Installing Garage Door Sensors

Required by Law

There are two types of garage door openers, the chain drive opener and the direct drive opener. Either will open most garage doors in the United States. By law, garage door openers must have a safety device installed to shut off the motor, should something enter the path of the closing door, such as a child or pet. In order for the safety device to work, it uses a sensor to detect the intruding object. Garage door openers come equipped with the safety device, and they are installed according to the manufacturer's specific instructions.

Installation

After installing the garage door opener, the sensors are mounted on each side of the door, near floor level. They typically plug into a socket on the brackets that run along each side of the door. The sensors are positioned so that they face each other. A light beam travels between the two sensors, and when an object disrupts the beam of light, a beeper alarm typically sounds. If the door is in motion, it will either stop or open.

Testing

The sensors can be tested by covering one sensor lens with a hand, while closing the door with the automatic garage door opener. This will break the beam of light, and should cause the door to stop closing, and reverse. Sometimes it is necessary to manually adjust the position of the sensors so that the light beam moves from one sensor to the other. The sensor lenses need to be kept clean, and if they fail to work, the wire connections should be checked.

Saftey Features

After installing the garage door opener and the door sensors, it is important to periodically test the door to verify that all of its safety features are working properly. To do this, place a board that is about an inch thick in the center of the doorway. Use the garage door opener to close the door. When the edge of the door hits the board, it should strain just slightly, and then it should open.

Adjusting

If the garage door is auto-reversing too quickly, or not quickly enough, the close-force sensitivity might need to be adjusted. To do this, the power will need to be unplugged, and the close-force screw will need to be adjusted. The location of this will depend on the specific brand of the garage door opener.