Troubleshooting a Garage Door Sensor That Doesn’t Work

Posted on February 4, 2020October 1, 2022

In the case of most garage door problems, you will want to call out a professional repair service to accurately and safely track down the problem and fix it. However, sometimes a problem with your garage door isn’t really a problem at all. This can be the case with the photo sensors. These sensors are responsible for sensing when there is something in the garage door’s path while it is closing. If the sensors are triggers, it won’t close the door for safety.

If your door just refuses to close, it is worthwhile to check out the photo sensors. However, while there may be an actual problem, before calling a garage door repair service, you want to make sure that your issue isn’t just a leaf covering a sensor.

As the photo sensors are located low to the ground, they can occasionally fall victim to debris and dirt which can trigger the sensor. You will want to first check both sensors for debris. Next you will want to very gently clean the photo eyes on the sensors to make sure dust hasn’t triggered it.

You want to touch the photo sensors with a very gentle hand when cleaning them and looking for issues as another potential problem is they could have fallen out of alignment. However, if this may be the case, you definitely want a professional to realign them. This is not so much because it is dangerous to do, but rather because it requires precision and a trial and error approach will take up a lot of your day.

Aside from dirt and improper alignment, one final issue that can be affecting your photo sensor is a fault in the wiring. If a rodent or impact damaged the wiring, your photo sensors will likely need to be completely replaced in order to properly work again.

If you suspect that your garage door sensor is not working and you are not able to fix it, call us today and one of our expert technicians will assist you.