Garage Door Won't Close All the Way — Why and How to Fix
Door closes 6 inches and stops? Stops 1 foot off the ground? Each behavior points to a specific cause. Here's the diagnosis tree.
Why won't my garage door close all the way?
The fix depends on where the door stops. If it stops within a few inches of fully closed and reverses, you have a close-limit switch issue — the small dial on the back of the opener marked "down limit" needs to turn one click clockwise.
If the door stops 1–2 ft from the ground and reverses, your safety sensors are misaligned, dirty, or one of the wires is cut. Both photo-eye LEDs at the bottom of the tracks should glow solid; if either blinks, that's your sensor.
If the door closes fine manually (with the wall button held down) but reverses with the remote, the close-force setting needs increased — but only by a tiny amount, and only after you've ruled out a binding track or worn rollers.
If you can hear the motor running but the door barely moves, you have a stripped drive gear (Chamberlain/LiftMaster) or worn trolley (Genie). Common after 10+ years; $90–$140 to repair.
Key takeaways
- Stops near closed = down-limit dial needs adjustment
- Stops 1–2 ft up = sensor problem
- Hold wall button to bypass sensors and isolate the issue
- Motor runs, door doesn't = stripped drive gear
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