Garage Door Won't Close with Remote [8 Causes and Potential Solutions]

Having an unsophisticated ambiance outside your home generates a mild eye sensation. You can enjoy all these conveniences courtesy of the best garage door units. For good measure, these structures are the go-to options for most homeowners since they add aesthetic appeal and functionality to most homes.

Today’s garage doors integrate remotes to control the opening and closing from the comfort of your home. But this convenience also has its mishaps. For instance, sometimes your garage door won’t close with a remote. So how do you handle this mishap?

Let’s now go in for more information on encircling garage doors, their mishaps, and how to deal with them.

Garage Door Won’t Close with Remote

(Potential Causes and Solutions)

Usually, the problem results from dirty safety eyes, loose wires at the motor head or sensors, no power in the operator receiver, remote batteries drained, and a bad motor control board. The remote won’t close your garage door if any of these issues transpire.

What you’ll do, is to try disengaging the garage door opener and re-engaging it back into the outlet. Alternatively, ensure no object is blocking the garage door from closing while you press down the wall-mounted button inside the garage.

Most homeowners store their valuable essentials in a garage, so security needs to be the center of concern. So suppose your garage door fails to close with a remote, don’t bother reaching out to a maintenance specialist. Instead, try these DIY tips and save money.

Check the Sensors

If your garage door doesn’t close all the way, most likely, the sensors have an issue. Usually, garage door openers incorporate safety lasers installed alongside the floor by the tracks. These safety sensors detect when any obstruction slabs the garage door’s path, assisting in keeping children, pets, and your family safe.

In addition, the lenses integrated into these sensors can catch dirt, making them send a wrong signal to the opener’s control board. Ideally, you can solve this issue by cleaning the lenses with a soft, damp cloth. You can then try closing your garage door with the remote.

Besides, the safety sensors may sometimes not be appropriately aligned, forcing the garage door light to blink ten times or red. The garage door flashing warns you about the misalignment of the photo eyes.

You can resolve the issue of the misalignment of the sensors by locating the photo eyes attached to the garage door. Then, you need to loosen the wing nut holding the photo-eye and adjust them until all the sensors are correctly aligned. You can use a tape measure to determine the height of each photo-eye. The correct height is 6 inches.

Usually, the photo-eye with the amber light sends out the light (transmitter sensor), and the green sensor receives the light. Once effectively aligned, the green sensor will remain on and glow steadily. This confirms that the correct alignment is achieved.

Check the Rollers and Tracks

If you have checked your sensors and determined that they are functioning normally, check your rollers and tracks to determine whether an obstruction inhibits the garage doors’ movement.

Damaged rollers or bent tracks always have the same effect and may block the garage doors from fully opening or closing. Inspect the rollers and tracks to guarantee there is no damage.

If you establish a damaged section, you can bend it back to position using clamps or place the hammer strikes appropriately. In doing so, ensure you have checked the overhead track with the garage door opener. Besides, check if there is good greasing of the rollers. You should grease the rollers with white lithium for effectiveness and smooth running.

Broken Torsion Extension Springs

Your garage door may fail to open with a remote, even though the motor is running due to broken extension or torsion springs.

In a garage system, broken springs are almost inevitable over time. Worst still, broken springs can present a significant danger to you and your family. It is wise to inspect your springs to prevent such uncertainties regularly.

The torsion springs are horizontal along the width of the garage. Conversely, the extension springs are on either side of the garage door and perform the raising and lowering of the door along its tracks.

In your garage user manual, every spring has an assigned maximum number of cycles. You should be keen on these cycles and ensure you replace the springs once the cycles are exhausted. However, suppose you consistently use the springs beyond the maximum cycles. In that case, they can snap abruptly when the garage door is in operation, stopping the door that was initially opening.

In some instances, your springs may also break before the exhaustion of the cycles. If this occurs, contact expert professionals as soon as possible since it can be dangerous and might cause immense damage.

Check Your Remote

Sometimes your garage door not closing with remote because the batteries are likely dead or low on power. There are also chances that a power surge might have wiped clean your garage door opener’s memory. So try replacing the remote batteries with new ones and retry.

If that doesn’t come to pass, consider reprogramming your remote. You can achieve that by climbing a ladder and reaching out to the light cover on your garage door opener. You will see a huge “learn” button if you unplug it. Lightly press that button to elicit a flashlight. After the light flashes, take your remote and press one button, and that’s all. Your remote should resume function as usual.

Alternatively, if you can’t fix the issue yourself, you may want to involve a technician. But as you wait for the technician to avail, it’s wise to secure your garage by pulling down on the bypass rope. This way, you will be able to shut down your garage door with the trolley unplugged

Tip

If your door doesn’t incorporate the built-in locking latches, check out the small holes on your tracks, then feed them with a bolt and lock your door effortlessly.

No Power on Operator Receiver

You may be wondering, why won’t my garage door close with the remote? Sometimes, the primary culprit can be a lack of power connection in the garage door operator. You will be surprised to realize you failed to plug in the power cord. Haha! Funny. This happens most of the time, especially when exiting the garage through the internal door to the house and unknowingly unplugging the operator.

Moreover, the power connection to the operator may be interrupted due to a blown-out circuit breaker or fuse. If the issue is with the circuit-breaker, you may seek the services of a professional like an electrician.

However, if the issue is the unplugged power cord, you will only need to plug it back in and test if your garage door functions normally.

In some scenarios, especially if you have examined the two and realized all is well, the problem may result from a faulty outlet. Try plugging a lamp into the socket or any electrical device and see if it works. It is a problem if the electrical device does not power on. In the same case, you may seek professional help if you are not good with wiring to prevent more damage.

Snapped Cables

Like springs, cables are essential to your garage. The cables that align to each tension spring physically bring your garage door up and down; that is, they aid in up and down movement. Thus, broken cables can be more dangerous compared to the broken springs.

The cables prevent the door from slamming to the ground with all its weight when the springs are broken. Without the cables, the door can sustain significant damage if it plunges to the ground. It can also crush anything in its path, whether a crawling child, object or pet.

For instance, if the cables are broken, the door may fall back to the ground when moving up due to the lack of physical support. In such a case, seek professional help.

Misaligned Door Track

The metal door tracks are essential to your garage since they help keep the door in line. The door tracks are central to the working mechanism of the door. For instance, the activation of the door is done by the operating systems. Springs manage the tension while the cables control the up and down movements of the door.

However, for all these systems to effectively work, the movements and actions must remain centred along with the garage doorway and ceiling. The metal door tracks make the central positioning possible, hence must be straight and even on both sides.

If a misalignment of the door track occurs, the door’s movement can be slowed down. Your garage door might fail to work entirely if this problem is not addressed in time. Thus, in case of a misaligned door track, immediately call a professional to have the tracks replaced or a quick realignment done.

In some instances, you can figure out if the problem is with the door tracks when you hear a squeaking sound when the rollers pass the affected areas. Even though the door might pass through the affected areas at a slow speed, the problem can worsen with time due to wear and tear; hence should be attended to immediately.

Garage Door Won’t Close with Remote but Will Open

A few issues can cause your garage door to open with a remote but not close. Continue reading as I unfold the potential reasons for this issue in this guide.

The photo-eye is out of alignment.

Garage doors are equipped with two tiny photo eyes on whichever side of the entrance. These two photo eyes are designed to convey an invisible beam between them that tells if there is an obstacle in your garage door’s way as it locks. So the moment you realize your garage door opens with a remote as usual but doesn’t close, the photo eyes must have issues.

With time, these photo eyes get dirty, making the light from the beam not reflect. Then as well, they can become misaligned, making the photo eyes not correspond on both sides.

To solve this issue, use a soft rag to clean the photo eyes. But you should do this with caution, considering that the photo eyes are made from glass, just like a camera lens. Repeat cleaning the eyes with a damp rag but ensure you don’t oversaturate since excessive wetness can enable the dirt to stick on the photo-eye.

If that doesn’t work, try to examine the alignment of the eyes. They should be facing inwards in the same direction and angle. Use a laser level to assess the height of each eye from the floor. In the process, you will want to make sure they face each other directly with the same angle. After that, test if your garage door closes. If it doesn’t close, it’s now the ripe time to call a technician to diagnose the issue.

Something is obstructing the door’s path.

Garage doors are crafted with a reversing mechanism that deters them from mashing objects in their way. So if your garage door fails to close, there might be objects on the ground preventing the door from closing, such as toys. Also, it could be a result of debris buildup on the tracks, making the rollers unable to move forward. It’s interesting to know that if the garage door hits even the tiniest object, it will retract to avoid smashing whatever is underneath.

What you’ll do is to examine the area around your garage door to know if there is an object preventing the door from closing. Then assess the tracks and see whether there is any debris buildup on the inside. If any, run a damp rag along each track and remove all the buildup that’s lingering on the tracks.

Tip

It’s best to use a ladder to access the tracks from the top part of your garage, as it is tricky to examine from the ground level.

There could be an issue with your transmitters.

Another reason your garage door doesn’t close as usual is that the transmitters have issues. What you’ll do, examine if the antenna Is dangling down from the motor and nothing is obstructing it. The antenna should be free from any impediment to receiving the signal to lock the door.

How Do I Reset My Garage Door Opener Remote?

A garage door opener remote is a convenience most of us can count on. They permit us to access the garage without needing to recall an entrance code or leave the car. Regardless, these devices can be lost, get stolen, or break. On that account, you need to be familiar with how to reset your garage door opener remote so that you can access your garage.

Read on to learn everything you need to know regarding the garage door opener remote.

How it Works

The garage door opener and remote interact with each other through radio frequencies. The moment you press the open button on your remote, the garage door opener receives a signal telling it to unlock the door.

What You Require to Reset Your Garage Door Remote

If you want to program your garage door remote, you won’t require much. All you need is the ability to access the garage door opener. It’s usually mounted on your garage ceiling, and you can access it easily with a ladder. Also, you will need a garage door remote to be programmed.

How to reset the garage door opener remote step by step

Once you have all the supplies, follow these professional tips to reset the remote.

The first step is to take a ladder, place it on a leveled surface. Then climb up to examine the garage door opener.
Next, carefully look for the learn button on your garage door opener as it is not immediately apparent. If you can’t locate the button, remove the light cover as it could be hiding within.
Once you access the learn button, press it firmly until it blinks, then press the open button on your remote.

Let the flashlight blink for nearly 30 seconds, then test the garage door. If it opens, you will have managed to program your garage door opener remote.

Where is the Learn Button on Overhead Garage Door Opener?

The learn button on an overhead garage door opener serves two motives:

Program accessories to the garage door opener.

Erasing all the memory programmed to the garage door opener.

The learn button on the overhead garage door opener is above the antenna wire hanging from the motor. However, its position depends on the light cover configuration.

Chamberlain Garage Door Opener Won’t Close with Remote.

Chamberlain garage door opener is designed to hold out years of heavy use. But with time, you might encounter issues with it, such as the door opener being unable to close with the remote. Usually, the primary source of this problem is an obstruction in your garage door’s path.

In addition, the problem can be with misaligned sensors. The safety reversing sensor positioned inside your garage door should be appropriately aligned to close the garage door opener. So examine to see if the sensor path is blocked and remove the impediment for the garage door opener to close with the remote.

Another cause for your Chamberlain garage door opener being unable to close with the remote is because the wires at the motor head might be hanging loose. If this is the case, reach for the loose wires and tighten them as needed.

How Do You Bypass a Garage Door Sensor?

The essence of a garage door sensor is to dissuade your garage door from closing. Doing so prevents the garage doors from causing injuries to kids, pets, and anything on its path.

The garage door sensors integrate built-in functions that allow you to determine if it has issues. It’s interesting to know that your garage door sensor can be tossed out of alignment if an object bumps into it. Also, any impact, vibration from the garage door, and direct sunlight can damage the connection wires, making them malfunction.

When your sensor malfunctions, the garage door stops and reverses for no reason. Also, it opens but won’t close. When this happens, you need to find out how to bypass the door sensors. Find out more in this guide.

First, hold the wall button down firmly without releasing it. When the garage door hits the floor, release the wall button. Don’t release the wall button ahead of the garage door reaching the floors. If you do that, the sensors will kick back into action and reverse the garage door.

Pressing the wall button allows you to lock the garage door in a down position using the door opener. This helps prevent foreigners from accessing your garage.

Tip

Note that bypassing the garage door sensors isn’t a repair. You will need to assess a few things afterward. For instance:

Check the alignment

You can check your garage door sensor lights if they are all lit. If either of the lights blinks or flickers, your sensor has issues. What you’ll do is to call a technician to mend the sensors for you.

Check the wiring

Pets and pests like to feed on wires. As a result, this interferes with your sensors. Luckily, you can solve this issue by peeling down the affected spot and splice the wires together.

Replacing the sensors

If you assess your wires and don’t find any faults, your sensors might have issues. The best thing is to replace them with new ones.

The video below shows how to trouble shoot a garage door that won’t open with a remote

Frequently Asked Questions-FAQs

Garage Door Opener will Open but not Close

When your garage door opens with a remote but won’t close, the primary culprits are loose wires at the sensors or the motor head, dust or dirt in the safety sensors, obstruction in the doorways, faulty motor control board, or the trucks are out of alignment.

Read the following article pieces for the diagnosis of the above problems;

Garage Door Opens a Little then Stops

Garage door opens after closing

Why does my Genie garage door opener open but not close?

As with the other garage door types, the genie garage door may fail close but open due to dirty eyes, obstruction in the door’s path, loose wires, broken tension springs, snapped cables, or when the door track is out of alignment.

Mainly, if there is an object in your garage door’s path, the door will only move some inches and then reverse. Your garage door is fitted with safety sensors on each side that communicates with each other. If there is an object, pet, or a crawling child in the door’s path, the safety sensors reverse its direction to avoid crashing on the object and, in the process, fail to close.

What does the orange light on the garage sensor mean?

The orange light in the sensor implies an incorrect or losing electrical connection. Follow the wires connecting the sensors to the terminal on the back of the opener. Check whether there is a staple or faulty connection. On the other hand, if the green light flashes, the sensors are out of alignment, or something is in the beam’s path.

Conclusion

We have seen how convenient garage doors are and how they have transformed most homes today. Despite that, you need to know these structures well to avoid spending money on technicians to mend them for you.

Thanks for sifting through this article. For any concerns, reach out in the comment section.