Garage Door Won't Open? Here Is What to Check First
A door that will not open is usually one of eight faults, and three of them you can rule out from the driveway in a couple of minutes. The rest need a technician, and we attend 24/7 with no call-out fee.
Quick Answer
When a garage door won't open, start with the things that cost nothing: the power point and switchboard, the remote battery, the wall console's lock mode, and any slide bolt or key lock left on. If the opener runs but the door stays down, or the door is suddenly heavy by hand, a spring or cable has failed and the door should not be forced. Elite Garage Doors Perth attends 24/7 with no call-out fee.
What's Usually Behind It
Opener has failed
A dead logic board, a burnt capacitor or a stripped drive gear leaves the motor humming, clicking or silent. Repairs are $380–$490 incl. GST; see motor not responding for the signs.
Limits or force set wrong
If the open limit has drifted or the force setting is too low, the opener starts, meets normal resistance and stops. A reset or re-learn puts it right.
Cable off the drum
A lift cable that has snapped or jumped its drum leaves one side of the door hanging low and the whole door jammed in its tracks.
Remote or keypad battery
The most common cause of all. A flat coin cell, a remote dropped once too often or a keypad that has lost its code. Try the wall button before anything else.
Lock or holiday mode
Most wall consoles have a lock button that disables every remote. It gets pressed by accident more often than anyone admits.
Door is physically locked
A slide bolt, a T-handle lock or a roller-door key lock left on will stop the opener dead; a good opener senses the load and gives up rather than tearing the lock out.
No power to the motor
A tripped safety switch, a power point turned off by a visitor, or a blackout. The manual release lets you open the door by hand until power is back.
Broken spring
One loud bang, then a door that the opener cannot lift and that feels like a dead weight by hand. The opener is not the fault; the spring is. Prices are on the spring replacement cost guide.
Safe Checks Before You Call
Fine to check yourself
- Press the wall button. If the door opens from there, the fault is the remote, its battery or the receiver, not the door.
- Look at the wall console for a lock or holiday-mode light and switch it off.
- Check the power point behind the motor and the safety switch on your switchboard.
- Walk around the door and look for a slide bolt, key lock or padlock that has been left engaged.
- Look up at the spring above a sectional door: a visible gap in the coil means it has snapped, and the door must stay shut until we arrive.
Leave to a technician
- Do not pull the red release cord and try to lift a door that feels heavy; a broken spring means the door can drop on you.
- Do not touch, unwind or re-tension a spring or cable, even with the door closed.
- Do not keep pressing the remote against a door that is jammed; the opener will burn its gear or strip the chain.
When to Stop and Call
Put the tools down and ring us if you notice any of these:
- You heard a bang from the garage before the door stopped working
- One side of the door sits lower than the other
- A cable is hanging loose or wound around the drum
- The motor runs but the door does not move
- The door is far heavier than usual on the manual release
- A roller door curtain has jumped out of its guides
- The opener trips the safety switch every time it runs
Recommended Services
What This Repair Costs
| Fault | Guide range (incl. GST) | Notes |
|---|
These are guide figures and include GST. The final price turns on which part has failed and the door you have; you hear the exact number from the technician before any work starts, and quoting is free.
Car stuck inside and you need to leave?
Call 0412 988 733 at any hour. If the spring or a cable has gone we make the door safe first, get it open, then quote the repair incl. GST before doing it. No call-out fee, anywhere in the Perth metro area.
Frequently Asked Questions
Run through the free checks in order: wall button, lock mode, power point and switchboard, physical locks, then a look at the spring. If the door still will not open and it feels normal by hand, a reset often clears the opener; our reset guide covers the sequence. If it feels heavy or one side hangs low, stop and call.
Sectional and roller doors with an opener have a manual release, usually reached from inside; from outside you need an external release kit or a key lock fitted for the purpose. The step-by-step is in our manual opening guide. Never do it on a door with a broken spring, because the door's full weight is then on you.
If the wall button works, the door and opener are fine and the problem is in the remote, the keypad or the receiver. Try a fresh battery, check that lock mode is off, then reprogram the remote to the opener. A remote that has been dropped, or a receiver damaged by a power surge, is replaced or repaired; our remotes page covers prices.
No. Unplugging clears a stuck logic state, which is why a power cycle fixes some openers, but the remote codes are stored in memory and survive it. To remove old remotes you use the opener's learn or erase button, then pair each remote again. Do not erase the memory unless you have every remote to hand.
Either the signal is not reaching the opener or the opener cannot move the door. A remote that lights up but does nothing points to a battery, lock mode or a lost code. An opener that hums or clicks points to a mechanical fault: a stripped gear, a broken spring or a cable off the drum. Our garage door repairs page lists what we fix and for how much.
That is almost always the safety beams, which only affect closing. A blocked, misaligned or sun-struck beam makes the opener refuse to close or reverse straight back up. Clean the lenses, check both indicator lights and clear the doorway; our safety sensor troubleshooting guide has the two-minute test.
24/7 Emergency
Garage Door Repairs Perth
Door jammed at 11pm? Spring gone on a public holiday? Ring 0412 988 733 whenever it happens, or book a slot online. Technicians cover every Perth suburb.