April 19, 2023

Garage Door Opener: Why does my garage door opener reverse on its own?

If the garage door reverses when closing after only traveling down an inch or so, something is probably blocking the beam between the two safety sensors at the bottom of the rails, or the sensors aren't aligned. Watch our safety sensor troubleshoot video to determine whether the sensors work; replace them if they're broken.

If your garage door reversing when closing after it's more than halfway down, you may need to adjust the downforce setting or adjust the door tracks so the door doesn't bind up on the way down.

garage door opener

THESE REPAIRS MAY HELP SOLVE YOUR GARAGE DOOR OPENER PROBLEM

JC-GDO-Adjust-and-align-the-garage-door-opener

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

Find the required part specific to your product.

JC-GDO-Replace-the-garage-door-opener-safety-sensor

Replace the garage door opener safety sensor

The safety sensor has a pair photoelectric eyes at the base of the rails-one eye emits an infrared beam and the other receives it. If an object, person or animal blocks the beam, the closing door reverses direction. Test the sensor eyes by connecting them to short wires directly at the motor unit. While holding the sensors close together and facing each othe, click the remote. If the door doesn't close and the lights don't blink, replace the safety sensors.

Garage door opener safety sensor

Find the required part specific to your product.

RG-GDO-Replace-Garage-Door-Opener-Safety-Sensor-Intro-Image
June 01, 2016

How to replace a garage door opener safety sensor

If your garage door opener remotes don’t work and the lights on the motor unit blink when you press the remote's buttons, the safety sensors may have failed. This step-by-step repair guide and video show how to test and replace the safety sensors on a garage door opener.

Repair difficulty
Time required
 15 minutes or less
JC-GDO-Do-garage-door-opener-preventive-maintenance

Do garage door opener preventive maintenance

To keep the garage door operating smoothly, periodically check the garage door opener for proper alignment and settings, following instructions in the owner's manual. Inspect hardware and lubricate moving components. Check the safety sensor for proper operation.

Do garage door opener preventive maintenance

Find the required part specific to your product.

Most common symptoms to help you fix your garage door openers

Choose a symptom to see related garage door opener repairs.

Main causes: faulty logic control board, bad RPM sensor, broken gears in the drive system, bad drive motor…

Main causes: radio interference, weak remote batteries, sunlight interference with safety sensor beams, safety sensors n…

Things to do: check garage door travel, tighten brackets and fasteners, test safety sensors, check travel limits and for…

Main causes: garage door locked, damaged garage door tracks, up-force setting needs adjustment, RPM sensor failure, bad …

Main causes: neighbor's remote programmed at the same time as yours, faulty wall control wiring, bad wall control unit…

Main causes: garage door opener misaligned, travel limits need adjustment, bad travel limit switches, faulty logic contr…

Main causes: safety sensor beams blocked, safety sensors not aligned, downforce setting needs adjustment, damaged garage…

Main causes: loose fasteners, broken brackets, need preventive maintenance, worn drive gears, loose or worn belt, loose …

Most common repair guides to help fix your garage door openers

These step-by-step repair guides will help you safely fix what’s broken on your garage door opener.

How to replace a chain-drive garage door opener motor

How to replace a chain-drive garage door opener motor

Get your garage door moving again by replacing a defective motor in your garage door opener.…

Repair difficulty
Time required
 60 minutes or less
How to replace a belt-drive garage door opener motor

How to replace a belt-drive garage door opener motor

The garage door won't move if the motor is defective. Here’s how to fix it.…

Repair difficulty
Time required
 60 minutes or less
How to replace a garage door opener drive chain and cable assembly

How to replace a garage door opener drive chain and cable assembly

If your garage door won’t move, the chain and cable assembly on your garage door opener could be broken. Follow these st…

Repair difficulty
Time required
 60 minutes or less

Effective articles & videos to help repair your garage door openers

Use the advice and tips in these articles and videos to get the most out of your garage door opener.

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How to enjoy all the online benefits we offer on our Sears PartsDirect website

Learn about all the convenient features on our Sears PartsDirect website that make your parts purchases easier.…

Top questions about Sears and Sears PartsDirect

Top questions about Sears and Sears PartsDirect

Get answers to frequently asked questions about Sears and Sears PartsDirect.…

How to open a garage door with an opener manually

How to open a garage door with an opener manually

Learn how to open a garage door manually if power to your garage door opener fails.…