When a garage door goes down a foot and rolls right back up, the opener is doing its job — something is telling it the path isn't clear. Nine times out of ten it's a five-minute fix. Here's the order we work through on a service call.
1. Look at the photo-eye sensors
Two small sensors sit about six inches off the floor on each side of the opening. One sends an infrared beam, the other receives it. If anything interrupts or misaligns that beam, the opener refuses to close.
- Both LEDs should be lit and steady — a blinking light means misalignment
- Wipe the lenses; Florida humidity leaves a haze that scatters the beam
- Check nothing (bike, bin, broom) is parked in the beam path
- Gently nudge a bracket until the blinking light goes solid
2. Check the track for obstructions
Run your eye along both vertical tracks. A loose bolt head, a dented section, or a stone wedged in the track will stop the door mid-travel. Never force the door past a dent — that bends the roller stem.
3. Test the close-limit setting
Openers have a screw or digital setting that tells the motor where the floor is. If it's set too low, the door hits concrete, thinks it hit an obstacle, and reverses. Adjust in small increments — a quarter turn at a time.
4. Rule out a broken spring
Pull the emergency release with the door closed and lift by hand. A balanced door should feel like 8–10 lbs and stay put halfway up. If it slams down or won't budge, a torsion spring is broken. Stop there — spring work is not a DIY job.
5. Inspect the cables
Frayed or slack lift cables let one side of the door drop faster than the other, which triggers the safety reverse. Any visible fray means the door should stay closed until a technician replaces both cables as a pair.
6. Replace the remote and keypad batteries
A weak transmitter can send a partial signal that starts a cycle and drops it. Cheap test: use the hardwired wall button. If the wall button works and the remote doesn't, it's a battery or programming issue.
7. Power-cycle the opener
Unplug the unit for 30 seconds and plug it back in. South Florida storm surges and brownouts scramble opener logic boards more often than most homeowners realize.
The bottom line
If the door still won't close after these checks, the issue is mechanical — springs, cables, or the logic board — and it needs hands-on diagnosis. Call us and we'll get someone out same day in most of Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach.