Opener repair - and when the opener is not the problem

What is garage door opener repair?

A garage door opener is a small motor, a drive mechanism, a control board and a safety circuit - and each fails with its own signature. A motor that runs while the door stays still is usually a stripped gear or a disengaged trolley. A door that starts down and reverses is usually the photo eyes or a force setting. A remote that only works up close is usually the receiver or battery. The single most useful diagnostic is whether the door moves easily by hand: if it does not, the opener is innocent.

Signs you need garage door opener repair

• The motor hums or runs its full cycle but the door does not move
• The door starts to close, stops, and goes back up - sometimes with the opener light flashing
• One of the two sensor LEDs near the floor is off, flickering, or a different colour than the other
• The remote works only within a few feet of the opener, or works from inside the garage but not the driveway
• The opener runs noisily, rattles, or makes a grinding sound the door does not make when moved by hand
• The door opens fine but will not close, or closes fine but will not open
• The wall button works and no remote does - or the reverse

Seeing something not on this list? Browse garage doors problems by symptom →

How garage door opener repair actually works

1. 1

   Separate the opener from the door

   With the door closed, the emergency release is pulled and the door lifted by hand. If it moves easily and holds near waist height, the mechanical side is healthy and the fault is genuinely in the opener. If it is heavy, the visit becomes a counterbalance job instead.

   Watch forSkipping this and replacing an opener because it "could not lift the door". A new opener fitted to an unbalanced door fails in exactly the same way, and by then you have paid for a unit you did not need.

2. 2

   Read the fault the unit is already telling you

   Most openers signal faults through the LED on the motor head or the wall control - flash counts, colours, or a code. Combined with when in the travel the failure occurs, this narrows the cause quickly.

   Watch forA technician who does not look at the diagnostic LED. It is the manufacturer's own fault code and it is free information.

3. 3

   Check the safety circuit

   The photo eyes are checked for alignment, lens contamination, low sun shining directly into the receiver, damaged wiring at the staples, and loose bracket mounts. A door that will only close if you hold the wall button down is the classic signature of a safety-circuit fault.

   Watch forSensors being bypassed or jumpered to make a door close. That disables the mechanism that stops the door on a child or a pet, and no legitimate technician will do it.

4. 4

   Drive mechanism and gear inspection

   The chain, belt or screw drive is checked for slack, wear and correct trolley engagement, and the gear set inside the motor head is inspected. A running motor with a still door is most often a stripped drive gear or a trolley that never re-engaged after a manual release.

   Watch forA gear kit quoted without the head being opened. It is a common and repairable failure, but nobody knows it is that one without looking.

5. 5

   Travel limits and force settings

   Limits tell the opener where fully open and fully closed are; force settings tell it how much resistance is normal. Both drift, and both get mis-set after any other repair. They are re-calibrated to the door as it is now.

   Watch forForce settings wound up to overcome a mechanical problem. It makes the symptom disappear and makes the door more dangerous, because it will now push harder through an obstruction.

6. 6

   Re-test both safety functions

   The photo-eye test - breaking the beam as the door closes - and the contact-reversal test with an obstruction on the floor. Both must pass before the job is signed off.

   Watch forOnly the photo-eye being tested. They are two independent systems and either can fail alone.

What does garage door opener repair cost?

Opener repair is priced by the part: a sensor pair, a remote or receiver, a gear kit, or a logic board. Board and gear repairs on an older unit can approach the price of a new opener, which is the point at which replacement deserves a look. See the garage door cost guide.

See the full garage door opener repair cost guide - by material, size and region →

If the number is the problem, here are the ways people pay for it →