One common problem that will stop your garage door from closing properly is a misaligned electronic eye. All residential garage door openers sold in the United States since 1993 are required to be equipped with an external entrapment protection device to prevent injuries due to being crushed by closing garage door. The vast majority of these safety sensor devices are electronic eyes that can sense an obstruction in the path of the door. If an obstruction is “seen” by the electronic eye, the door will be stopped and reversed.
If your garage door has suddenly stopped closing, there may be a problem with the electronic eye. Removing an obstruction or adjusting the electronic eye is a fairly simple procedure, but electronic eye replacement is a garage door repair that should be left to the professionals.
The electronic eye system consists of two sensors mounted near floor level at the bottom of the garage door opening. One sensor transmits a beam to the receiving eye and when this beam is broken by a pet, child, or other obstruction the operation of the garage door is stopped and door is operated to the fully open position.
Before you call the garage door service company, check to see if something is blocking the beam. If so, remove the obstruction and check the door opener for proper operation. If not, it is possible that the sensors have been knocked out of alignment. Some sensors have lights that indicate that they are aligned properly. Look for a yellow or orange light on the sending unit that indicates that a beam is being sent and a green light on the receiving unit that indicates that the beam is being received.
If the green light is not on, try adjusting the sensors so that they point directly toward each other. Once the sensors are aligned, check for proper door operation. If the door is still not closing or opening properly, have it checked out by a professional garage door repair technician.
