Why Does My Genie Garage Door Opener Open But Not Close
As with the other garage door types, the genie garage door may fail close but open due to dirty eyes, obstruction in the doors path, loose wires, broken tension springs, snapped cables, or when the door track is out of alignment.
Mainly, if there is an object in your garage doors path, the door will only move some inches and then reverse. Your garage door is fitted with safety sensors on each side that communicates with each other. If there is an object, pet, or a crawling child in the doors path, the safety sensors reverse its direction to avoid crashing on the object and, in the process, fail to close.
Worn Out Garage Door Rollers
Door rollers are the most used parts of the garage door. Therefore, they are prone to wear over time. Door rollers have a lifespan of about 10,000-15,000 cycles when well maintained, and if you open and close the garage door about three to four times a day, your door rollers will last approximately six to seven years. Worn-out door rollers do not slide smoothly, causing a clicking sound during the opening or closing cycles. Replace your rollers when they show signs of wear. Maintain the rollers for longer through regular lubrication and annual maintenance.
When Its More Than A Common Problem
In some cases, a garage door refusing to close may be a bigger issue than just fixing the sensor, cleaning the tracks, or resetting the travel/limit setting. When it isnt one of these common issues, its probably that time to call in the professionals. Your garage door system may require a professional analysis in order to diagnosis the problem.
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A Tiny Obstacle Is Present
If a door reverses upon closing, there could be something in the way that poses as an obstruction. This does not necessarily have to involve the photo-eyes, either. Various items that would fall below the beam of the photo-eye can cause a door to reverse itself, such as foliage, paper and even used gum.
After all, a door is programmed to only close on solid ground and reverse course if anything foreign is encountered along the way.
If your garage door keeps reversing, a tiny object, dirt or foliage is likely obstructing the door. If you remove all the obstructions and the door is still reversing, you should call a service.
Obstructions that homeowners often overlook are not just found on the ground, as the tracks can also get lined with items that could halt and reverse the closing of a door. If gum, dirt or foliage get lodged into one of the tracks at any point, the door might automatically reverse on contact. To prevent this from happening, inspect the tracks about twice a year, and clean them if necessary.
How And When To Adjust The Garage Door Opener Limits

- Locate the limit screws on the left panel of the motor unit.
- If the garage door opens at least five feet from the ground, use a screwdriver to turn the Up clockwise limit screw. One complete turn of the screw equals two inches of travel of the door.
- If the door does not close completely, turn the down limit screw counterclockwise.
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Test The Safety Sensors On The Garage Door Motor
Testing the safety sensors directly on the motor unit can determine if the sensors or wires are defective.
To test the safety sensors, first, remove the sending sensor from its bracket. Disconnect the sensor from the wire by cutting it 12 inches from the end. Strip the wires on both ends and twist the matching color wires together on each sensor.
Disconnect the wires from the operator terminals and reconnect them according to color. Direct the sensors at each other. If the lights on both sensors light up, there is a problem with the wiring, and you should replace it.
However, if the LED lights do not light up after reconnecting the wires, replace the sensors. Finally, if the LED lights do not light up after replacing the wires and sensors, replace the logic board.
Lock Mode Has Been Inadvertently Activated
If you return home to find that your garage door wont open as prompted, it might be because you held the button down too long as you were leaving. Sometimes human error causes a stuck garage door. Pushing the lock button is a minor error with a quick fix.
With some garage openers, a feature exists that allows you to put the opener in lock mode. You can activate this feature by holding down the button on your keypad for several seconds. Once locked, a normal press of the button will not activate the door. To bring the door out of lock mode, simply hold the button down again for several seconds.
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Craftsman Garage Door Opener Troubleshooting
Even though these products are usually of high quality, they need repair from time to time. To find out whats wrong with your door opener, use the Craftsman garage door troubleshooting charts below. This information can be a valuable addition to the Craftsman garage door opener manual. As soon as you understand the problem, you will be able to decide whether you can make Craftsman garage door repair by yourself.
Adjust And Align The Garage Door Opener
When the garage door opener doesn’t work operate properly, check the alignment of the motor unit and/or the rail and realign if necessary. If necessary, adjust the settings for travel limits and force limits, following the instructions in the owner’s manual. make sure that the photoelectric eyes of the safety sensor are aligned.
Adjust and align the garage door opener
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The Garage Door Opener Is Overheating Or Humming
When your Craftsman garage door opener is overheating or hums and doesnt move, its a sign that there is a problem with the garage doors mechanism or the motor is overheated. This problem is confirmed with the Diagnostic LED flashing five times, or with the error code, 1-5 on newer devices, which means the UP arrow blinks once, and the DOWN arrow blinks five times.
To troubleshoot this, disconnect the garage door opener from the door by pulling the emergency cord, and manually lift the garage door. Check for binding or obstruction, such as a broken spring or a door lock. Correct as needed
If this doesnt solve the problem, then unplug your Craftsman garage door opener and wait for about 30 minutes to retry. This will give the motor ample time to cool down.
Garage Door Doesnt Close Completely
If the garage door opens completely but will not close completely, there are three common causes.
- Your garage door has switches that tell the motor when to stop running. The close-limit switch may need to be adjusted if it is preventing the door from closing. Each model is different, so reference your owners manual for specific instructions.
- Safety sensors can also cause the door not to close completely. The sensors may need to be adjusted or realigned to create a clear line of view. This will allow the door to close all the way smoothly to the ground.
- Rusted or damaged rollers can prevent the garage door from opening completely as well as closing completely. Replace any damaged rollers or lubricate them with silicone lubricant to resolve the problem. Inspect the tracks and replace them as necessary as they can shift or bend.
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Something Is Obstructing The Doors Path
Garage doors are crafted with a reversing mechanism that deters them from mashing objects in their way. So if your garage door fails to close, there might be objects on the ground preventing the door from closing, such as toys. Also, it could be a result of debris buildup on the tracks, making the rollers unable to move forward. Its interesting to know that if the garage door hits even the tiniest object, it will retract to avoid smashing whatever is underneath.
What youll do is to examine the area around your garage door to know if there is an object preventing the door from closing. Then assess the tracks and see whether there is any debris buildup on the inside. If any, run a damp rag along each track and remove all the buildup thats lingering on the tracks.
Its best to use a ladder to access the tracks from the top part of your garage, as it is tricky to examine from the ground level.
How And When To Adjust The Force

- Locate the force adjustment screws on the right panel of the motor unit.
- If the door is difficult to hold or doesnt reverse, decrease the down force by turning the control counterclockwise. Make minor adjustments until the door reverses appropriately.
- If the door reverses during the down cycle and the opener lights arent flashing, increase the closing force by turning the control clockwise. Make minor adjustments until the door completes a close cycle.
- If the door is difficult to hold or doesnt stop, decrease the up force by turning the force control counterclockwise.
- If the door doesnt open at least five feet, increase the up force by turning the control clockwise.
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San Antonio Garage Door Experts
If you find that your garage door opener is still clicking or if you are having any other problems with the opener, you can rely on Hollywood-Crawford Garage Door Co. We have experienced technicians who will come out and get your garage door back in working order so you can get back to your daily routine. For the garage door repair San Antonio trusts, call Hollywood-Crawford.
Caring For Your Craftsman Garage Door
According to Home Depot, you can do some things to keep your garage door working in peak condition. Every month, inspect your garage door by opening and closing it. Make sure the rollers move smoothly on the tracks and close and open completely. In addition, for safety, test the sensors by placing something in front of them and trying to close the door. The sensors should prevent it from closing on the item, and if they don’t, you’ll need to either get the Craftsman garage door sensors replaced or figure out what else is wrong with the door.
At least once a year, check the chain tension. In addition, lubricate the rollers, hinges and bearings with a white lithium spray grease. In addition, if your garage door receiver is electric but has battery backup, test the batteries by disconnecting the electrical power.
Things You Will Need
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Remote Control Not Working
When your craftsman garage door remote is not working, here are the troubleshooting steps to fixing this issue:
- Verify the lock feature is not activated: If the lock feature on your Craftsmans wall control is activated, it wont accept any remote controls command until its deactivated. So the first thing to do is to check and make sure that its not activated
- Check the remote battery: All garage door opener remotes use batteries, and batteries eventually die out after using it for a while. If you own a Craftsman garage door remote with an LED, then you are in luck. To check if the remote battery is not dead. When the LED turns on, then the battery is good. If it doesnt, then you need to replace the battery.
- Operate the garage door with the door control: Operating your Craftsman garage door opener with the door control is a way to confirm that the problem is actually from your remote. If the garage door opener works when you use the door control, the problem might be with the remote. If it doesnt work, then check the Diagnostic LED to know what the problem is
- Reprogram the remote: The next thing to do is to reprogram. Here is a guide on how to reprogram your Craftsman remotes with your opener. See here
Garage Door Doesnt Open Completely
If the garage door opens but then stops short, there are a few possible reasons for this.
- The up-limit switch is a touch-level mounted at the end of the track near the motor unit. If its too far away, you will need to move the switch closer to the unit. This is a rare problem, so you will usually notice the issue immediately.
- If the rollers are damaged, this can prevent the garage door from opening completely. To determine if this is the cause, inspect the rollers. You should lubricate any rusted rollers and replace any damaged rollers.
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How Do You Bypass A Garage Door Sensor
The essence of a garage door sensor is to dissuade your garage door from closing. Doing so prevents the garage doors from causing injuries to kids, pets, and anything on its path.
The garage door sensors integrate built-in functions that allow you to determine if it has issues. Its interesting to know that your garage door sensor can be tossed out of alignment if an object bumps into it. Also, any impact, vibration from the garage door, and direct sunlight can damage the connection wires, making them malfunction.
When your sensor malfunctions, the garage door stops and reverses for no reason. Also, it opens but wont close. When this happens, you need to find out how to bypass the door sensors. Find out more in this guide.
First, hold the wall button down firmly without releasing it. When the garage door hits the floor, release the wall button. Dont release the wall button ahead of the garage door reaching the floors. If you do that, the sensors will kick back into action and reverse the garage door.
Pressing the wall button allows you to lock the garage door in a down position using the door opener. This helps prevent foreigners from accessing your garage.
Note that bypassing the garage door sensors isnt a repair. You will need to assess a few things afterward. For instance:
Check the alignment
Check the wiring
Replacing the sensors
If you assess your wires and dont find any faults, your sensors might have issues. The best thing is to replace them with new ones.
Craftsman 13953663srt Garage Door Opener Troubleshooting
One of the Craftsmans most popular models, the 139.53663SRT garage door opener was created exclusively for residential use. It utilizes a 1/2 HP motor, which is the most common type for residential garage door openers. If the device is experiencing an issue, check the chart below for useful troubleshooting tips.
The garage door opener will not close and the light will flash | Safety sensors are not installed, connected, or wires may be cut | Inspect sensor wires for a disconnected or cut wire{s). If the sending sensor with the amber LED is NOT lit, check the wire and connections for that sensor. If sending sensor LED is lit, check the wire connections leading to the receiving sensor . Reattach wire or replace wire as needed. If pre-wired home, check the splices. Close the garage door using the remote control or the door control. | |
12 | 2 Flashes | Safety sensor wire shorted or reversed | Inspect sensor wire for incorrect wiring or a pinched wire. If the sending sensor is not lit, check the wire leading to and from that sensor. Check staple points. If sending sensor LED is lit, check the wire leading to the receiving sensor . Reattach wire or replace wire as needed. If pre-wired home, check the splices. Close the garage door using the remote control or the door control. |
13 |
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Safety Box Or Board Test
Contemporary garage doors have a safety feature designed to react and open immediately when someone or something is placed under them. It is an excellent way to prevent hurting kids or pets when walking there accidentally.
When your door wont close appropriately, and you suspect something is wrong with this system, you should check the safety feature with the simple box or board test. Adjust the limit on your garage door and then put a box under it. Another option is to lay a board on the ground.
Then, you should try to close your garage door. If it reacts and starts opening before reaching the box or board, there is no reason for worry. Otherwise, your garage door is a potential danger, and you need to fix it to keep your family safe.
Check The Tracks And Rollers For Sticking And Binding

Inspect the tracks and rollers for any bends and damages. Crooked tracks and damaged rollers will not allow the garage door to close completely. If you notice any bends on the tracks, use a hammer and camps to straighten it or call a garage door technician.
For the rollers, replace them and lubricate them with white lithium or silicone-based grease.
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Other Garage Door Sensor Error Codes And What They Mean
When sensors begin to blink, you need to troubleshoot them to determine why they are alerting you. To diagnose the issue, check the openers LED light located on the motor unit. How the lights will flash will depend on the type of garage door opener you have.
If you have a Liftmaster, Chamberlain, or Craftsman garage door opener that has one LED light:
- One blink indicates the sensor wires are disconnected.
- Two blinks indicate the wires have shorted.
- Four blinks indicate that the sensor eyes are misaligned.
If you have a Liftmaster, Chamberlain, or Craftsman garage door opener that has up and down arrows:
- One blink up and one blink down indicates the sensors installed incorrectly. This could also indicate that the sensors are faulty.
- One blink up and two blinks down indicated the sensor wires have shorted. This could also suggest that the sensors are reversed.
- One blink up and four blinks down indicates that you have an obstructed or misaligned sensor.
- Four blinks up and six blinks down indicate the sensors are temporarily obstructed or misaligned.