Sensors
When the photo-eyes cannot see each other, the door refuses to close. We find the misalignment, dirty lens or damaged wire and prove the safety reversal works.
Ask why the door will not close — (239) 388-2592Two small sensors face each other across the doorway near the floor. One sends an invisible beam to the other, and if anything interrupts it while the door is lowering, the opener must stop and reverse.
If the sensors cannot see one another, the opener treats the doorway as blocked. Usually the culprit is a bracket that got bumped, a smudged lens, glare from low sun or a pinched wire. Our job is to pinpoint the culprit and hand back a safety system that works as designed.
The door starts down and then rises again a short way into its travel, with nothing visibly blocking it. That pattern points straight at the beam.
Many openers blink their light in a pattern to signal a sensor problem, and the count can help separate an alignment fault from a wiring one.
Each eye has a small indicator. If one is off or flickering, that sensor is misaligned, dirty or losing power.
On many models, keeping your finger on the wall button overrides the sensors. The door shuts, but the safety protection is not doing its job.
We wipe the lenses, tighten the brackets and aim each eye until its indicator light glows steadily.
We follow the thin sensor wire along the wall and ceiling, hunting for staples, pinched spots, poor splices and chew marks.
A failed sensor is replaced with a compatible one at the proper height, then we block the beam during a close to confirm the door turns around.
Low sun in the morning or evening can shine into the receiving eye and wash out the beam, convincing the opener that something is in the way. Swapping the sides or adding a small shade usually solves it.
Never, and we decline to do it. The photo-eyes are what keep a closing door off children, pets and vehicles, so a bad sensor gets repaired or swapped out rather than disconnected. Bypassing them removes that protection entirely.
No more than about six inches above the floor, both at the same height and facing each other squarely on solid brackets. Mounting them higher lets the beam pass over small children and pets, and sturdy brackets resist knocks from bikes and bins.
Tell us whether the sensor lights are steady, blinking or dark, and what the opener's own light does. That usually points us to the cause.
Ask about a door that will not close — (239) 388-2592