That's the safety sensors doing their job, and it usually means one of them, or the wire running to it, has failed. Call Keystone Garage Door Repair and describe what the door does.
What does a safety sensor fault look like?
The door closes partway, then reverses with nothing in its path, while opening works normally. That's a sensor problem, not a motor problem. The two eyes sit low on either side of the door opening, and a fault in either one makes the opener send the door back up. If the light on one sensor is dark, you've likely found the side that's lost its connection.
A door that won't move at all, or one that grinds as it travels, is a different problem. That points at the opener or the door hardware, not the sensors.
Many projects also need new garage door installation. Shopping for garage door repair in Kokomo? Our home page has more.
More answers: How to Choose a Garage Door Repair Contractor: What a Good Quote Spells Out · Garage Door Repair Cost Breakdown: Materials, Labor and Extras
How do you tell a bad wire from a bad sensor?
We run a temporary direct wiring connection to the sensors. Both lights glowing tells us the wiring between them was the break, so that's what we replace. If they don't, the sensors are the fault and we replace them. Either way you pay for the part that failed, not both.
From the driveway the two faults look identical: the door reverses and a light stays dark. A broken wire reads to the opener as a sensor that isn't there. That's why we test first instead of swapping parts and hoping.
What does the repair involve?
For a wire fault, we replace the damaged sensor wiring, matching the opener's existing wiring configuration. For a sensor fault, we replace the sensors and wire them to match that same configuration. The work takes a Phillips screwdriver and wire strippers; nothing exotic.
Matching what's already there means we aren't rewiring your opener or talking you into a new one to fix a sensor problem.
How much does sensor repair cost?
Sensor wiring replacement runs $70 to $275. On the phone we'll give you that typical range. Replacing the sensors themselves is quoted separately, so we price it after we see which sensors your opener uses.
The test decides which price applies, wire or sensors. The written quote reaches you ahead of the repair.
Does the Wildcat Creek flood or permit work affect a sensor repair?
Only indirectly. Nearly 400 Howard County homes were affected when Wildcat Creek flooded in April, so if yours was one of them, look the garage over for water damage. Sensor work itself doesn't touch the door opening or its supporting structure.
If you're changing the opening or the structure that holds the door, that's different. Kokomo lists structural modifications as building-permit work, so we confirm permit requirements with the city before anything structural is touched.
What's the next step?
Pick up the phone and tell Keystone Garage Door Repair whether the door reverses on the way down or one sensor light stays dark. There's nothing to decide on that call. Our test at your door settles wire versus sensors, and the quote follows from that result.