This single test separates most problems into one of two buckets.
Pull the emergency release cord — the red handle hanging from the rail. That disconnects the door from the opener. Now try to lift the door by hand.
If the door lifts smoothly and stays where you put it, the door and springs are fine and the problem is the opener, its logic board, the sensors or the remote.
If the door is extremely heavy, will not move, or crashes down, the problem is the springs or the cables. Leave it alone from here. This is the point where people get hurt.
The opener runs but the door does not move
The motor hums or the chain moves, but the door stays put. Nine times out of ten this is a broken torsion spring. Look at the spring on the bar above the door: a broken one has a visible gap, like someone cut a slice out of the coil.
The other possibility is a stripped trolley or a disconnected carriage — the opener is running, but nothing is attached to the door. That is a cheaper fix, and an inspection will tell you which it is in about a minute.
The door goes down then reverses straight back up
This is the safety sensors, and it is the most common call we get that turns out to be free to fix.
The two small photo-eye sensors sit a few inches off the floor on each side of the opening. They have to see each other. Check for:
- A bin, bike, box or broom leaning into the beam.
- A sensor knocked out of alignment. One should show a steady light; if it is flickering or off, nudge it until it is steady.
- Cobwebs, dust or a lizard on the lens. Wipe both lenses with a dry cloth.
- Direct low sun hitting one lens. In South Florida this is a real cause in the late afternoon on west-facing garages.
If the lights are steady, the lenses are clean and it still reverses, the wiring or the sensor itself has failed — humidity gets into those connections.
The door reverses on the way up, or stops part way
Going up, the opener is fighting resistance. That is usually a track problem: a bent section, a roller out of its track, or debris in the channel. Look along both tracks with a flashlight. If you can see a roller sitting outside the track, or a visible kink, stop and call. Running the opener against a bent track bends more track.
The door is crooked, or one side is higher
This is a cable that has come off its drum or snapped. You will often see a cable hanging slack beside the door. A door in this state can come down hard and unevenly. Do not use it, and do not try to lift it by hand — the weight is now unbalanced and going somewhere you did not intend.
Nothing happens at all
Work outwards from the simplest cause. Is the opener plugged in and is there power at the outlet? Try the wall button as well as the remote — if the wall button works and the remote does not, it is the remote battery or the remote. If neither works and the unit is dead, check the breaker.
A logic board killed by a power surge is common here, especially after summer storms. If the opener is more than about twelve years old and the board is gone, replacing the unit is usually the better value.
The door is stuck open and you need to secure the garage
If the door is open and will not come down, you can usually lower it by hand after pulling the release cord — but only if the springs are intact. If a spring is broken, the door will come down with its full weight. Do not stand under it and do not put your fingers between the sections.
Call and tell us the door is stuck open. That changes how we prioritise the job.
What not to do
- Do not adjust or unwind a torsion spring. It holds enough energy to break bones.
- Do not disable the safety sensors by taping them facing each other. They exist because doors have killed people.
- Do not keep cycling the opener to “see if it catches”. Each attempt adds damage.
- Do not adjust the force settings up to make a struggling door work. That removes the protection that stops the door crushing something.
Common questions
My door only reverses at night. Why?
Usually sensor alignment that is marginal — it works when the light is right and fails when it is not. It can also be a heat-related expansion issue in the track. Either way it is a small fix.
Is it safe to leave the garage door open overnight until someone comes?
It is not ideal for security. If the springs are intact you can usually close it by hand after pulling the release cord, then leave it disconnected until we arrive. Tell us when you call and we will talk you through it.
The remote works but the wall button does not.
That is usually the low-voltage wire to the wall button, which corrodes at the terminals in humid garages. Quick fix.
How quickly can you get to a stuck door?
Most repairs are same-day or next-day across Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach County. Say on the call that the door is stuck and we will tell you honestly when we can be there.
Need someone to look at it?
SHL Garage Door covers Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach County. Most repairs are same-day or next-day, estimates are free, and you get the full price before we start.
Call (305) 897-7662 or send us the details.
Service pages: Miami · Hialeah · Fort Lauderdale · Boca Raton · West Palm Beach