Garage door not opening: is it the opener or the door?
A door that won't open has two broad causes. Either the opener isn't driving it, or the door itself can't move. The first kind is often quick to rule out, and the second kind is the one to leave alone.
Start with the wall button, because it takes the remote out of the picture. If the wall button works, the fault is in the remote, and the remotes guide picks it up from there. If nothing happens from either, look at the power. If the whole garage is dark, it's a power cut, and opening a garage door without power is the page you want.
If the door is off its track, leave it where it is
Dominator's opener manual says garage doors, springs, brackets and their hardware are under extreme tension and can cause serious injury, and that a door needing repair must not be used. Stop using the opener, keep everyone out of the doorway, and don't try to push the door back in or lift it down.
Safe checks you can make
- Press the wall button as well as the remote
- Put a new battery in the remote
- See whether anything else in the garage has power
- From outside the doorway, look for anything in the door's path or across the safety beams
- Check whether the release cord has been pulled, which disconnects the door from the opener
- In very strong wind, wait until it drops and try once more
Stop and leave it if you see
- A door hanging crooked, or a roller out of its track
- A snapped, frayed or slack cable
- A spring that looks broken or has a gap in it
- A bent track or a buckled panel
- A door that dropped or came down faster than usual
- A loud bang, followed by a door that suddenly feels heavy
A door that has become hard to move
Dominator says a door that is hard to open by hand may have a decompressed spring, a warped track or a loose cable. B&D NZ's care guide tells owners to contact a door professional if a door becomes hard to operate or stops working completely.
Don't let the opener fight it. Pressing the button over and over works the motor against a door that isn't balanced, and the door can shift while it does.
A door that starts to close, then goes back up
That is usually the safety system doing its job: Dominator builds its openers to notice a strike, stop and go back up. Clear the doorway, make sure nothing is sitting across the safety beams, and try again.
Weather can do it too. Dominator's manual says very strong winds can push on the door and tracks and sometimes set off the obstruction sensing while the door is moving. If the door behaves once the wind drops, mention it when the door is next serviced.
A roller door that won't stay up
A roller door that slides back down, or drops when you let go of it, has usually lost its balance. B&D NZ says springs lose tension naturally over time, and it gives 15kg as the most a roller door should take to move by hand.
Treat a door like that as unsafe. Keep clear of the opening, don't prop it up, and leave the springs to a door specialist. Roller door repairs has more.
What to do now
Stop pressing the button
Leave the door where it is. Unplug the opener if you can reach it without standing under the door.
Clear the doorway
Keep people, pets and cars out of the opening, inside and out.
Leave the release alone if the door is up
Dominator's manual warns that pulling the manual release while the door is open can make it fall fast if the springs are weak or broken.
Send the job
Pick "Stuck open or off its track" on the form. It goes through flagged urgent, so the door specialist who takes it knows before they ring.
Handy details for the door specialist
- The type of door and its brand, if you can see it safely
- Whether it is stuck open, stuck shut or part way
- Which side has come out of its track, if you can tell
- Whether the car is inside
- What happened just before it stopped
What you can do, and what to leave
You can
- Check the wall button, the remote battery and the power
- Clear the doorway and the safety beams
- Unplug the opener
- Keep children and pets away from the door
Leave to a door specialist
- Putting a door back on its track
- Lowering a door that is stuck open
- Anything to do with springs, cables, drums or brackets
- Straightening tracks or panels
What we would do
Take a photo from a safe spot before anyone touches the door, showing both bottom corners and the track on each side. Keep it on your phone for when the door specialist calls. It shows them which side has come out and what they need to bring, which beats describing it over the phone.