Garage door symptoms
My garage door goes down, then goes right back up
A garage door that reverses partway down is usually reacting to its photo eyes; one that lands on the slab and then rises again usually has a down limit set beyond the floor. Clear the beam first, and call if it keeps turning back.
Updated
Note exactly where the door turns around
Run the door down once and watch the spot where it reverses: partway, just above the floor, or after it lands. Clear the threshold and the space between the photo eyes, and check whether the opener light flashes. Leave the force setting alone, because turning it up defeats the safety reverse; we find the real cause across the Portland metro.
Likely causes, most common first
Photo eyes cause most reversing, followed by a down limit set past the floor.
- Most common
The photo eye beam is interrupted
The sign: The door turns back partway down, often with the opener light flashing, and sometimes only when low sun shines straight into one sensor.
The fix: Realign or shade the photo eyes, swap a failed sensor, and repair loose wiring so the beam holds. Garage Door Safety Sensor Repair, from $129
- Common
The down limit is set past the floor
The sign: The door reaches the slab, presses into it, and springs back up a foot or so with no flashing from the opener.
The fix: Shorten the down travel, set the close force for the door, and confirm it still reverses on an obstruction. Garage Door Opener Repair, from $149
- Common
The door is binding in its tracks
The sign: It turns back at one height every trip, a roller scrapes or a hinge creaks at that spot, or a track section looks bent.
The fix: Repair or swap the bent track section, replace worn rollers or cracked hinges, and lubricate so the door runs without drag. Garage Door Track Repair and Replacement, from $169
- Common
Something at the threshold stops it early
The sign: The door reverses just before the floor on one side, where ice, packed leaves, a curled bottom seal or an uneven slab meets the bottom edge.
The fix: Clear the debris, replace the bottom seal and retainer, or fit a threshold that evens out a settled floor. Garage Door Weather Seal and Threshold Replacement, from $149
- Less common
A spring weakened or broke
The sign: The reversing started after a bang, or the door now feels heavy and the opener sounds strained on the way down.
The fix: Replace the spring, rebalance the door, and lower the opener force to suit the corrected door. Garage Door Spring Replacement, from $249
- Less common
The opener is misreading its own travel
The sign: Newer LiftMaster and Chamberlain units show 4-3 or 4-5 on the arrow buttons, or the door turns back at random heights with a clear path.
The fix: Reseat or replace the travel module and its wiring, or the logic board, then reprogram the limits. Garage Door Opener Repair, from $149
What you can safely check in two minutes
These checks point to the cause without touching a dial, a spring or a cable.
- Watch one full close and note the height where it turns around and whether the opener light flashes.
- Sweep the threshold and the floor between the tracks, and look along the bottom seal for ice, leaves or a torn edge.
- Check both photo eye LEDs, and note the time of day; trouble only in late afternoon suggests low sun on a sensor.
- Run your eyes up each vertical track looking for a dent, a loose bracket or a roller out of line.
- Test the reverse with a 2x4 laid flat under the center of the door; it should turn back as soon as it meets the board.
Where the door turns around points to the cause
Partway down points to the photo eyes, the same height every trip points to drag, and a bounce off the slab points to the down limit.
| Where it reverses | Other clues | Likely cause |
|---|---|---|
| Partway down, soon after starting | Opener light flashes; a sensor LED is dim or out | Photo eye beam blocked or misaligned |
| Partway down, only at certain hours | Low sun reaches one sensor | Glare on the receiving eye |
| Same height on every trip | Scraping, a creak, or a bent track at that spot | Binding track, roller or hinge |
| Just above the floor on one side | Ice, leaves or a curled seal at that corner | Threshold obstruction or uneven slab |
| After touching the floor | Door presses down, then bounces up; no flashing | Down limit set past the floor |
| At random heights with a clear path | A 4-3 or 4-5 code on the arrow buttons | Travel module, wiring or logic board |
Why turning up the force is the wrong fix
A reversing door means the protection is working, and a higher force setting can make the door press down on something instead of turning back.
Federal rules for openers built since 1993 call for a closing door to begin reversing within two seconds of contact, and current openers check their photo eyes on every close. Cranking the force or defeating the sensors undoes both protections.
The right repair removes whatever made the door meet resistance, such as a dragging roller, a stiff hinge or a limit set into the slab, then sets the force as low as the door will run. We finish by closing the door on a flat 2x4 to prove it still turns back.
Ice, leaves and settled slabs at Portland thresholds
In Portland the floor itself often sends the door back up, through an ice ridge, a mat of wet leaves or a slab that has shifted.
Freezing rain can leave a ridge of ice right where the bottom seal lands, and the opener reads it as the floor arriving early. Portland's airport averages about 32 nights a year at or below freezing, so clear the ridge across the full width before running the door.
A slab that settled or heaved at one corner makes the door land on one side first, and an opener set for the low corner presses into the high one and reverses. A tapered threshold or a taller bottom seal evens out the landing without touching the limits.
Book a visit when the door keeps reversing after these checks
Call us rather than adjusting further if the door does any of the following.
- It still reverses after the threshold is clear and both sensor LEDs hold steady.
- It fails the board test and keeps pressing down instead of turning back.
- The reversing began after a bang, or a lift cable now looks slack.
Door reverses before closing: common questions
Why does my garage door touch the floor and then go back up?
Usually because the opener has its down limit set past the floor, so it keeps pushing, feels the slab resist and treats it as an obstruction. Shortening the down travel fixes it on most openers. A worn bottom seal, an ice ridge or a slab that has shifted can cause the same bounce by changing where the door lands.
Why does my garage door reverse at the same spot every time?
Something drags at that height. Common culprits are a bent piece of track, a roller with a cracked wheel, a dry hinge or a dent where a car once tapped the door. The opener senses the extra effort and reverses. Look along both tracks at that height and listen for scraping as the door passes it.
Can a broken spring make my garage door reverse on the way down?
It can. A spring that fails mid-cycle leaves the opener handling far more weight than it was set for, and the opener may stop or reverse as a result. You may hear a bang first, and afterward the door feels heavy. Let the door finish closing if it will, unplug the opener, and look up for a gap in the coil.
Can I adjust the travel limit myself when my garage door reverses at the floor?
Yes, on most openers, if you follow the manual for your model and keep each change small. Older units use adjustment screws on the motor head, and newer ones set limits with buttons. Shorten the down travel a little, run a cycle, and repeat as needed. Then rerun the board test before trusting the door again.
Why does my garage door reverse even though nothing is in the way?
The opener is sensing something you cannot see. Usually that is a beam washed out by glare, a dirty lens, a loose sensor wire, or drag inside the tracks that it reads as an obstruction. Watch the opener light as the door turns around: flashing points to the sensors, and no flashing points to the limits, the force or the door.
Related pages
Areas we cover for this
Calls about a door reverses before closing come in from Troutdale, Aloha, Clackamas and every other part of the metro we serve.
Ready to get the door moving again?
Call with the symptom, or text a photo of the door and the opener, and we will name the part and the posted price before anyone drives out.