How To Align Garage Door Sensors
The sensors on garage doors are what make them work. Your front door is closed by one of them (the emitter) signaling the other (the receiver). The receiver won’t receive the signals from the emitter and your door won’t close if neither of them are in alignment.
Fortunately for you, realigning garage door sensors is not particularly challenging. You can verify that by reading the guide we’ve provided below.
Alignment Instruments for Garage Door Sensors
Here is a list of all the supplies you will require:
- Gloves that can withstand electricity
- Screwdriver
- String
- Level
A Step-by-Step Guide for Aligning Garage Door Sensors
To align garage door sensors, take the following actions:
Step 1: Turn off the power to the garage
Your sensors’ power source should be turned off. If the sensors are manually plugged into a wall outlet, you can do this by turning off their switch, or by tripping the fuse for the entire garage from your home’s breaker box.
As you tinker with the wires, be sure to wear gloves that are resistant to electricity. It’s possible that you aren’t handling live wires. However, we always advise against taking any chances when it comes to your personal safety.
Check the ‘Class’ of any electrically insulated gloves you are considering purchasing. For the purpose of aligning garage door sensors, those that are designated “Class 0” or “Class 00” and can sustain a voltage of up to 500 volts AC are sufficient.
Step 2: Remove the screws holding the sensors in place
Open the screws holding the mounting brackets for your garage door sensors. You can accomplish this by placing the screwdriver inside the screws and rotating it counterclockwise.
You don’t have to take them all the way out. This is because the mounting brackets will need to be slid up and down in the next steps, which won’t be possible without the screws.
Step 3:Â Â Lower the garage door sensors
Slide the garage door sensor downward using your own hands after loosening the screws and making sure the mounting brackets can move up and down easily.
Never try to move the sensor with a wrench. It may also interfere with the sensor’s performance and leave a mark on the sensor’s surface. While the sensors are still inside their mounting brackets, slide them as low as you can.
Step 4: Adding the String and Tying the Knots
Attach one end of a string to one sensor and its mounting bracket after sliding them as low as you can. Since this stage greatly affects the success (or failure) of the entire procedure, tie the knot as tightly as you can.
Before tying the knot so that the string runs as straight as possible, run the untied string end across the opening of your garage and roll it around the middle of the opposing sensor.
Step 5: Verify the String’s Level
Make sure the rope is running level across the garage doorway by placing a level below it. The level would need to be manually pressed against the string and held there for a short period of time.
Continue to the following step if the string’s line is level. If not, you should adjust one or both sensors (by sliding their mounting brackets). Adjust as necessary until the level indicates that the two sensors are in alignment.
Step 6: Tighten the screws
Start tightening the screws once the level indicates that both sensors are at the same level. Tighten them up to the point where you can see that the garage door sensors won’t budge from their new location, despite your best efforts.
Use the level once again to confirm that the sensors are aligned after you have tightened the screws. Since they might have been misaligned as you tightened the screws.
Get assistance if you don’t like to pass the garage doorway many times (first to level both sensors, then to fasten their screws). You would be able to quickly complete the full task in this manner.
Final Action
Remove the strings, re-energize your garage, and test the sensors after making sure that both sensors are level. By now, they must be functioning properly.
Causes of Garage Door Sensor Failure
The following are some possible causes of your garage door sensor malfunction.
- The sensors have too much dirt gathered on it
- Damaged by impact are its connector wires
- The sensors have been in direct sunlight for too long
- The sensors have been harmed by the door’s excessive vibrations
- The sensors’ spatial alignment is incorrect
- The sensors’ and door opener’s wiring is faulty
Conclusion
As you can see, it’s not that difficult to adjust misaligned garage door sensors. You simply need to have the appropriate supplies on hand and shouldn’t rush the process. If you have assistance, the full process can be completed fast. Nevertheless, regardless of whether you like working alone or with a group, using our step-by-step instructions will enable you to finish the job effectively.