Safety first
Do not pull the release cord on a door that is open or part open. Once released, an open door can fall fast if its springs are weak or broken. Springs and cables are under high tension, so do not adjust or undo them. If the door looks crooked or heavy, keep clear and call us.
The emergency line, 03 8789 9398, is answered 24/7. We aim to have a technician there the same day to fix the door or make it safe.
What is the door doing?
Start with what happens when you press the button. The pattern usually points to the cause.
| What the door does | Likely cause | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Stays open and will not start down | If your door has safety beams, the beam across the opening is blocked, dirty or out of line. | Clear the opening and wipe the beam lenses. |
| Starts down, then goes back up | The beam was broken, or the door touched something or jammed for a moment. Wind and dirt can do it too. | Clear the floor under the door and clean the guides or tracks. |
| Reaches the floor, then opens again | The point where the opener stops the door needs adjusting, or gears in the opener are worn or broken. | Call us. This is a technician job. |
| Stops part way and stays there | It needs checking on site. | Stop pressing the remote and call. |
| The opener light flashes or it beeps | A signal from the opener. It can mean a fault or a service reminder. The meaning depends on the brand and model. | Check the manual for your opener. |
The opener is the motor that drives the door.
If the door is shut and will not go up, see garage door won't open.
Safety beams: the first thing to check
Safety beams are sensors that send an unseen beam across the door opening. They are also called PE beams or photo-eyes. When something breaks the beam, a closing door goes back up and an open door will not close.
- Look for anything standing in the opening, such as a bin, a bike or a box.
- Wipe the lens on each sensor. B&D lists dirty or blocked beams among the reasons its openers beep or flash.
- If your beams run on batteries, check them. B&D lists a low beam battery among those reasons too.
Openers report a beam fault in different ways. On a Merlin MR855 roller door opener, the opener lights flash 10 times when the door has reversed for no clear reason, and the manual says to check the beams. On that model, a flashing red light on the beam itself means it is out of line.
Other models use other signals. AGG Doors keeps opener manuals for many models on its website.
Do not unplug the beams to get the door down. Opener makers strongly recommend beams on every opener, most of all in homes with young children or pets.
Something in the way, or the door is catching
An opener is built to reverse when a closing door meets an obstacle. Move anything the door could land on, then look at the channels the door runs in. On a roller door they are called guides. On a panel door, which is made of hinged sections, they are called tracks.
Steel-Line, one of the door makers, says dust and dirt in a panel door's tracks and hinges, including brick dust in new estates, can show up as a door that reverses while closing.
B&D's advice is to wipe inside the guides of a Roll-A-Door, or the tracks of a panel door, with a cloth dampened with mineral turps or methylated spirits. Keep oil and grease out of both. Only do this if the door sits level, and do not stand under a part-open door. The roller door guide and the panel door guide have more on care.
If the door still sticks or reverses, stop there. Merlin's MR855 manual tells owners not to let the opener compensate for a door that binds or sticks.
Wind, heat and cold
Strong wind pushes on the door and its tracks. ATA notes in its GDO-11 manual that this can now and then trip the opener's obstruction sensing, which is what makes a closing door reverse. Dust and big swings in temperature can set it off as well.
A door may also stop short on a cold day, so look to see that it has closed all the way. A door that only plays up in winter may already have worn parts.
If the reversing keeps happening, the opener's settings may need a look by a technician.
Limits and force settings
The limits are the two points where the opener stops the door, one at the top and one at the bottom. The force setting is how hard the opener pushes. Merlin says in its MR855 manual that weather can cause small changes in how a door runs, so both may need re-adjusting, mostly in the first year.
Re-setting them is a technician's job, and it is part of an AGG Doors service.
Makers do ask owners to test the reverse once a month, on a door that is closing normally. Lay an object 40 mm high flat on the floor under the door, or use what your manual says, and close the door. It must reverse. Stand clear and near the power point, so you can switch the opener off if it does not. A door that fails the test should not be used until it is fixed.
What is safe to check, and what is not
Safe to check yourself
- Move anything out of the opening and off the floor under the door.
- Wipe the safety beam lenses.
- Clean the guides or tracks with turps or metho on a cloth, if the door sits level. Never stand under a part-open door.
- Run the monthly reverse test once the door is closing again.
Leave to a technician
- The limits and force settings on the opener.
- The release cord on a door that is open, part open, crooked or heavy.
- Springs, cables, brackets and any bolt or screw on the door.
- A door that still sticks or reverses after those checks.
Getting the garage secure tonight
- Clear the opening and the floor, wipe the beam lenses, and try the door once more.
- If it reverses or stops again, leave the remote alone.
- Leave the release cord alone too. It frees the door from the opener so the door can be moved by hand. Makers say to use it with the door closed if at all possible, and AGG Doors advises against releasing a door that is stuck open or part open.
- Lock the door between the garage and the house, and take the garage remotes out of the cars. Victoria Police gives both tips, because offenders have used garage doors as a way in.
- Call 03 8789 9398. If the part your door needs is not on the van, the technician makes the door safe and secure before leaving, then comes back with the part.
A visit to a Rowville address costs $249. That includes GST and the technician's labour on site. Parts and bigger repairs are priced on top, and you decide before anything is fitted. After-hours call-outs cost more, and the rate is confirmed on the phone. Other prices are in the repair cost guide.
If the door closes and the fault only shows now and then, standard bookings are usually available within one to two business days. Call 03 8789 9397 or use the quote form, and mention any flashing lights or beeps.
Questions about a door that won't close
Why does my garage door close and then open again?
If the door turns back on the way down, the beams may be blocked or dirty, or the door has touched something or jammed for a moment. If it reaches the floor first and then opens, the close limit may need adjusting or the opener's gears may be worn.
The door reverses on windy days. Is it broken?
Not always. Strong wind adds pressure to the door and its tracks, and that can trip the opener's safety sensing now and then. If it happens often, or in calm weather as well, have the settings checked.
Is it safe to turn the safety beams off?
No. The beams are what send a closing door back up when something crosses the opening. Auto-close, the setting that shuts the door on a timer, also only works when beams are fitted.
My door stops halfway down. Why?
It needs a look on site. Merlin, an opener maker, lists a door that stops or bounces back up among the signs to stop using the opener and have it checked. Do not keep pressing the remote.
Can you secure a door that is stuck open after hours?
Yes. Call the emergency line on 03 8789 9398 at any hour. After-hours call-outs cost more than the $249 standard visit, and the rate is confirmed when you call.