Is the Sun Interfering With Your Garage Door Sensor?
Did you get home, park your car in the garage, hit the wall button to shut it, and halfway through it stopped, and reversed back up? You have checked that nothing is blocking the sensors’ beam and made sure all wires are connected properly, and still, the same thing happens over and over again?
It May Be Caused by Sunlight
Sunlight can interfere with the sensors’ beam and cause them to act as if an object blocks them. Many years ago, sensors weren’t common. Nowadays, for safety reasons, most garage doors have them. The sensors only work when the door is in the process of closing. If something prevents the sensors from pointing directly at each other, and hence, break the beam, the photocell will reverse the door from closing to opening. If this problem keeps reoccurring, and the door won’t shut, simply press and hold the wall button continually until the door is fully closed. As soon as the door passes the sensors’ line, the sunlight won’t interfere with the beam anymore and the door will remain shut.
Another thing you can do to overcome this problem permanently is to set a cylinder shaped object around each of the sensors’ eyes, which will block the sunlight and prevent it from interfering with them.
Remember, the lens on each sensor must be kept clean and free of any obstructions at all times. Know that if you have more than one door adjacent to each other, the sensors may affect the smooth operation of the doors by providing a false signal.
Once in awhile, make sure that the sensors work properly. You can do it by sliding an object between them while closing the door. If the door keeps closing while the object is present, do not hesitate and call a professional garage door technician to fix this problem. Unfortunately, every year there are fatal incidents caused by malfunctioning sensors. Don’t overlook them!