Photo eye sensors detect objects as well as people.
Garage door photo eye not working.
You may also find that the door auto reverses and opens every time you try and shut it.
If the photo eye senses an obstruction it stops the door from closing and potentially prevents damage or injury to a vehicle.
The way they function is quite simple.
In the majority of cases a photo eye sensor will be installed on the garage door sensor.
It s not always clear if a garage door sensor is bad but there are a few common signs that indicate you have a malfunction.
If anything interrupts the beam so that the two sensors are not in contact the sensor.
Fortunately this isn t a difficult problem to fix.
Garage door photo eye troubleshooting.
The primary behavior of malfunctioning photo eyes is a door that will open successfully but will not close or a door that closes part of the way before reversing.
An infrared light runs between two photo eyes.
How to tell if garage door sensor is bad.
How do garage door photo eyes work.
The photo eye sensors on garage doors are located about six inches above the ground one on either side of the garage door.
Well on any garage door installed after 1993 that s no longer possible thanks to two tiny photo eyes on either side of the garage entrance.
Let s start with the most obvious sign your garage door doesn t close properly.
Use the inside tube from an empty roll of toilet paper holiday wrapping paper plastic.
It s easy to know if the photo eyes aren t working as you ll find that your garage door won t close even if there s nothing in the way of the door.
The photo eye of an automatic opening garage door is a safety feature.
How garage door sensors work.
Get your garage door closed on sunny days by making an electric eye hood.
These photo eyes transmit an invisible beam between each other that detects if anything is in the garage door s path when it closes.
These sensors send out an invisible beam that connects them.