Despite the fact that a garage door seems to be a fundamental mechanism, how complicated can anything be that has to be raised and lowered mechanically?
There are many moving components, all of which are essential to its operation. Garage door cables, for example, keep the hefty door and springs from collapsing under their weight.
While contemporary garage doors and Garage Door Openers have developed some magnificent technology, it also means that quite a deal may go wrong with your garage door if you aren’t prepared or aware of its workings.
Blocked sensors are a frequent yet aggravating problem, and we will examine it in further depth today. They might completely prevent your garage door from shutting if left unattended.
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What Exactly Is A Sensor On A Garage Door Opener?
Understanding a garage door sensor is the first step in figuring out what a “blocked sensor” entails.
An infrared light beam is sent over the area where your garage door shuts by the sensor on your garage door. Your garage door won’t be able to close on top of anything if something blocks this light. Tiny “lenses” are put at the bottom corners of your garage door, frequently with a small light that shows whether or not the system is functioning.
There has been a long history of federal regulation involving garage door sensors and a long history of suburban fatalities before they were widely employed. Don’t skip this article because you “don’t have a garage door sensor.” Your garage door probably has one, and it will likely get clogged.
What Exactly Is A Sensor On A Garage Door Opener
A Blocked Sensor!
Sensors are a crucial part of your garage door’s safety system when they work correctly. A machine component that may weigh two hundred pounds or more isn’t going to smash anything because of them!
They are, nonetheless, human. Your garage door will stay open even though nothing below it needs protection since the machine will regard it as hazardous to shut if the beam of light passing between the two units is repeatedly disrupted when it shouldn’t be.
An example of a sensor that has been blocked would be this one.
What Leads To A Sensor Being Blocked?
There are so many options! Most of these issues can be quickly resolved.
- Things in your garage, for example, may trigger the sensor if they are put into its path and left in that location. Garage door repair isn’t necessary for this situation; all you need to do is clean the space under your door and attempt to shut it again. If impediments were the issue, you’d be free to go.
- A filthy photo-eye might be an unusable sensor since dirt and grime “blocks” the infrared light’s path. You’ve fixed the issue if your garage door shuts properly after wiping the two tiny lenses attached to the sensor.
- It’s also possible that sunlight may prevent your sensor from working properly if it’s at the right angle.
- Because your Sensors And The Sun Generate Infrared Light, the sun may effectively “jumble” your sensors’ signals, preventing the system from “communicating with itself.”
What Leads To A Sensor Being Blocked
A simple repair may be all that’s required, depending on the structure of your garage door. A garage door repair professional may need to swap the sensors’ sending and receiving sides, or they may need to use a specific substance to block the sun.
Short-term solutions like toilet paper tubes may be used, but they are neither aesthetically pleasing nor long-lasting.
How Do I Tell If It’s A Sensor That’s Blocked?
In most cases, the inability of your garage door to shut is the most obvious sign that the sensor is malfunctioning, so if this describes your situation, it is a good idea to investigate the cause of the issue.
Flashing or off-color lights on your sensor may potentially be a warning flag. In conclusion, if your garage is cluttered with many things, you may want to try clearing some space out since the clutter may be obstructing your sensor.
Keep in mind that a sticky garage door isn’t always the result of a clogged sensor, so avoid attempting to push it closed.
An incorrectly set limit sensor or damaged garage door tracks might be at blame, and dealing with these problems can be risky for a novice. If you can’t figure out the problem on your own, contact a garage door repair service immediately.
How Do I Tell If It’s A Sensor That’s Blocked?
Bottom Line
Whether your garage door isn’t closing correctly and the sensor doesn’t appear to be tripped, you need to know how to identify if the sensor is malfunctioning. In this post, you’ll learn about some of the most typical problems when a garage door sensor fails.
Although it’s not always obvious whether a garage door sensor is malfunctioning, the following are some of the most prevalent indicators.
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