Your garage door is great—when it’s functioning properly. If your garage door system has started acting up, either not closing or reversing after a few inches, don’t worry! There’s likely a simple fix.
The Photo Eyes
Obviously, it’s impossible to make a definitive prognosis without an inspection, but it’s likely that the photo eyes are preventing your garage door from closing or causing it to reverse. Photo eyes are safety mechanism used to prevent a garage door from closing on a person or property. Typically, these little guys work without any trouble. There are a few things that can cause them to fail, which communicates to your garage door system that there is something in the way of its path. This is why the door will either reverse or not close at all.
Photo Eyes Are Misaligned
The photo eyes use an infrared beam to communicate with one another. If one of the eyes has been bumped, the beam may not be registering on the opposite eye.
Photo Eyes Are Covered
Sometimes the cause of the photo eye failure is simply an object that has moved into the path of its sight. This item may not even be in the path of the garage door, but it will still trigger the photo eye and cause it to fail.
Photo Eyes Are Dirty
Because photo eyes register an infrared beam, which is made up of light, they can be thrown off by as little as some dust or cobwebs. For this reason, it is important to routinely clean your photo eye sensors.
Other Potential Photo Eye Problems
- Photo eyes have lost power
- Photo eyes are wired incorrectly
- Photo eyes have been affected by the sun
There is a chance that your photo eyes may not be the source of your problem. Here are a few other things that may be wrong with your garage door system.
How to Fix It
- Check to see if anything has indeed fallen in front of the photo eye. If so, simply move it out of the way and test your garage door opener.
- If there’s nothing in front of your photo eye, try cleaning the sensor off. Grab a dry towel or rag and gently wipe off the eyes. Try closing your garage door.
- If your garage door still won’t close, you’ll have to realign your photo eyes. This will take a little bit of trial and error and is easier with two people. Move the eye and try to direct the sensors toward each other. If your photo eyes are the problem with your garage, this should fix it.
If your garage door continues to malfunction, don’t hesitate to reach out to your local garage door company. Doors by George is the garage door repair expert for the greater Cedar Rapids area. The professional technicians at Doors by George will assess and repair your garage door in no time flat. Whether you're in need of a quick tune-up or an entire replacement, trust your garage door system to Doors by George.
