Garage Door Won't Open or Close? 8 Common Causes and How to Fix Them

A garage door that won't move is 20% mechanical mystery and 80% checklist. Whether your garage door won't open, won't close, or has developed opinions about which commands to obey, the cause is almost always one of eight things — and about half of them are safe to fix yourself in ten minutes. Here's the checklist we'd run in your driveway, in the order we'd run it.

1. Check the power (seriously)

No lights on the opener, no beep, no reaction from the wall button? Confirm the opener is plugged into its ceiling outlet — vibration works plugs loose over the years — and check the breaker or GFCI. Storm season trips more San Antonio garage circuits than people expect. If the wall button works but the opener is otherwise dead-acting, skip to #8.

Safe to DIY: completely.

2. Swap the remote batteries

If the wall button works but remotes don't, that's batteries or programming, not the door. Replace the coin cell, then re-pair the remote per the opener's instructions (usually a "Learn" button under the light cover). Remote works only from close range? Weak battery or radio interference — LED bulbs inside the opener are notorious offenders; swap the bulb before blaming the receiver.

Safe to DIY: completely.

3. Look at the photo-eye sensors

The won't-close-but-opens-fine classic. Two little sensors sit near the floor on either side of the opening; if their beam is interrupted or misaligned, the opener refuses to close and blinks its light at you. Check for: a bumped bracket (mowers and bikes do it constantly), cobwebs or dust on the lenses, and direct low-angle sun blinding one eye. Realign until both LEDs are solid.

Safe to DIY: yes — this is the single most common "repair" that costs nothing.

4. Clear the tracks

Inspect both vertical tracks for pebbles, hardened grease, a wasp nest, or a bent section pinching the rollers. Small debris you can remove; a bent track you should not hammer back yourself — amateur track "adjustments" cause binding that wears out rollers and strains the opener.

Safe to DIY: removing debris, yes. Straightening track, no — book a visit.

5. Check for a broken spring

Now the big one. Look at the coil above the door: a clean gap means a snapped torsion spring. Other tells: the door opens a few inches and stops, or feels like dead weight when you pull the red release cord and lift by hand. If this is your diagnosis, stop testing the opener — you'll burn out the motor lifting a door the spring is supposed to carry. Our broken spring guide covers what happens next.

Safe to DIY: absolutely not. Torsion springs store violent amounts of energy. This is a same-day professional repair, and not an expensive one.

6. Inspect the cables

Frayed, unwound, or fully snapped lift cables — or a cable that's jumped off its drum at the top corner — will jam a door mid-travel or leave it hanging crooked. Like springs, cables live under serious tension and are replaced professionally, in pairs. Don't run the opener with a crooked door; every cycle bends more hardware.

Safe to DIY: no.

7. Check the lock and the limits

Two sneaky ones. First, many doors have a manual slide lock on the inside — house guests and kids engage them accidentally, and the opener grinds against it. Second, the opener's travel limits can drift: if the door closes fully then immediately reverses, the down-limit thinks the floor arrived early and treats it as an obstruction. Limit adjustment is a small dial or button sequence on the opener — consult the manual, make small changes, and test with nothing in the doorway.

Safe to DIY: the slide lock, obviously. Limits, carefully.

8. Suspect the opener itself

If power's good, sensors are aligned, springs and cables look healthy, and the door moves freely by hand — the opener earns the blame. Common culprits: a stripped drive gear (motor hums, trolley doesn't move), a worn trolley carriage, or a failing logic board (random reversals, phantom operation). Our opener repair page walks through repair-vs-replace honestly; a 20-year-old builder-grade unit usually isn't worth a new board.

Safe to DIY: diagnosis, yes. Gear and board swaps, mostly no.

The 10-minute triage, summarized

1. Power and breaker →
2. Remote batteries →
3. Sensor alignment →
4. Track debris →
5. Spring gap check →
6. Cable check →
7. Slide lock and limits →
8. Opener internals.

Steps 1–4 and the slide lock are yours; springs, cables, bent track and opener surgery are ours. When the checklist points our way, book online or call (210) 762-7135 — most San Antonio calls get same-day service, and we'll confirm a flat price before touching anything.

Frequently asked questions

Why won't my garage door close, but it opens fine?+

That pattern points at the photo-eye safety sensors almost every time. The two lenses near the floor must see each other; a bumped bracket, direct sunlight, or a cobweb breaks the beam, and the opener refuses to close — usually blinking its light to complain. Realign the sensors so both indicator lights are solid, and clean the lenses.

How do I align my garage door sensors?+

Loosen the wing nut on the misaligned sensor, aim it so its indicator LED goes solid (not blinking), and re-tighten. Both sensors should show steady lights. Wipe the lenses while you're down there. If lights won't go solid no matter the angle, check for loose wiring — or have us test the circuit.