Safety sensors
Door starts down, then pops right back up?
- Alignment & lens cleaning
- Wiring traced and repaired
- Auto-reverse tested
Garage door sensor repair is one of the quickest fixes we do, and one of the most important. The two small photo-eyes near the bottom of the track send an invisible beam across the opening. If anything breaks that beam while the door is closing, the opener stops and reverses. It's the feature that keeps a closing door from landing on a child, a pet or the hood of a car.
When the sensors are dirty, bumped out of line, sitting in direct sun or losing signal through damaged wire, the opener reads it as an obstruction. The door goes down a few feet and returns, the opener light blinks, and the only way to close it is holding the wall button. That workaround is a sign the system needs attention, not a fix.
We clean and re-aim the eyes, trace the low-voltage wire back to the opener, repair splices and staples that cut into it, and replace sensors that have failed. Then we test the auto-reverse with an object in the doorway, so you know it works before we leave. It's also part of every maintenance visit.
Door won't stay closed?
Call any hour. Most sensor problems are fixed in one visit.
Sensor service we provide
Get the door closing again, and keep the safety reverse working.
Alignment
Both eyes re-aimed and brackets tightened so the beam lines up and stays that way.
Lens cleaning
Dust, cobwebs, salt film and sprinkler spots cleaned off both lenses.
Wiring repair
Broken, pinched or corroded low-voltage wire traced, spliced or replaced.
Sensor replacement
Failed photo-eyes replaced with a pair compatible with your opener.
Why sensors stop working
Out of line
A bumped bracket, a bike or a trash can is often enough. Even a small tilt can lose the beam.
Dirty or sun-blinded
Film on the lens or low afternoon sun shining straight into one eye can confuse it.
Wire damage
Staples, rodents, corrosion and garage remodels break the thin wire between the eyes and the opener.
Signs of a garage door sensor problem
The opener usually tells you something is off:
- Door reverses near the floorThe classic sign. The beam is broken or the opener can't read it.
- Opener light blinksMany openers flash to report a sensor fault.
- Sensor indicator light is off or flickeringOne eye isn't getting power or isn't seeing the other.
- Door only closes while you hold the wall buttonThe opener is overriding the safety system.
- Problem shows up at certain times of dayOften sunlight hitting one sensor in the late afternoon.
Safety first. Never disconnect, bypass or tape over the safety sensors to get the door closed. They're required on automatic openers for a reason. If the door won't close, close it by hand only if the springs and cables are intact, then call us.
Why call Wolf for sensor problems
Safety tested
We test the auto-reverse with an obstruction before we're done.
Root cause found
Wiring, alignment or a failed eye, we track down which one.
Any hour
A door that won't close at night still gets an answer.
Free estimate
You get the price before any work starts.
