A garage door that refuses to open is almost always one of a handful of causes. Here is how to identify the problem safely and what to do next.
The most common cause: a broken spring
When the door will not open and feels extremely heavy to lift manually, the leading cause is a broken torsion spring. You may have heard a loud bang in the garage earlier. The spring counterbalances the door's weight, so when it snaps the opener cannot lift the load and the door stays shut. This requires professional spring replacement — the tension in these springs makes them dangerous to handle.
Opener power and logic issues
If the door hums or clicks but does not move, the opener motor is receiving power but cannot drive the door. This can mean stripped gears in an older chain unit, a disconnected trolley, or a logic board fault. Check that the opener is plugged in and that the wall switch is not locked out. If the remote works but the wall button does not, the wiring between the button and motor may be damaged.
Snapped or tangled cables
Lift cables carry the door's weight from the drum to the bottom bracket. A frayed or snapped cable causes the door to hang crooked or jam partway. A cable that has unwound and tangled around the drum prevents the door from moving at all. Cable replacement and drum re-seating are safety-critical repairs best left to a technician.
Misaligned or blocked safety sensors
Modern openers use photo-eye safety sensors near the floor. If the sensors are misaligned, dirty, or blocked, the opener refuses to close and sometimes will not open as a failsafe. Check that nothing is obstructing the sensor path and that the LED indicators on both units are lit. Realigning the sensors often restores operation.
Off-track doors
A door knocked off its tracks — from a vehicle bump or a broken roller — will jam at an angle and cannot move. Forcing an off-track door damages the panels and tracks. A technician relieves spring tension, guides the rollers back into the track channels, and realigns the rails.
What to do next
If the door will not open and you suspect a spring or cable issue, do not force it or attempt to lift it manually. Keep people and vehicles away and call for professional repair. For sensor or opener logic issues, the troubleshooting steps above are safe to try first.
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