Garage Door Opener Not Working?
Openers fail in a small number of recognisable ways, and several of them have a fix you can safely try in a few minutes. Find your symptom below. If the door still will not run, Captain Garage Door Repairs & Installations repairs and replaces openers in Bergen, Passaic, Morris and Sussex counties. Call the New Jersey line at 973-803-0054.
Find Your Symptom
| What happens | Usual cause | First thing to try |
|---|---|---|
| Door reverses on the way down; light blinks | Safety sensors | Clear the doorway, wipe the lenses, line the sensors up until both lights are steady |
| Remotes and keypad dead, wall button works | Lock button on the wall control, or batteries | Hold the lock button for a few seconds; change the remote battery |
| No light, no sound | No power to the opener | Test the outlet, the breaker and any GFCI outlet in the garage |
| Hums, door does not move | Broken spring, jammed door or failed capacitor | Stop pressing the button and look for a gap in the spring coil |
| Motor runs, chain or belt is still | Stripped drive gear | Nothing to try; this needs a repair |
| Chain or belt moves, door does not | Release pulled, or broken trolley | With the door closed, re-engage the release and try once |
| Stops short, or will not seal at the floor | Travel or force settings, or a binding door | Leave the settings alone and call |
| Works in summer, struggles in winter | Stiff door: cold grease, a seal frozen to the slab, worn rollers | Free the seal by hand; do not force it with the opener |
Checks You Can Safely Make
- Sensors: one on each side of the door, a few inches off the floor. Both lights steady means they can see each other. Bins, brooms, leaves and cobwebs are the common culprits, followed by a sensor nudged by a foot or a bumper.
- Lock button: on many wall controls it is easy to press by accident. When it is on, the wall button still works and the remotes do not.
- Power: garage outlets are often on a GFCI that trips in damp weather. Press its reset button.
- Batteries: in the remote, and in the outdoor keypad, which suffers in the cold.
- A frozen bottom seal: if the door will not start upward on an icy morning, the rubber seal may be stuck to the floor. Do not keep pressing the button. Free it gently by hand or with warm water, then dry the threshold.
Leave these alone: the force and travel adjustments on the motor unit, and the red release cord when the door is open. Turning up the force to push a stiff door closed switches off the protection that stops the door closing on a person or a car.
Is It the Opener or the Door?
Many "opener" calls turn out to be a door fault. The opener only guides the door; the springs do the lifting. With the door fully closed, pull the red release and lift the door by hand. It should move easily and stay put when you let go at waist height. If it is heavy, sticks or drops, the opener is not the problem: see garage door spring repair and garage door repair. Do not reconnect an opener to a door that fails this test.
What We Repair
- Safety sensors and their wiring.
- Drive gears, sprockets, belts, chains and trolleys.
- Start capacitors and circuit boards, where parts are still made.
- Travel limits and force settings, with a safety-reverse test afterwards.
- Remotes, keypads, wall controls and in-car buttons.
- Phone-app and Wi-Fi setup on connected openers, and backup batteries.
Repair, or a New Opener?
Repair a unit that has been dependable and has one failed part. Replace one that has no safety sensors (openers made before 1993), a burned-out motor, or a board that is no longer available. If you are replacing it anyway, the main choices are:
- Belt drive: the quietest, and the usual pick when a bedroom is above or beside the garage.
- Chain drive: sturdy and economical, with more noise.
- Wall-mounted: sits beside the door instead of on the ceiling; suits low ceilings and garages used for storage overhead.
- Battery backup: keeps the door working through a power cut.
A new opener can also be fitted with a new door. See garage door installation in New Jersey.
What to Have Ready When You Call
- Your town and county.
- The opener brand, and the model number from the label on the motor unit.
- What it does when you press the wall button, and whether its light blinks.
- Whether the sensor lights are steady, and whether the door lifts easily by hand.
Opener Questions
Where We Repair Openers
Bergen County • Passaic County • Morris County • Sussex County