Garage door opener stopped working? A quick checklist before you call

Is there power to the opener at all?

Total silence, no light, no hum, no click, means start with power:

• Press the light button on the wall control. If the opener's light stays off too, the opener isn't getting power.
• Check the plug in the ceiling outlet. Cords get nudged loose by ladders, kayaks and roof racks more often than you'd expect.
• Check the breaker, and any GFCI outlet in the garage. Ground-fault outlets in a damp garage can trip, and a storm outage can trip them too.
• Plug in a work light or a phone charger to prove the outlet is live.

If the outlet has power and the opener still shows no sign of life, the fault is inside the opener.

Did someone switch on the lock button?

Many wall controls have a lock or vacation button. With it on, the remotes and the outside keypad are shut out, while the wall button still works. It's easy to press while groping for the light switch in the dark.

LiftMaster's guidance, for example, is that with the lock on, the door control works but the remotes don't, and the opener's lights flash twice when a remote is pressed (LiftMaster). Switch the lock off as your manual shows, then try the remote.

Remote or keypad acting up?

With the wall button working and the lock off, the trouble is in the remote or keypad.

• Remote works only close to the door: replace its battery.
• Outside keypad dead or unresponsive: replace its battery, and open the battery cover to look for corrosion on the contacts. A keypad mounted outside lives in fog, rain and salt air.
• One remote works and another doesn't: new battery in the dead one, then reprogram it if needed.
• No remote works after a power surge or a new opener: reprogram them using the learn button on the opener.

Small batteries also lose power in cold weather, so keep a few spares in a kitchen drawer through the winter.

Did it stop after a storm knocked the power out?

This is the classic Halifax one. When a nor'easter or an ice storm takes out the power, someone pulls the red release cord to get the car out by hand. The door is then disconnected from the opener: when the power returns, the motor runs and the trolley slides along the rail, but the door stays where it is.

Reconnecting depends on your model, so follow the manual. Chamberlain, for example, says that on its square-rail openers you pull the cord toward the opener and run a full cycle, and on its T-rail openers you pull the cord straight down and the door reconnects on the next cycle (Chamberlain). Our guide to the garage door manual release has the full steps and the spring check to do before pulling the cord at all.

While you're at it, check the breaker, and if you have a battery backup, make sure it recharged after the outage.

What do flashing lights on the opener mean?

Most openers flash their lights or a small LED to report what's wrong. On LiftMaster and Chamberlain models:

• Ten flashes when you try to close usually means the safety sensors at the bottom of the tracks can't see each other. They may be blocked, knocked out of line, fogged with condensation, or blinded by low sun.
• Two flashes after pressing a remote can mean the lock is on.

Other brands use other codes, and many newer openers have a diagnostic LED with its own pattern; the manual and the maker's support site list them. If the door starts down and then heads straight back up, that's its own problem, covered in garage door won't close.

The motor runs but the door stays put

Take your finger off the button. A motor that hums or runs while the door doesn't move usually means:

1. A broken spring. The opener can't lift what the springs no longer hold. Look at the bar above the door for an open split in the coil. If it's there, don't run the opener or lift the door, and read garage door spring broken.
2. A stripped drive gear. Many openers turn the door through a gear that wears with time. Once it strips, the motor turns and nothing else does.
3. A door that's stuck. A bottom seal frozen to the floor after a freeze-thaw night, or rollers seized with salt corrosion, can stop the door just as firmly.

Pressing again and again can burn out the motor or bend the door. This one needs someone to look at it.

Fix the opener or buy a new one?

Plenty of opener faults are straightforward repairs: a gear, a sensor, a logic board, a remote. A new opener starts to make sense when:

• it's old enough to lack modern safety sensors or a dependable safety reverse,
• parts for the model aren't made any more,
• the door was swapped for a heavier insulated one and the opener labours,
• you want a battery backup for storm outages, or a quiet belt drive under a bedroom.

Whatever you have, test the safety reverse monthly. LiftMaster's test is that the door must reverse when it closes on a 1-1/2 inch object or a 2x4 laid flat. If it doesn't, stop using the opener until it's repaired.

Still stuck after the checklist, or the motor runs and the door won't move? Garage doors are a 24/7 service; see garage door opener repair.