Your door starts down, then jumps back up. Or it won't close at all unless you hold the button. The two small safety eyes near the floor are the usual cause, and most of the time the fix is quick.
Quick answer: If the door reverses on the way down or won't close, check the safety eyes first. Most of the time they are bumped out of line or the lens is dirty. A damaged wire is the next most likely cause, and a failed eye comes after that. You can check the easy things yourself before you call.
To get the door shut in the meantime, press and hold the wall button until the door reaches the floor. If you let go early, it goes back up. Our guides on photo-eye alignment and a door that won't close walk through these steps with more detail.
If the brackets are bent from being kicked or hit by a bumper, we straighten or replace them and lock the eyes in line. If the wire is the problem, we trace it back to the opener and splice or rerun the bad section. Mice and staples cause most of the wire damage we find. If an eye has failed from water, a cracked lens, or age, we replace it with one made for your opener. Then we test the door with an object on the floor to make sure it reverses the way it should.
Sometimes the eyes are fine and the opener is the real problem, like a failing logic board that reads the eyes wrong. If that is what we find, we tell you before doing anything else. Our opener troubleshooting guide covers the other common opener faults.
Federal rules have required a safety system like this on home garage door openers since 1993. Some people tape the eyes together, or mount them up on the ceiling, to stop the nuisance. That takes away the one part that keeps a closing door from coming down on a child or a pet. We will not bypass them.
Snow and slush fall off the car and melt right in front of the eyes. Salt spray leaves a film on the lenses. Ice can build up at the bottom of the door frame and push a bracket out of line. If your door started reversing after a storm, clean and dry the area around both eyes before anything else. A fall tune-up is a good time to have the eyes, the wire, and the auto-reverse checked.
Call or text and tell us what the door does. A short video of the door reversing helps a lot. We come out, find the cause, and give you a free estimate before any work starts. Most sensor problems are fixed in the same visit.
Near the floor, the door passes through an invisible beam between the two safety eyes. If something breaks that beam, or the eyes can’t see each other, the opener sends the door back up. Look for something in the way first, then check the small lights on each eye.
Yes. Low morning or evening sun shining straight into the receiving eye can blind it for part of the day. If the trouble shows up at the same time each day, that is a strong hint. Swapping the two eyes so the receiving eye faces away from the sun often clears it up.
No. Safety eyes are made to work with a certain brand of opener, and sometimes a certain range of years. A LiftMaster eye will not talk to a Genie opener. We match the eyes to the opener you have.
Often the eyes are fine and the wire is the problem. A staple driven through it, a pinch behind the track, or a spot chewed by mice will do it. We test the eyes and the wire before we replace anything.
For a day or two, if you watch the door the whole way down and keep kids, pets, and cars clear. While you do this, the eyes are not protecting anyone, so get them fixed soon.
