No response from the remote, a grinding noise from the motor, or a door that starts down and reverses on its own. Openers are the part that gets blamed most and is at fault least — we diagnose it before anything gets replaced.
We find it before we replace it.
Common parts on the truck.
You only pay for the work and parts.
City of Indianapolis License #GL2600359. Coverage in place before we start.
Openers fail in a handful of recognizable ways. What you’re seeing usually narrows it to one or two.
That’s the safety system doing its job — or doing it wrong. Blocked or misaligned photo eyes are the first thing to check, and it’s the one problem on this list you can often solve yourself.
The motor is turning but nothing is transferring to the rail. On a chain or belt drive that’s almost always a stripped drive gear — a plastic part sitting between a steel motor and a heavy door.
No light, no hum, no click. Start with the outlet and the breaker, then the logic board. Boards fail on their own, and they fail in bunches after a storm.
That splits the problem cleanly: the opener and the motor are fine, and the receiver or the remote isn’t. Sometimes it’s a battery. Sometimes it’s the antenna wire.
Something else going on? Call (317) 588-0001 and describe what it’s doing.
Try this first
If the door goes down a foot and comes back up, the photo eyes are the most likely cause — and it’s the one repair on this page that’s genuinely worth trying yourself before calling anyone.
There are two small units mounted about six inches off the floor on each side of the opening, one sending an invisible beam and one receiving it. Each has an LED. On most brands the sending eye stays a steady color and the receiving eye stays steady only when it’s seeing the beam. If the receiving light is off, flickering, or blinking, they aren’t lined up or something is in the way.
Wipe both lenses with a dry cloth — cobwebs and dust are the most common culprit, and in a garage they build up fast. Then check that nothing is leaning against either bracket. If the light is still blinking, loosen the wing nut on the bracket, move the eye slowly until the light goes steady, and tighten it back down. Sun glare at certain times of day can also do it.
If the lights are steady and the door still reverses, the problem isn’t the sensors. At that point it’s usually the opener’s force setting or something in the door itself, and that’s a call.
An opener is a half-horsepower motor asked to move a door that weighs 150 to 250 pounds. It can only do that because the springs are carrying almost all of the weight. When they stop, the opener doesn’t.
Springs at the end of their cycle count don’t lift like they used to. The opener makes up the difference on every cycle, and the drive gear is where that shows up first.
Drag adds load. An opener pulling a door through grit and worn bearings is doing more work every time, and it’s doing it against a motor rated for a door that rolls freely.
Cold stiffens the springs, the bottom seal freezes to the concrete, and the opener pulls harder against a door that isn’t moving. That’s when gears strip — not from age, from one morning of doing the door’s job.
This is why we check the door before we quote the opener. Replacing a stripped gear on a door that’s out of balance buys you a year, maybe two, and then you’re doing it again — or buying a new opener that fails the same way. It takes ten minutes to find out which one you have, and there’s no charge for that.
Openers run ten to fifteen years. Where yours falls in that range decides most of it.
Every garage door opener built since 1993 is required to reverse when the door meets an obstruction — that’s the photo eyes near the floor plus a contact reverse in the motor. If your opener has neither, it predates that requirement and it isn’t safe to keep running, regardless of whether it still works. That’s the one situation where we won’t quote a repair.
Opener repairs range from a fifteen-minute adjustment to a part that costs most of what a new unit does. Four things decide which one you’re looking at.
A sensor or a limit setting is the low end. A drive gear kit is the middle. A logic board or a motor is the high end — and at that point replacement usually makes more sense.
Parts for current LiftMaster, Chamberlain, Craftsman, and Genie units are stocked and inexpensive. Discontinued models get harder and pricier, and some parts simply aren’t made anymore.
If the opener failed because the door is out of balance, fixing the opener alone doesn’t fix the problem. We’ll price both and tell you which one is actually causing it.
Some repairs cost most of what a new opener costs installed. When that’s the case we’ll say so — you shouldn’t spend replacement money on a fifteen-year-old unit.
You get the price after we’ve looked and before anything is touched.
Brands We Service
We stock springs, rollers, and cables for Clopay, Amarr, Wayne Dalton, and C.H.I. doors, and parts for LiftMaster, Chamberlain, Craftsman, and Genie openers — the brands we see most on Indianapolis doors, already on the truck. We service every other major brand and door type as well.
Opener disconnected, door lifted by hand. A balanced door should hold halfway up. If it doesn’t, that’s the real problem and the opener is the symptom.
Wall button, remote, keypad, sensors, and the motor — each tested separately. That’s what tells us whether it’s a receiver, a board, a gear, or a setting.
Most openers we see are running with force settings that were never adjusted after the door aged. Correcting them is part of every opener call at no extra charge, takes minutes, and extends the life of everything.
Photo eye alignment, and a contact reverse test with a board on the floor. If it doesn’t reverse, it doesn’t leave working that way.
We see a run of dead openers every storm season, and it isn’t coincidence. The logic board is the most surge-sensitive part in the unit, and it’s plugged into an outlet that usually has nothing protecting it. A dead opener the morning after a storm, or one where the wall button works and the remote doesn’t, is almost always the board or the receiver. A surge protector on that outlet costs very little and prevents the most expensive repair on the unit.
We replaced this old 1/3 HP LiftMaster in an Indiana garage with a new 1 HP LiftMaster belt-drive opener with a built-in camera and LED light.
Before: the old 1/3 HP opener, with loose wiring at the ceiling mount.
After: the new 1 HP belt-drive opener, programmed and safety-tested.
The parts that make an opener work harder than it should.
Springs carry the weight. When they weaken, the opener carries it instead.
When repair costs approach replacement, we’ll price both.
Worn rollers add drag on every cycle. The opener pays for it.
A door binding in the rail is a door the opener is fighting.
Car trapped and the opener is dead? Dispatch runs 24/7.
From the first call to a working door — here’s what to expect.
Tell us what it’s doing — and whether the wall button and the remote behave the same.
Balance first, then the opener’s components one at a time.
Including a replacement price when the repair gets close to it. No fee for the visit.
Force and travel adjusted, safety reverse tested, and the remotes reprogrammed if needed. Every repair carries a 1-year labor warranty.
Open 24/7 · Same Price. Day or Night. Weekends and holidays included.
Every review below was posted on Google by a homeowner we’ve worked for.
Great price
Our garage door opener was giving us trouble, so we called First Garage Door Repair of Indianapolis. The technicians came out and got it working again in no time. Really nice guys, great service, and we'll definitely use them again if any future problems may arise!
Great price
Amazing work by Ben & Roi with First garage door repair ! They showed up at 8pm and very promptly fixed my broken spring and matched the right size to the door. Now the door is fully repaired and functioning as good as new!!! The price was fair, no hidden fees or other stuff like I've experienced before. I truly recommend if you have any issues with your door and need a repair, call them you won't regret it
We had an emergency with our garage door and needed someone out ASAP. They responded quickly and were able to come out the same day. The technician was friendly, professional, and had everything fixed in no time. Great service, especially when you need help urgently. Highly recommend!
What an amazing company! I called today and spoke w/Ben. within 45 minutes Elior arrived to repair our garage door. It was bowed in the top middle. He adjusted and added support. He then oiled the coils. The garage door now works great! I'll definitely use again when needed and will refer this company to my friends and neighbors.
They showed up on a Sunday 45 minutes after the call and did fantastic work. They are truly the best and very professional.
Ben showed up within 1 hour , fixed my issue and the garage door works perfectly fine! If you need to repair your garage door don't hesitate, call them asap!
Great price
Thank you for coming out in the evening, fast service and highly recommended for everyone who needs emergency garage door service!
Great price
Ben and Roy were super helpful. They helped me get my door up and running again at a very reasonable rate!
Reviews posted on Google
Quick answers to the questions we hear most.
Most often it’s the photo eyes near the floor. Clean both lenses and check the LED on the receiving eye: if it blinks, the eyes need realigning. If the lights are steady and the door still reverses, it’s the force setting or the door itself.
LiftMaster, Chamberlain, Craftsman, and Genie are what we carry parts for and see most on Indianapolis homes. We service all other major brands too, though parts for discontinued models can take longer to source.
Most repairs run $200–$400 installed, depending on the part. A sensor or limit adjustment sits at the low end; when a logic board or motor fails, we price a new opener alongside the repair so you can compare.
Under ten years old with a gear, sensor, or setting problem — repair. Fifteen or more, or a failed board or motor — replace. And if it has no photo eyes and doesn’t reverse on contact, it predates the 1993 safety requirement and should be replaced regardless of whether it still runs.
Ten to fifteen years for most residential units. What shortens that isn’t age — it’s a door that makes the opener work harder than it was built to. An opener on a balanced, well-maintained door usually reaches the top of that range.
That narrows it nicely — the opener and motor are fine. It’s the remote battery, the remote itself, the receiver in the opener, or the antenna wire hanging from the motor housing. Start with the battery, then try a second remote if you have one.
Very likely the logic board. It’s the most surge-sensitive part in the unit and it’s usually plugged into an unprotected outlet. If the board is the only thing that failed it’s often repairable — and a surge protector on that outlet is worth adding either way.
Still have questions? Call us at (317) 588-0001.
Call and describe what the opener is doing, or send a request and we’ll get back to you.
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