Garage door eye sensors are a vital safety feature that prevent the door from closing if there is an obstruction in the path. Over time, these sensors can become misaligned, causing the garage door to malfunction. Properly aligning the eye sensors is a simple process that can be done by most homeowners.
What Are Garage Door Eye Sensors?
Garage door eye sensors are small devices mounted a few inches off the ground on either side of the garage door opening. Each sensor has an LED light – one is a transmitter that sends an invisible infrared beam across to the other sensor which is the receiver. If the beam is obstructed by a person, pet, or object, it signals the garage door operator to reverse or stop closing.
Why Eye Sensors Need Alignment
While the sensors are installed at the correct heights from the factory, they can become knocked out of alignment over time from things like:
- Bumping the sensors when moving items in/out of the garage
- Vibrations from the garage door opening/closing
- Settling of the garage floor
- Extreme temperature changes
When misaligned, the beam gets broken even with no obstruction, causing the door to behave erratically.
How to Align the Sensors?
- Find the sensor units mounted near the floor on each side of the garage door opening. They will have LED lights that should be steady green or amber.
- Use a step ladder or crouch down to inspect the LED lights on each sensor. If either one is off or blinking, the sensors are misaligned.
- Loosen the wing nut or bolt that allows you to adjust the sensor angle slightly.
- Carefully turn or tilt each sensor head up or down a small amount until the LED lights are both steady on, indicating the invisible beam is reconnected.
- Once aligned, tighten the wing nuts/bolts to secure the sensors in position.
- Do a garage door open/close test run to ensure the sensors are working properly before using again.
If the sensors won’t align or you have other issues, it may require professional garage door service. But in most cases, this simple adjustment gets garage door eyes back in alignment for proper safety operation.
