Garage door stops closing midway and reverses - sensors seem aligned

Submitted by simon_on_trails t3_zyc1d8 in DIY

Having garage door issue. The door reverses either 1 feet from the top (95%) or midway (5%) when closing. Happens maybe 20% of the time, but when it does, trying again won't help - it reverse at the same spot. Quickfix is to manually shut it down, and then open/close and it works. Would love to fix this. Hard to troubleshoot for me because it typically do that on my way to work and I have no time to check.

I've already cleaned the sensors and everything around. The amber light is on (power?) and the green is solid green without flickering. Even if I wiggle it, it stays solid green, but if I block by hand the signal, it goes black. Almost everything I've read suggest it's a misalignment issue, but since it's solid green, hard to adjust. I tried anyway to align as best as possible by eye. It did not fix the issue. I've read somewhere it could be the sun blinding the sensor, but it happens also before sunrise. Maybe the vibration closing the door causes misalignment but I don't know what to look for. Running out of ideas on how to fix this

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JerseyWiseguy t1_j24y8vz wrote

Pull the disconnect for the closer, and try opening and closing the door manually. Does it open and close smoothly at all points, and do the springs seem to be properly supporting the door? If not, it could be that the door is feeling some resistance, when trying to close (note that this can be affected by temperature extremes). In addition, you can try closing the door (with the door closer) from the inside, and watching both the door and the sensors carefully, to see if they change or have some problem during the closing process.

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rtrski t1_j251otl wrote

This would be my guess as well. There's adjustment possible where the little wheels in the track meet up with the door sections, if it's dragging against the frame too tightly. You want a reasonably tight fit for low airflow, especially if you've paid more for insulated door, but if you're just "scraping' it along the garage framing either side it might be sensing the added friction in some temperature and humidity conditions (depends what your framing is) and that's what's making it stop and reverse vs. fighting it.

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supershannykun t1_j28y3rc wrote

Check the track alignment, keep an eye on the rollers and pins and see if they start pushing in at a certain point. If so, maybe loosen the bolts and adjust track to prevent the tightness.

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SatanLifeProTips t1_j25zlxv wrote

THIS. Tune the door first. Also examine the spring. You’d be amazed at how many 2 spring doors have 1 broken spring.

Change those in pairs and unless you know what you are doing hire a pro.

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Homicidal_Pug t1_j26sg6a wrote

Also lube the tracks really well with a good quality spray lubicant.

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HobbesNJ t1_j24y9a2 wrote

There should be an adjustment you can make on the motor assembly to increase the closing force. The resistance just seems to sometimes overcome that setting and reverse the door. If you increase that closing force a bit it should resolve the problem.

It should be a small screw or knob that can be turned to increase/decrease the closing force.

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BeRealzzz t1_j25np3f wrote

Can confirm this. Happen to me a while back and this fixed the issue.

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flamingoeater t1_j2648iq wrote

Twice a year, the sun shining in just fucks my sensors up, and it won't close unless I stand there with an umbrella shading it.

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EmoInTheCreek t1_j26lkxl wrote

I have this problem too, especially in the winter months when the sun is lower in the sky.

Was getting really frustrated on this as I had to do the same thing and provide some shade.

Then figured out that if I hold the garage door close button it puts the door into a "manual override" mode and will ignore the light beam and close the door.

Who knew that little booklet that comes in the box details all this.

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Jnbruton83 t1_j288j04 wrote

When I had this problem I made a little shade box out of foamcore board and black art tape for each sensor.

Perhaps you could stick with the umbrella concept, but just tape some little cocktail paper umbrellas above the sensors? ;)

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ballpointpin t1_j254hjn wrote

If you made the mistake of greasing the tracks....grease gets really thick in cold weather. This will confuse the opener into thinking it's hit an obstacle. The tracks need to be clean/dry.

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Fmlyhmalm t1_j25b1b0 wrote

Had this same exact problem for 6years only to learn that a shadow was the culprit of all my agony

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Hot_Egg5840 t1_j25h470 wrote

Openers typically have a sensitivity control which allows you to adjust the closing force trigger point.

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grantnlee t1_j2782ya wrote

This. There are a couple screws up on the motor unit that sense how much resistance there is against the door closing. Too much resistance and it changes direction. Try adjusting that.

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Clean_Subject_6728 t1_j250bs6 wrote

My garage door started doing this more over time. One day I noticed the where the arm attached to the door it was actually pulling free of the door. The sheet metal is thin and the screws aren't holding on to much. So the door was essentially over extending at the bottom of its stroke and forcing itself against the floor leading to the arm problem. Adjusted the travel as per it's instructions then fixed the attachment point. No issues since.

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discfiend t1_j25eilf wrote

I had this happen to me just a couple of months ago. I finally found my issue to be cobwebs on the sensor after struggling with it for over 2 weeks. It’s worth a check.

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jasoomian t1_j268u08 wrote

Mine was doing something similar, check the tracks, make sure they are securely attached to the brackets - screws (nuts and bolts in this case) fall out all the time, the world is an imperfect place. One side of mine was loose, and was not allowing the door to align properly, once I replaced the nut/bolt -- all good.

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king-one-two t1_j26vsm1 wrote

Quick tip: if you're in a hurry and it starts acting up, you can press and hold the (wired) button... this overrides the sensor and lets you force it to close even if it's misbehaving. At least it does on mine.

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HamletRL t1_j28zrkg wrote

I did this when my door would stop and reverse last week. Found a broken wire that a mouse had apparently chewed through. Repaired the wire and works great now.

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Travis9283 t1_j25kpa5 wrote

This recently happened to my door. Solution is, holding the garage door button down until the door is completely closed

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jbirdman48 t1_j25lak3 wrote

This happened to me recently. Figured out my rollers were getting stuck and basically acting as a brake in the roller track. Replaced the rollers, no issues anymore.

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JonJackjon t1_j25qiqm wrote

If the springs are not adjusted properly the grease problems suggested can make a big difference.

The ideal spring adjustment is so the door is roughly neutral when 1/2 open. I.e. the door will stay in the mid position without manually holding it (with the door opener disconnected)

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Buddha1812 t1_j260p4v wrote

check the connections of the wires for the sensors at the motor unit. The thin wire can crack and short out/disconnect as the motor operates. - one quick question- when it stops and reverses, does the light flash?

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Driftedryan t1_j26cg4m wrote

Basically what others said but another issue could be that the door shakes the track just enough to mess up the eyes for a second or the wire that connects the eyes to the opener itself are barely holding on

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lkn240 t1_j26edu4 wrote

Garage door sensors can be PITA level finicky. In my house have I have "push" the wire into the sensor every few months (semi-hard to explain) and then it works again. I haven't bothered to try and fix it because it literally happens 2-3 times per year max

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DragoonXNucleon t1_j26srvs wrote

This happens for us when the sun shines on either sensor. Is that the case in your situation. For us its only in the winter months when we leave for work due to the low elevation of the morning sun. It does the exact thing you describe until you block the sensor with your shadow.

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NewEcho2940 t1_j26tghj wrote

I just kick the sensor. Works every time.

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Interesting-Dot-7859 t1_j26y6vi wrote

I saw this once before. A string hanging off door was tripping sensor make sure nothing interferes or it wil reverse

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Trynottodent t1_j274t5u wrote

Sometimes a dirty lens will cause the light to have this effect like the sun blinding the lens.

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Camgnarkill t1_j277ekm wrote

My garage door does this from time to time. What works for me is holding the open/close button down until the door is closed all the way, it's like it re-learns or something.

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xt1nct t1_j27c0cm wrote

I had this issue. My chain was loose. Check if your door moves freely if it does check if you have slack in your chain.

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Ambitious-Poem1190 t1_j27dqvu wrote

The screws on some of the knuckles which held the panels together started backing off which caused binding when those sections rounded the corner at the top.

Inspect the door and all the screws, make sure they’re all tight and dry-lubricate the track/wheels. If it’s not that, then start pondering springs, motor or sensors.

Good luck!

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Brunogechsser t1_j27n30i wrote

Check rollers…..garage tech advised to spray wd40 every 3 months or so……working so far.

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