Garage Door Won't Open?
Car stuck inside and a door that won't lift. Nine times out of ten it's a snapped spring, a dead opener or a remote that lost its pairing — and all three are routine fixes we handle across Perth, 24 hours a day.
Quick Answer
A garage door that won't open at all is almost always one of five things: a snapped torsion spring (the door is suddenly far too heavy for the motor), a failed opener or drive gear, a remote that has lost its pairing or battery, the manual release cord left disengaged, or the door jammed off its track. The quickest way to tell is to disengage the motor and lift the door by hand — if it will not budge or feels enormously heavy, the spring has gone, and that is a spring replacement. If it lifts easily by hand, the fault is the opener or the remote instead, which means either a motor repair or a new remote programmed to your opener. Whichever it turns out to be, you get the price before any work starts. Never force a door that will not move; a broken spring means the full weight is unsupported.
Common Causes
Snapped torsion spring
The single most common cause. The spring carries almost the whole door's weight, so when it fatigues through, the motor simply cannot lift what is left. It usually announces itself with a bang like a gunshot.
Opener or drive gear failure
The motor hums, clicks or does nothing. On older Merlin and B&D units the plastic drive gear strips first — the motor spins, but nothing drives the door.
Remote lost its pairing
The door is fine; the signal is not. Flat battery, a memory that has filled, or a receiver board that has aged out — common on openers past ten years.
Manual release still disengaged
Someone pulled the red cord during a power cut and the trolley never re-engaged. The motor runs, the door stays put. Genuinely the cheapest fix there is.
Door jammed in its tracks
A roller out of its guide, a bent track or an obstruction locks the door in place. Forcing the opener against it bends more track and can strip the gear.
No power to the opener
A tripped RCD, an unplugged unit or a switched-off outlet after garage work. Worth ruling out before anyone is called.
What You Can Check Safely
Safe to check yourself
- Check the opener has power — look for a light on the powerhead, and check the RCD in your switchboard
- Try the wall button as well as the remote; if the wall button works, the fault is the remote
- Replace the remote battery — it is the single most common trivial cause
- With the door DOWN, pull the manual release and try lifting by hand: enormously heavy means a broken spring
- Look along the springs above the door for a visible gap in the coil
Do not attempt
- Do not keep pressing the button — repeated attempts against a jam strip the drive gear and bend track
- Do not pull the manual release while the door is part-way open; with a broken spring it can drop
- Do not touch, adjust or unwind the springs — they hold enough energy to break bones
- Do not lever the door up with a bar; you will bend panels and pull rollers out of their guides
When to Call a Technician
Call a technician straight away if any of the following apply:
- You heard a loud bang from the garage before it stopped working
- There is a visible gap in the spring coil above the door
- The door is far too heavy to lift by hand with the motor disengaged
- The motor runs or hums but the door does not move
- The door is sitting crooked, or a cable is hanging loose
What Perth Customers Say
“Al was amazing and talked me through getting my door open which had jammed! Absolutely recommend 💯”
Stephanie Smith · Repairs
“My garage door wasn't opening or closing properly for 3 weeks. Al helped me reset it over the phone and had the issue fixed in 10 minutes. Amazing service.”
Matt Murphy · Repairs
“my garage suddenly not working after it was working in the morning and then gave them a quick call and they're helping out straight away, would highly recommend them for urgent requests!!”
Dyah
Get Help With This Problem
Prefer to call? 0422 828 800Car trapped inside and you need it out?
Tell us that when you call — a trapped car is triaged ahead of routine work. We are open 24 hours; after-hours work carries one flat surcharge, confirmed before anyone is dispatched.
Frequently Asked Questions
Work from cheapest to dearest. Confirm the opener has power and try the wall button — if that works, the remote is your problem, so change the battery and re-pair it. If nothing responds, disengage the motor with the manual release (door fully down) and lift by hand: if it comes up easily the opener is at fault, and if it is immovably heavy a spring has snapped. Each of those is a different job — a spring replacement, an opener repair, or a remote supplied and programmed — so we quote the one you actually need before starting. Anything involving the springs or a jammed door is a technician job, not a DIY one.
Either the button's signal is not arriving or the door physically cannot move. If the wall button works but the remote does not, it is the remote. If neither works but the motor light comes on, suspect the drive gear or logic board. If the motor strains and stops, the door is too heavy — a broken spring — or something is jamming the tracks. The tell is always the hand-lift test with the motor disengaged.
B&D units fail in a few predictable ways. The Controll-A-Door range strips its plastic drive gear, which sounds like the motor running with nothing happening. Older units lose their remote memory and need re-coding at the powerhead. And on any brand, a snapped spring stops the door regardless of how healthy the opener is. We repair every major Australian brand — B&D, Merlin, Centurion, ATA, Gliderol, Steel-Line and Avanti.
Only if the springs are intact. Pull the red manual release cord with the door fully closed, then lift evenly from the centre. If the door is balanced it should rise with modest effort and stay where you leave it. If it is enormously heavy or drops back, stop — the spring has failed and the door's full weight (often over 100kg) is unsupported. Call us rather than wrestling with it; freeing a trapped car safely is routine work for us.
We are contactable 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Tell us your suburb and what the door is doing when you call and you will get a realistic arrival window, not an optimistic one — there is no call-out fee to quote.
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