Garage door opener not working? Check these first

Is the opener getting power?

If nothing happens at all, no light, no hum, no click, start here:

• Is the light bulb on the opener working? Try the opener's light button on the wall control. If the light doesn't come on either, it's a power problem.
• Is it plugged in? Openers plug into a ceiling outlet. A cord gets knocked loose more often than you'd think, especially after someone puts away a ladder or a kayak.
• Check the breaker for the garage, and any GFCI outlet in the garage that may have tripped.
• Try another device in the same outlet, such as a work light, to be sure.

If there's power at the outlet and the opener is completely dead, the opener itself has a fault.

Is the lock or vacation switch on?

Many wall controls have a lock button, sometimes called vacation mode. When it's on, the opener ignores the remotes and keypad but still works from the wall button. It's easy to switch on by accident while fumbling in the dark.

On LiftMaster openers, for example, when the lock is on, the opener works from the door control but the remotes are locked out, and the lights flash twice when you try a remote (LiftMaster). Turn the lock off with the lock button, as your manual describes, then try the remote again.

Why isn't the remote or keypad working?

If the wall button works and the lock is off, it's the remote or keypad:

Small batteries struggle in the cold, so a remote that was fine in October can go quiet in January. Keep spares in the house.

Not working after a power outage?

The usual reason is that someone pulled the red release cord to open the door by hand during the outage. The door is now disconnected from the opener: the motor runs, the trolley moves along the rail, but the door stays put.

To reconnect, follow your opener's manual. Chamberlain, for example, says that on its square-rail openers you pull the cord toward the opener and run the opener through a full cycle, and on its T-rail openers you pull the cord straight down and the door reconnects on the next cycle (Chamberlain). The full steps, including the safety check to do before you pull the release at all, are in garage door manual release.

Also check that the outage didn't trip the breaker, and that a battery backup unit, if you have one, isn't flat.

Why are the opener's lights blinking?

Many openers flash their lights or an LED to report a fault, and the pattern means something specific. On LiftMaster and Chamberlain openers:

• Ten flashes when you try to close usually means the safety sensors near the floor can't see each other: blocked, dirty, knocked out of line or in direct sun.
• Two flashes when you use a remote can mean the lock function is on.

Other makes use different codes, and newer openers often have a diagnostic LED with its own pattern. Your manual lists them, and the maker's support site usually has the same table. If the problem is that the door goes down and comes straight back up, that's the sensors or the close settings, and it has its own guide: garage door won't close.

The motor hums but the door won't move. What now?

Stop pressing the button. A humming motor with a door that doesn't move usually means one of two things:

1. A broken spring. The opener can't lift a door its springs no longer hold. Look at the bar above the door for a gap in the coil. If you see one, don't run the opener or lift the door; read garage door spring broken.
2. A stripped gear or a jammed door. Many openers drive the door through a gear that can wear over time. If it strips, the motor runs but nothing moves. A door frozen to the floor or binding in its tracks can cause the same symptom.

Keep pressing and you can burn out the motor or damage the door. Whichever it is, it needs a look rather than another try.

Repair or replace the opener?

Some faults are simple repairs: a gear, a sensor, a logic board, a remote. Replacement starts to make sense when:

• the opener is old enough that it lacks modern safety sensors or a reliable safety reverse,
• parts for your model are no longer made,
• the door has been replaced with a heavier insulated one and the old opener struggles,
• you want features like a battery backup for power outages or a quieter belt drive for a garage under a bedroom.

Either way, test the opener's safety reverse once a month: LiftMaster's test is that the door must reverse when it closes on a 1-1/2 inch object or a 2x4 laid flat. An opener that fails it shouldn't be used until it's fixed.

If you've worked through the list and the opener still won't run, or the motor hums and the door won't move, garage doors are a 24/7 service. See garage door opener repair.