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Garage Door Opener Not Working Right? Sensor Replacement Garage Door Repair

Does your garage door go up fine but only come down when you work the wall switch? Chances are the problem is misaligned safety sensors. Is there a small light that lights up when you use the remote? Is there anything blocking the door? If not, then there’s a good chance you’ll need to replace or realign your safety sensors. 

What is a Garage Door Sensor?

Sometimes called photo eyes or sensor eyes, these are the little lens units at the bottom of overhead doors that have automatic openers. Placed on either side of the frame, this is the garage door part that triggers the safety reverse feature of automatic overhead garage doors. 

Sensor eyes send a signal from one end to the other to ensure nothing is blocking the path of the garage door as it lowers. If the sensors get interrupted, a safety feature kicks on that sends the door into reverse. This is to protect against accident should a pet, kid, or object get in the way of a closing garage door. 

The issue comes when your garage door is acting like there’s something underneath it when there’s not. It’s the 21st century – no one wants (or needs) to use the wall switch all the time, especially if the issue is just a couple broken or worn garage door parts.

The good news is, replacing or realigning your safety sensors is a safe and simple procedure. It’s definitely in the category of DIY garage door repair. Sometimes it’s just a 2-minute Windex-and-paper-towel cleaning fix. We’ll walk you through the basics of diagnosing your sensor malfunction and fixing it. If you need any help, feel free to call. We offer 24/7 garage door installation, repair and maintenance services to the Greater Sacramento area, and that includes garage door openers.

Diagnosing Malfunctioning Garage Door Sensors at Home

So, what causes safety eyes to stop seeing correctly? There are a few reasons – and they’re all easy fixes!

Sensors are Gunked with Dirt & Grime

Occasionally, the safety sensors on your garage door will stop working because they’re too dirty. Apply a damp rag and wipe off the sensor. Try not to use soap or anything that leaves streaks or a film, as you’ll just replace one obstruction with another, cleaner one. See if this allows the sensor to reconnect. 

Your Photo Eyes Have Gone Cross-Eyed

You may also just need to realign the safety sensor. You need to make sure the sensor is in a position that can more easily pick up the signal. Garage doors see a lot of use and not a lot of TLC, so if a bike or a basketball knocked a sensor, you could think your garage door is broken completely when actually you just need to adjust the sensor’s position a bit.

The Sun is in Your Sensor Eyes

Another possible culprit of malfunctioning sensor eyes is the sun. Depending on which direction your garage door faces, see if sun is shining directly on the transmitter eye and/or the receiver eye. It can disrupt their ability to communicate with each other. 

You can’t change the direction your house faces, but you can still stop the light intrusion issue with a MacGyver-style DIY garage door fix. Take the cardboard core of a toilet paper roll and slide it over one or both sensors. Most of the time this will shade them enough to be able to communicate again.

Your Safety Sensors are Actually Broken

Sometimes they’re broken, though. Don’t worry; this is one garage door repair that costs almost nothing; new safety sensors for overhead garage doors generally go for about $40. Remember that sensors are brand-specific to the garage door opener you currently have. You need to buy a sensor designed to work with your automatic door opener.

Is Your Garage Door Opener Older than 1993?

If your door was installed in the early 90s or earlier, you might not even have photo sensors. These only became a safety standard on garage door openers in 1993. Before that, it was anything goes – you just hoped there wasn’t a lawn mower or kid in the way… and looked over your shoulder, of course. Most garage door injuries these days happen on doors that were installed before 1993 that lack sensor technology.

If you have an older door, we’d recommend installing a newer door with a garage door opener that includes photo eyes as well as other safety features like battery backup units. Both really are important safety features you can’t do without. 

Give us a call anytime for a free consultation. We’d love to help you bring your garage door into the 21st century. We even install “smart” garage door openers that let you remotely operate and monitor your garage door from your smartphone.

How to Repair the Wall Switch & Wires on Your Garage Door Opener

Sometimes your remote works fine but the wall switch doesn’t. This means either the wall switch needs replacing or you need new wires. That sounds complicated, but trust us, this is a fairly easy garage door opener repair that’s totally safe to do yourself. 

Unscrew the wall switch from the wall and touch the two wires together. They’re low voltage, so don’t worry about shock. If the door works, you’ve got a bad switch that will need replaced. You can get a new one for about $15. If the door doesn’t work, you’ll need to replace the wire. You’ll need to install 18- to 22-gauge wire for this garage door repair.

Why You Should Consider Replacing an Older Garage Door Opener Anyway

Did you know your old garage door opener is probably illegal now? Okay, not exactly, but you’ll never be able to replace it with the same pieces or parts again. And for good reason. Not only might an older opener lack the automatic reverse feature with sensor eyes, but it also lacks a battery backup. 

Since 2019, battery-powered units for garage door openers are mandated by California law via SB969. This mandate went into effect after the terrible wildfire season of 2018, where part of the death toll was directly due to people not being able to get themselves and/or their cars out of their garages during wildfire evacuations. So now, any time you have a new garage door and/or garage door opener installed, it must be a model that has a battery for secondary power during an outage. 

But besides the law, a new garage door opener offers “smart” features like remote operation and monitoring and integration with your home security system, Plus, they’re more energy efficient and much quieter than relic openers from the ‘90s.

Contact Us 24/7 for Quality-Guaranteed Garage Door Opener Service

Get in touch with us to help with safety sensor replacement. We’ll be sure you have the right one, and we’ll offer 100% guaranteed satisfaction on all work. We repair garage doors for Rancho Cordova and the Greater Sacramento area, including Rocklin, Folsom and Citrus Heights. Call us 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. We understand your garage door service is critical, and we can help with any emergency breakdowns.

Garage Door Repair: It Happens!

So, you’ve got a broken garage door. It happens! The good news is, garage door repair happens too. Don’t jump to the conclusion that you’ll have to replace your garage door before you have our experts here at Sacs Garage Door Repair come out to assess your situation and ascertain whether or not your door can be repaired. Garage door repair is possible in many cases, and we have the experience and the expertise to facilitate a reasonably priced solution to your issue. Give us a call today and we will schedule an estimate. We can often come out on the same day!

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