My garage door will sometimes stop about a foot or two from the floor and go back up. There are several different situations that will cause this to happen to your garage door. Sometimes it will be the opener, and sometimes it could be the door itself.
Step 1: Disengage the Opener
The first thing you have to do is determine whether it is the opener or the garage door. The easiest way to do this is to disengage the opener from the garage door by pulling down on the red cord that hangs down from the opener. This is your emergency release, which allows you to open your garage door manually in case of a problem or a power outage.
Understanding Different Opener Mechanisms
On LiftMaster or Craftsman garage doors, it is a little different from a Genie garage door. On the LiftMaster/Craftsman brand openers, you will have to pull down and back to ensure that it is fully disengaged. For a Genie garage door opener, you just need to pull down, and when you want to engage the opener to the door, you pull up and back.
Testing Your Garage Door’s Movement
Now that you can open your garage door freely by hand, you want to make sure that the door goes down smoothly. If it gets stuck a foot or two before it hits the floor, then you know there is a problem with the garage door. This is usually caused by rubbing on the door jamb or issues with the garage door track.
Troubleshooting Garage Door Issues
When the door gets to the bottom and does not want to close properly, sometimes just lubricating the track and rollers can fix this problem. If lubrication does not resolve the issue, adjustments may need to be made, and you will likely have to call a garage door technician to fix this.
Identifying Opener Problems
If the door rolls up and down properly all the way easily and smoothly, then it is most likely the opener that is causing the problem. Start by checking if there is any rope or item hanging from the bottom of the garage door that could cross the safety sensor beam when the door is closing, causing it to go back up.
Common Obstructions Affecting Functionality
It might be something as simple as spider webs or leaves stuck to the safety sensors. Another issue could be that the bottom of the garage door track has come loose from the wall. If the garage door rollers are in that section of the bottom of the track and the track is loose, it will wiggle the sensors attached to it.
Assessing Spring Tension Issues
In cases where there is too much tension on the spring system of your garage door during descent, the opener may not have enough force to close the door, leading it to automatically reverse. Sometimes, applying a little bit more pressure to the down limit can resolve this issue.
When to Call a Professional
If these solutions do not correct the problem, you could have an internal issue with your garage door opener. For example, the limit assembly may have gone bad or is not functioning properly. These are concerns that would likely require you to call a garage door technician to fix.
By understanding common garage door problems and identifying potential solutions, you can either troubleshoot the issue or know when to seek professional help.