4 Tips to Keeping Your Garage Door Sensors Aligned
Is your garage door broken? If it is, STOP! Before you panic, make sure your sensors aren’t out of alignment. This could be a relatively easy fix using an experienced garage door technician.
Believe it or not, it is pretty easy for garage door sensors to lose their positioning. Obviously, these sensors are designed as a safety precaution, so the door doesn’t close on you. However, like everything else in life, they move over time.
What Causes Alignment Issues?
Something as simple as bumping a sensor as you walk by is enough to knock a garage door sensor out of alignment. You’d think that this wouldn’t go unnoticed. However, it’s fairly common for sensors to get bumped when moving things in and out of your garage.
Over time, garage door sensors will also lose positioning just from the door opening and closing. The more active your door is, the sooner it will get knocked out of alignment.
Weather can also mess with the sensor alignment. Fluctuations in hot and cold temperatures cause the garage door’s metal parts to expand and contract. The metal inserts and rivets connecting the sensors to the door frame are no exception. Living in a climate with extreme summers and winters leads to more garage door alignment issues than people living in moderate climates.
Are My Garage Door Sensors Out of Alignment?
As discussed above, the best way to tell your sensors are out of alignment is if your door has trouble closing. Sensors are there for personal safety, and if they are not aligned, they will prevent the garage door from closing.
Another way to tell if your garage door sensors are out of alignment is by the led lights that are built into them. The newest garage door sensors will show a green light if they are properly positioned. However, if that same light is blinking red constantly, that could be a sign that you have a problem with alignment and need to take action.
How do I Re-Align My Garage Door Sensors?
Getting your garage door sensors back into alignment is not as easy as you would think. First, you need to cut power to your garage to eliminate the chance of electrocution. Then you will have to wear electric-resistant gloves, remove the sensors with tools, and re-level them.
The Overhead Door Company® does not recommend attempting to put your garage door sensors back into alignment yourself. Severe levels of electricity run into these sensors, and if you don’t know what you are doing, you can seriously injure yourself. Also, if you have minimal experience working with garage door sensors, you might just end up making the problem worse, even breaking your sensors!
Call The Overhead Door Company®
The professionals at Overhead Door Company of Abilene™ can diagnose and fix your alignment problem faster than you can figure out how to cut the power supply to your door. Our installers are highly trained and will be able to answer any questions or concerns you might have about the issues your door is experiencing.
Again, we do not recommend or suggest that you attempt to re-align your garage door sensors by yourself! It can cause serious bodily harm if you do not follow the proper precautions and have the right gear on hand.
Give us a call or fill out our form, and we’ll get your garage door where it needs to be!
