How Do Garage Door Opener Sensors Work

As long as the beam isn t interrupted the door will open or close normally.

How do garage door opener sensors work.

Do both garage sensors need to be green. To allow smaller more efficient motors most garage door operators use dc current. One that sends an infrared beam and one that receives the beam. Garage door sensors protect your family possessions and pets by not allowing the heavy garage door to close if there is anything in the glide path.

Here s how to tell if garage door sensor is bad five things to check. Other signs include flashing garage door opener lights missing sensor light or flashing sensor lights. This system allows them to detect obstructions like your car or a kid on a bike. They do this by using an electric eye sensor that crosses the doorway.

When the device detects any person or object in the path of a closing garage door it signals the motor to stop the downward action and switch the motion into reverse to stop the obstacle being crushed. The infrared beam from the garage door opener sensors isn t able to be seen by human eyes. While some buttons on garage door openers are wired to the house others are remote powered so that you can open your garage door while still in your car. This is why both sensors must face each other.

Okay now that you know some of the common signs of garage door sensor malfunction you re ready for the next step troubleshooting. How does a garage door sensor work. The units are placed near the ground on either side of the garage door. One of the sensors known as the sending sensor emits an infrared signal and the other sensor which is the receiving sensor must receive that signal.

If the sensor doesn t receive the beam emitted by its opposite number the door won t close. All garage door sensors work the same way and serve the same purpose. If the beam of light is interrupted while the garage door is closing the door will stop and rise back up. Garage door sensors utilize a photo eye sensor and a beam of infrared light that goes between the two units.

There are several different brands of sensors. An inverter switches household ac power to dc which is also used to charge a battery backup. Some models are advertised to be universal which means a specified unit will be compatible with garage door openers associated with names such as liftmaster chamberlain craftsman and others. Two sensors are installed at the bottom of your garage door preferably 6 above the floor.

Are garage door sensors universal. The garage door opener has two sensors that prevent the garage door from closing on a person or object. The sensors are located low on each side of the garage door and the 2 beams meet performing a connection. Garage door sensors work by shooting a beam of infrared light across the entrance of your garage to the sensor on the other side.

This means the sensors will provide the same level of safety once installed no matter what garage door opener it is connected to.