The Biggest Problem with Your Garage Door

Surprised? Many homeowners don’t realize that this is where the problem lies. Imagine this situation: You get home from work, ready to relax. As you pull into the driveway, you press the button to open the garage door, and it starts to rise. You’re busy thinking about dinner, and then as you pull forward, you stop – because the garage door has gone back down again. Every time you try to open it, it will rise a little bit, and then reverse. What’s the deal?

The problem is the photo eyes in most cases. But don’t worry – this is not a very serious problem. It can be fixed easily. In fact, a handy homeowner can even remedy this problem on their own. Here’s what you can do.

Photo Eyes: What’s That?

Every electric garage door openers sold in North American since 1993 comes equipped with an automatic reverse system. This is a safety feature that is now required, due to accidents where children and even adults were being injured by a lowering garage door.

Here’s how this system works. There are two small units, each installed about 6 inches (15 cm) from the ground on the tracks on each side of the garage door. These are the photo eyes. They are connected to the motor that opens the door – think of the sensor you walk on to open an automatic door at a grocery store. That’s similar to how these units connect to the motor that operates the garage door.

The two units are also connected to each other. Between them, there is an invisible beam of light. If that beam of light gets interrupted – by something passing through it – the units detect this, and send a signal to the motor, telling it to stop movement. Generally speaking, this will happen when the door is closing. If the beam is broken, the door automatically reverses and starts to open again, to ensure that anything passing under the door is safe.

There is also a mechanical safety system that does something similar. If the bottom of the door hits something as it descends, it automatically starts to reverse. How sensitive is it? If you place a piece of wood, for instance a 2X4, flat on the ground under the door, as soon as the door hits the board, it must go back up.

How do photo eyes get misaligned?

It actually isn’t that hard for photo eyes to get misaligned. Bumping a unit with a box as you move things around the garage can do it. You may not even notice you’ve hit the photo eye as you move about in the area.

So let’s say you’re sitting there, home from work, and the door just will not work properly. Check the lights of the door opener – has it started blinking, or do you hear a clicking noise? This is a good indicator that the photo eye system is misaligned.

Fixing the Issue

Luckily, it is not that hard to fix. You simply need to figure out which photo eye was shifted, and move it back into place. Get yourself into a position where you can see or hear your wall control panel. As you move the photo eye back into place, watch for the blinking to stop, or wait for the clicking to stop. That’s your cue that the issue is fixed. What you are trying to do is align the two units on either side of the door to be perfectly in line with each other.

Also make sure that your photo eyes are securely held in place on the wall. If necessary, tighten the nut that holds it in place, and as long as you are there, take a cloth and wipe each “lens” to remove dust or dirt on them. This can help reduce problems in the future.

Now you just need to test your system and see if you’ve solved the problem. If the door is still not operating correctly, it could be that a wire in one of the photo eyes is frayed, or the opener motor is having an issue. If you can’t solve the problem at this stage, it’s time to call us.

Be safe!

If you have ever tried to push the wall control button to close the garage door, and then leap outside over the beam, this is an unsafe thing to do. In fact, we would say: NEVER DO THIS!

Accidents involve children who do just this occur all too frequently, and garage doors can be very dangerous. A better solution would be to install a keypad on the outside of the garage. Type in the four-digit code, and the door will automatically close or open.

Finally, be sure to give your reversal systems a quick test every month, just to make sure you and your family are safe.

Contact us for more help

If you haven’t solved the issue after fixing the photo eye alignment, then contact us right away at 330-889-0062. We will also happily send you a no-obligation free quotation by email. Our experience with garage doors allows us to confidently fix any problem you may have, or suggest a new solution that can help you avoid issues in the future.

If it’s convenient for you, then stop by our showroom to see all the options we have available. A tool that is available for you is our Design Centre to assist you in selecting the style that fits you best. For more inspiration, view the myriads of examples in our image gallery.