Garage Door Safety Check: The Auto-Reverse Test, Springs and Cables

A garage door can weigh a couple hundred pounds, and it's the largest moving object in most houses. It goes up and down several times a day without anybody thinking about it, until it doesn't. Fall is a good time to check it, because cold weather is hard on springs, and the door gets used even more once the car lives in the garage for the winter.

01Test the auto-reverse (monthly)

Since 1993, federal rules have required automatic garage door openers sold in the U.S. to reverse when they hit something. The Consumer Product Safety Commission recommends testing it every month.

1. Open the door.
2. Lay a 2x4 flat on the floor in the middle of the door's path.
3. Close the door with the opener. When it touches the board, it should stop and go back up within a couple of seconds.

If it doesn't reverse, or it stops but stays down on the board, unplug the opener and don't use it until the force setting is adjusted or the opener is repaired. Your opener's manual explains the adjustment. If the opener is old enough that it doesn't have photo eyes at all, it's time for a new one.

02Test the photo eyes

The two small sensors near the floor on each side of the door shoot an invisible beam across the opening. Start closing the door and wave something (a broom handle or a box, not your foot) through the beam. The door should stop and reverse.

• Make sure the sensors face each other and both indicator lights are on.
• Wipe the lenses clean. Dust, cobwebs and leaves cause a lot of "the door won't close" calls.
• They should be mounted no more than about 6 inches off the floor, so they can see a small child or a pet.

03Check the balance

Pull the emergency release cord (with the door closed) so you can lift the door by hand. Lift it about halfway and let go.

• A balanced door stays put, or drifts slowly.
• If it slams down or shoots up, the springs are out of adjustment or worn. The opener has been doing the springs' job, and it won't last long that way.

Reconnect the opener when you're done.

04Look, don't touch: springs and cables

Look at the springs, either the long ones running along the tracks or the big one on a bar above the door, and at the lift cables at the bottom corners.

• A gap in a coiled spring means it's broken.
• Frayed, rusted or kinked cables are close to failing.
• Loose brackets at the bottom corners of the door.

Garage door springs are under enormous tension. Never try to adjust or replace springs, cables or bottom brackets yourself. People get badly hurt doing it. This is a job for a garage door technician.

05The easy stuff you can do

• Lubricate the rollers, hinges and springs with a garage-door lubricant (not grease).
• Tighten the bolts on the hinges and track brackets.
• Replace the bottom seal if you can see daylight under the door. Mice and cold air come in the same way.
• Clear the tracks of debris.

06Kids and the remote

Keep the remote out of reach of children, and mount the wall button high enough that little hands can't reach it. Teach kids that the garage door isn't a toy, and never to run under a closing door.

While you're in the garage, take a look at the GFCI outlets out there, too. Garage doors are also on our fall home inspection checklist.

Sources (3)

CPSC: Automatic Garage Door Openers (PDF) · Chamberlain: How to Test the Safety Reversal System · US Inspect: How to Test Your Garage Door Automatic Reverse

Related: A Comprehensive Guide to DIY Home Inspection: Safeguarding Your Home Inside and Out · Wet Windows on a Cold Morning: Condensation, a Failed Seal, Dew, or a Leak?