Symptom check
The door closes, bounces off the floor and opens again
A garage door that reverses on the way down thinks it hit something. Blinking photo eyes point to the sensors, a quick check; a door that touches the slab and bounces back needs its close limit reset or a frozen seal freed.
Updated
Watch where it turns around
Run one close and keep your eyes on it, noting whether it reverses right after it starts, partway down, or the moment it meets the floor. That one detail separates a sensor fault from a setting or a binding door. Do not hold the door down by hand, and do not turn up the force setting to push it through.
What usually causes it, in order
Where in its travel the door turns around is the strongest clue, so each sign below says where to watch.
- Most common
The photo eyes have lost sight of each other
What you notice: The door turns around within its first foot of travel or well short of the floor, an eye light blinks or is dark, and the opener lights may flash.
The repair: Realign, clean or rewire the photo eyes so the beam holds steady through a full close. Garage Door Safety Sensor Repair, from $125
- Common
The close limit is set past the floor
What you notice: The door reaches the slab, presses down for a moment, then rises a few inches or all the way.
The repair: Shorten the down travel until the opener stops just as the seal settles on the concrete, then repeat the reversal test. Garage Door Opener Repair, from $155
- Common
A bottom seal stiff with cold or stuck to the slab
What you notice: The reversing starts on freezing mornings, the rubber crackles or sticks, and the problem fades as the day warms.
The repair: Free the seal, and replace one that has hardened, split or frozen into a ridge. Garage Door Weather Seal Replacement, from $145
- Common
The door binds in its track
What you notice: The door slows, shudders or scrapes partway down before reversing, and a roller looks worn or a track section looks bent.
The repair: Straighten or realign the track and replace worn rollers so the door runs free without extra force. Garage Door Track Repair, from $165
- Less common
A spring that broke on the way down
What you notice: A loud bang mid-close, the door stops or reverses, and a coil on the torsion shaft now shows a gap.
The repair: Fit a replacement spring, inspect both lift cables and balance the door before it runs again. Garage Door Spring Replacement, from $245
- Less common
A logic board that misreads the travel
What you notice: The limits are reset and the eyes hold steady, yet the door still turns around at random points.
The repair: Test and replace the logic board, which Chamberlain describes as a rare cause. Garage Door Opener Repair, from $155
Safe checks before you call
None of these involves adjusting the opener; they just tell you which cause you are dealing with.
- Check each photo eye: a blinking or unlit indicator means the beam is the problem, so clear anything in its path.
- Watch one full close and note the spot where the door turns around.
- On a cold morning, check the bottom seal for ice, frost or a stiff, flattened strip where it meets the slab.
- From the floor, scan both tracks for a dent, a gap at a joint or a roller sitting outside its track.
- If the reversing started with a bang, check the spring above the door for a split coil before trying again.
- Clear the threshold of leaves, gravel, a mat edge or a ridge of ice the seal could land on.
Reversing at the floor or halfway down: what each one means
Reversing right after it starts points to the photo eyes, reversing partway down to binding track or rollers, and reversing at the floor to the close limit or a stiff seal.
| Where it turns around | Usual cause | Next step |
|---|---|---|
| Within about a foot of starting down | Photo eyes blocked, misaligned or wired wrong | Check the eye lights and clear the beam |
| Partway down, after a shudder | Track binding, worn rollers or a tight spot in the door | Stop using it until the track is checked |
| At the floor, after pressing down | Close limit set past the floor | Reset the down travel, then test |
| At the floor on cold mornings only | A seal frozen or stiff against the slab | Free the seal and clear ice at the threshold |
| Right after a loud bang | A broken spring | Keep it closed and call |
Why the door reverses on cold Clark County mornings
A door that reverses only on cold mornings is usually fighting its own rubber, so check the seal along the bottom edge, and the slab beneath it, first.
Pearson Field in Vancouver averages about 11 freezing nights in each of December and January. A rubber seal that sat in rainwater overnight can freeze in a ridge or stick to the concrete, and a seal gone hard with age lands on the slab like a stick of wood, which the opener reads as an obstruction.
The cure is a newer, softer seal and a dry threshold, not a higher force setting. Chamberlain is blunt that force adjustments should never make up for a binding or sticking door, and a door forced closed against a stiff seal would close on a foot the same way.
How to test the reversal after every adjustment
After any change to limits, force or sensors, set a flat 2 by 4 on the slab in the door path and close the door onto it; the door has to reverse the moment it touches the board.
That monthly test is printed in the instructions the federal opener rule requires with every residential opener. A door that crushes the board instead of reversing needs its settings corrected before anyone parks or walks under it again.
On a service visit we check the eyes first, then run the door by hand to feel for binding and check the balance, because a heavy or tight door makes every setting look wrong. Once the track, rollers, seal and springs are right, we set limits and force to the least that closes the door cleanly.
Door reverses before closing: questions and answers
Is it the sensors or the opener settings when my garage door reverses?
If an eye light blinks or the opener lights flash as the door turns around, it is the sensors. If the eyes hold steady and the door reverses at the floor or at the same spot every time, it is a limit or force setting, or a door that binds. Check the eyes first.
Why does my garage door reverse when it touches the floor?
Usually the close limit is set a little too far, so the opener keeps pushing after the seal meets the slab, reads that as an obstruction and reverses. Shortening the down travel fixes it. A hard, frozen or uneven seal, or debris at the threshold, can cause the same bounce.
Why does my garage door reverse halfway down?
A door that turns around partway down is usually binding somewhere. A bent track, a worn roller, a tight hinge or a door out of balance makes the opener feel resistance. Turning up the force hides that and makes the door dangerous. Have the track, rollers and springs checked, then the settings reset.
Why does my garage door reverse in cold weather?
Cold stiffens the bottom seal and old grease, and freezing rain can fasten the rubber to the concrete or leave an ice ridge at the threshold. The opener feels the extra resistance and reverses. Clear the ice, let the seal warm, and replace a seal that has gone hard.
How do I adjust the close limit when my garage door reverses at the floor?
Use the limit screws or program buttons on the opener head as your manual describes, shortening the down travel a small step at a time. After each change, lower the door onto a board lying flat in its path; it must reverse on contact. If it will not reverse, stop using the opener and call.
Where to go next
Nearby service areas
This call comes in from Meadow Glade, Riveridge, Woodland and the rest of our Washington service area.
Want a price before anyone drives over?
Call and describe what the door is doing, or text a photo of the door and the spring above it. You hear the likely repair and where its price starts, then decide.