Door won't close? Look at the two sensors first.
Two small sensors, one on each track a few inches off the floor, stop the door when something crosses the beam between them. When they act up, look for late sun, a spider web or rain before you blame a part.
- On site: 30 to 45 minutes
- License CGC15***68
Signs this is your problem
- The door touches down, or nearly does, and goes right back up.
- The wall button closes it only if you keep your finger on it.
- It fails only in the late afternoon, when the sun shines into the garage.
- A light on one sensor is blinking or dark.
- It started after a heavy rain, or after the sprinklers ran.
- If the door itself sits crooked in the opening, it's off its track, not the sensors.
Sun, webs and rain
A garage that faces west takes the low sun straight in during the late afternoon. When it lands on the receiving sensor, that sensor can't see the beam, and the door refuses to close until the sun drops. We fix it for good by swapping the two sensors so the receiver sits on the shady side, or by fitting a small hood over it.
Spiders build across the lenses, wasps nest in the housings and anoles like to sit on them. In the rainy season, heavy rain, a sprinkler aimed at the door or a puddle by the track can wet a lens or a wire splice. Each one looks like a broken sensor, and none of them is.
When a sensor really has failed
We check the aim, the brackets and the wire along the track, looking for a staple through it, a pinch or a splice gone green from the rain. Brackets get tightened so a bump from a trash can doesn't knock them out again. A failed sensor gets replaced together with its partner.
Before we leave, we close the door on a board laid flat on the floor to confirm it reverses, then break the beam while the door is moving to confirm it turns around.
Questions about safety sensors
Holding the button overrides the safety sensors on most openers, so the motor is fine and the sensors are what's stopping the door. Clean and aim them first. If the lights still won't go steady, a wire or a sensor has failed.
The low sun is probably shining into the receiving sensor and blinding it. Shade that sensor with a piece of cardboard and try again. If the door closes, moving the receiver to the shady side or adding a small hood solves it.
A blinking light usually means the beam isn't reaching the other sensor: a dirty lens, a sensor knocked out of line, direct sun or a damaged wire. Wipe, aim, then check the wire along the track for a pinch or a staple.
Tell us what the door is doing
A person answers, day or night. Describe the door or text a photo, and you'll hear what it probably is, how long the fix takes and when a truck can get to you.