My Garage Door Will Not Fully Close

Garage door openers are designed with manual or electronic controls to make setup and adjustments easy. These adjustments allow you to program or set where the door will stop in the open and close position, and regulates the amount of force needed to open and close your door.

Symptoms

Types of Obstruction Symptoms

• If the door makes contact with an obstruction while opening, the door will stop, the opener will beep and the lights will flash five (5) times.
• When the door is in any position other than closed and the garage door opener is activated, the door will close.
• If the garage door makes contact with an obstruction while closing, the door will reverse, the opener will beep and the lights will flash 5 times.

Security+ 2.0 Garage Door Openers Self-Diagnostic Capabilities

• On a Security+ 2.0 garage door opener, the up arrow will flash 4 times followed by the down arrow flashing 1 time to indicate that an obstruction, binding, or a sticking door was detected
• On a Security+ 2.0 garage door opener with an LCD display, the LCD display will show "Error code 4-1 excessive closing force detected" to indicate that an obstruction, binding, or a sticking door was detected.
• On other garage door openers, the learn button will flash 5 times every 10 seconds in addition to the door not opening all the way to indicate that an obstruction, binding, or a sticking door was detected.

Obstruction Notifications

As of November 15, 2020, Security+ 2.0 Garage Door Openers are now manufactured with obstruction notifications in the event the garage door encounters an obstruction while operating.

For existing Security+ 2.0 Wi-Fi Garage Door Openers that are connected to Wi-Fi, the firmware has been updated automatically so it will now provide obstruction notifications. Note: The garage door opener must be connected to Wi-Fi in order for the update to occur. 

If the opener is not a Wi-Fi enabled Garage Door Opener and is within the warranty time frame, the logic board can be replaced. Replacing the logic board will provide obstruction notifications once it is installed. 

Important Notes

• Incorrect adjustment of garage door travel limits will interfere with the proper operation of the safety reversal system.
• If one control (force or travel limits) is adjusted, the other control may also need adjustment.
• Too much force on the garage door will interfere with the proper operation of the safety reversal system.
• NEVER increase the force beyond the minimum amount required to close the garage door.
• NEVER use force adjustments to compensate for a binding or sticking garage door.
• The safety reversal system MUST be tested every month.
• After ANY adjustments are made, the safety reversal system MUST be tested. Door MUST reverse on contact with 1-1/2" high (3.8 cm) object (or 2x4 laid flat) on the floor.
• To prevent damage to vehicles, be sure the open door opens fully to provide adequate clearance.

Before making any adjustments to your garage door opener, we recommend that you test the balance of your garage door. Your garage door must be properly balanced in order to set your limit and force settings correctly and to ensure your door passes the safety reversal test.

Garage door openers manufactured approximately:

• Before 2011 utilize adjustment screws to set the travel and force. These screws are located on either side of the garage door opener.
• After 2011 utilize auto adjustment UP and DOWN arrows to set the travel and force. These adjustment buttons are located on the side of the garage door opener where the antenna is located.

1) Test the Balance of the Door

For more help, see How to test the balance of a garage door.

2) Adjust Your Travel and Force Limits

• For blue and white screw adjustments, see How to adjust the travel and force limits
• For square push-button adjustments, see How to program the travel and force limits using black-and-purple or black-and-yellow buttons
• For UP and DOWN arrows, see How to program the Security+ 2.0 travel and force limits using the UP and DOWN arrows
• For MC garage door openers with the Step Saver Set Up sticker, see Travel and Force Setup for MC Garage Door Openers

3) Test the Safety Reversal System

Improper adjustment of the travel & force adjustments will interfere with the proper operation of the safety reversal system causing the door to not reverse properly when required and could seriously injure or kill someone. Please remember to perform the Safety Reversal test after any travel adjustment.

Replacement Parts:

• For Chamberlain replacement parts, visit the Chamberlain Parts ordering website
• For LiftMaster replacement parts, visit the LiftMaster Parts ordering website