Garage door opener clicks but nothing happens
This is almost always a relay or capacitor fault, or a locked motor. Repair costs $120 to $320 and takes 45 to 75 minutes. Safe to operate: Lift by hand to test.
Check this first — it may cost you nothing
Disconnect and lift by hand. A door that lifts freely tells you the fault is entirely inside the opener.
Why this happens
A click without movement is the opener trying to start and failing. The relay is engaging but the motor is not turning, which is usually a capacitor, sometimes a seized gearbox.
Clicking with no movement is the opener's relay trying and failing to start the motor — usually a capacitor or board fault rather than anything mechanical.
Less likely, but possible
- A failed starting capacitor, the most common cause
- A seized gearbox after long service
- Insufficient supply voltage, occasionally on a long circuit run
What happens if I ignore it?
Repeated attempts overheat the motor windings. A capacitor is a modest repair; a burnt motor usually means a new opener.
The repair: opener repair
Garage door opener repair costs $150 to $400 depending on the fault, and takes 45 to 90 minutes. A stripped drive gear or a failed logic board is a repair; an opener over 15 years old is usually worth replacing instead.
Read the full opener repair guide →Get a tech dispatched
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